Tag: Ink

While conceptualizing a sustainable printer, designer Jessica Chan found out that inks used in traditional cartridges are not 100% biodegradable. In pursuing her idea she ended up making a pen that could be refilled with practically any fluid that could stain: wine, beer, juice, etc.

Devices with paper-thin or flexible displays have yet to become mainstream. But the researchers behind PrintScreen recently proved that we can make simple but incredibly thin and flexible displays right now, without the need for high end materials or equipment. Made by Simon Olberding, Michael Wessely and Dr Jürgen Steimle, PrintScreen is based on electroluminescent phosphoric inks, which the researchers say are robust, long-lasting and require low current to operate.

There is something about the colors in the older comic books that today’s comics just don’t have. They were bright and vibrant and just jumped off the page in a way that today’s do not. Maybe it was the ink that they used.

Synergistic growth translates into one technology being able to complement the advances in another. The same principle can be applied to the recent innovations in ink making. Its technology is deeply integrated in electronic devices and systems, improving them as a result.

When most people say “bath salts” these days, you think they’re talking about the nasty drug trend that’s been sweeping through the nation lately, and not something you actually use for a relaxing soak in the tub.

You’ve probably done doodles with a single continuous line while talking to someone on the phone, but Star Wars geek Sam Hallows took it to a whole other level by crafting these intricate drawings of Star Wars, each with a single line.

If you ever wanted to send secret messages using your computer, you could just embed secret messages in your image files. But if you want to print out hidden messages, you can hack your inkjet printer to print invisible messages.

Got some leftover inkjet cartridges lying around? You could just send them back to the factory so they can be recycled – er, cleaned out, refilled and then sold to some other sucker for way too much money – or, you could make some lamps out of them – or, you could do this:

When I was in grade school, crayons served as our introduction to the art of one-upmanship – you have a box of 8? Well your seatmate has a box of 16! So you tell your mom to buy you a box of 24, but – oh snap!

Here’s a handy way to keep a secret. Just grab one of these ultraviolet invisible ink pens, and you can leave yourself hidden messages that you can easily decode using the same pen you wrote them with. Each pen has a built-in ultraviolet LED light, you can read messages that are invisible to the naked eye.

Here’s a piece of art any retro game fanatic would be proud to hang on their wall. It’s a handmade Pac-Man mixed media piece, using teeny ceramic tiles in place of pixels. Perhaps inspired by the oh-so-awesome Ms.

These wacky collectible desktop figurines get their inspiration from inkjet printer cartridges. Mark James’ Cardboy CMYK Cartridge critters comes in the four familiar printer ink colors, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The 4-inch tall figures are available individually for £5.95

While most conventional printers use ink, toner or wax to print, these new portable printers from Zink will print full color images without applying any substance to the surface of the paper. Instead of ink or toner, Zink’s compact printers will use a special paper, embedded with color dye crystals that are activated when heat is applied.

I’ve seen a number of paper-to-digital note recorders over the years, but this is the first time I’ve come across one that can actually recognize multiple ink colors. The LaPazz D-Note DNA500 from UC-Logic is a small notepad that records your handwritten notes on the computer, and can automatically recognize blue, red and black ink colors (special pens are required for this feature) when storing digital versions of your notes. The D-Note can record from A5 (148mm