HONG KONG , China ( CNN ) -- Way back in 1888 , Kodak popularized the hobby of snapshot photography with its famous slogan : `` You press the button , we do the rest . '' Zink paper is is dry , waterproof , smudge-proof , tear-proof , peel-off , sticky-backed -- and recyclable . Now , 120 years later , Zink says : `` Just add paper '' and do it yourself . Zink is a zero-ink printing company that has updated the instant gratification that comes from developing pictures for the digital age . The pleasure of snapping a picture and admiring the print has n't changed , but the technology has , plus there is a new eco-friendly element . Zink paper is an advanced composite material with embedded yellow , magenta and cyan dye crystals that change color when heated . For a 2 '' x3 '' print , a Zink-enabled printer uses 200 million heat pulses to activate and colorize 100 billion crystals , in 30 seconds , in a single pass . The final result is a photographically correct print that is not only completely dry , but also waterproof , smudge-proof , tear-proof , peel-off and sticky-backed -- not to mention recyclable . If Zink 's thermal printing process sounds familiar , it differs from D2T2 ( dye diffusion thermal transfer ) , or dye sublimation technology , used by other companies such as Kodak , Canon or Sony , in one crucial aspect -- Zink involves zero ink . `` The source of heat conveyed to the printer head is similar , '' says Steve Herchen , one of Zink 's original inventors and present chief technology officer . `` The advantage with Zink is that there is no need for an ink ribbon . The heat is applied directly to the paper . There are no gears , no motors , no mechanism is required to manage the ink ribbon . All the information is in the paper . '' Inkless footprint . So not only is Zink compact , it 's ecological . Because there is no ink , there are no empty ink-ribbon cartridges and no extra packaging to dispose of . `` The paper is the print , '' concludes Herchen . `` Printers can be the smallest footprint of any printing technology . '' As the company 's first consumer application to hit the market , the Zink-enabled Polaroid Instant Mobile Printer is only slightly bigger than an iPhone , weighs 230 grams , uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery , and connects to a mobile phone via wireless Bluetooth or to a digital camera through a USB cable . The pocket printer will be available later this summer in the United States , United Kingdom , France , Germany , Spain , Italy and Russia , and will sell for about $ 150 , while Zink paper will be sold in packs of 10 or 30 , at 33-40 cents per sheet . With sales of camera phones and digital cameras growing exponentially , one can easily speculate about hundreds of billions of digital photos being snapped and `` trapped '' on memory cards and hard drives around the world . But hold on a nanosec -- Why print to paper at all when we inhabit the global digisphere ? You know you want to . `` Our research shows that in this digital age , more than ever , people still have a deep-rooted need to see , feel , mark , share or use their digital images or information in a physical form , '' remarks Scott Wicker , Zink 's chief marketing officer . `` We know there 's a pent-up need to print , '' confides Herchen , a 30-year Polaroid veteran . `` Even though not everyone wants to print every image , there is still a real customer need to be able to print on-the-go , whenever you want , wirelessly , from portable devices . '' So far , Zink has partnered with Polaroid and manufacturer Alps Electric to produce the Instant Mobile Printer , and with toy-maker TakaraTomy and manufacturer Foxconn for an upcoming product . In addition , Zink has produced its own not-yet-released 6-megapixel digital camera-printer . If the combo-device does n't appeal immediately to all die-hard digerati , it might be more likely to win over Polaroid Instamatic nostalgics , or anyone keen on wallet-sized snaps and Japanese-style `` purikura '' photo-sticker booths . Commemorating those Kodak moments . Twenty-five-year-old student Caroline enjoys printing out those special shots for her scrapbook or making collages for friends , and she is happy to pick them up from the self-service kiosk after a short wait . `` I like to physically hold the prints and look at them in my hands , '' she says . `` You appreciate a photo more when it 's not on the computer . It 's one that you 've taken the trouble to print , maybe even frame , so you pay more attention . '' If one person 's print is that same person 's carbon footprint , most people seem to agree that printing remains an inalienable delight . Andy , of the Photo 2000 express kiosk in Hong Kong , confirms : `` About half of the people out there prefer to view their pictures printed , rather than on a computer . But all people like to see real photos . All our customers print photos for friends and family , never for business ... If they do n't want to print , then we close . '' Whether instant or not , at least now zero-ink provides us with an environment-friendly alternative to satisfy our pent-up printing desires .
Zink technology is a thermal printing process on paper that involves zero ink . Because it uses no ink-ribbon cartridge , it is ultra-compact and ecological . The company has been working with the University of California, Berkeley, to develop its own version of this technology.