Behind the Scenes at Zink: Where Color Magic Happens

THE COLORMAKERS: Brian Busch, Stephen Herchen, and J.C. Van Dijk [from left] and dozens of other engineers and scientists took ink-free color technology under development at Polaroid Corp. and made it a reality at Zink Imaging.

CLOSE-UP: Zink technologists continue to perfect the chemistry and the electronics that make Zink printing possible. The microscopy lab analyzes chemicals and coatings; the electron microscope images are an art form in themselves.

COOKING UP COLORS: The first part of the process is making the unique molecules that, when melted, go from colorless to cyan, magenta, and yellow, the basic building blocks of all printed colors.

LINING UP THE CANDIDATES: The resulting molecules are produced in small batches.

TESTING, TESTING… Researchers then analyze the chemicals’ different properties. It’s not only their color that’s important but also their heat and light stability, melting point, efficiency in creating color, cost, and ease of manufacturing.

…AND MORE TESTING: High-pressure liquid chromatography machines determine the chemical composition of a solution, providing a check on the purity of the components that go into Zink paper.

MELTING POINTS: Researchers use this machine to analyze the melting points of various chemicals.

ON THE SURFACE: Then the researchers must apply the different molecules as coatings onto what will become the final product—Zink paper. Controlling the coating equipment and precisely applying the layers of chemicals requires a bank of pumps and pressure sensors.

PAPER CHASE: Test-coating equipment spits out rolls of Zink paper.

ONE MORE CHECK: Test prints let researchers understand exactly how the paper performs.

GETTING THE PICTURE: Finally, Zink technology is put to the test, doing what it was truly meant to do—produce photographic prints. These 8- by 10-inch test images are the result.