Tag Archives: ink

Printable, Thin & Flexible Displays: PrintScreen

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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.

printscreen printed display by Simon Olberding Michael Wessely and Dr Jurgen Steimle 620x408magnify

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. The ink is sandwiched between two conductive layers, which are also printed on the chosen substrate. The substrate can be paper, leather, ceramic or more, as long as it’s smooth.

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Because of its materials and relatively simple construction, PrintScreen offers lots of advantages. For one, all of the materials, hardware and software needed to make a display are affordable and readily available. You design the display pattern using any vector graphics editing application, such as Adobe Illustrator. You can then print it using a conventional screen printing kit. The researchers say it will take up to four hours to print a display this way, but they also came up with a faster way to print. They made a sheet of paper that’s been pre-printed with the ink and one conductive layer. You can then print your design on that paper using an inkjet printer loaded with conductive ink.

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The other advantage of a PrintScreen display is that it’s extremely thin, durable and flexible, making it easy to integrate in a variety of surfaces and shapes. You can even make a capacitive touchscreen by taking advantage of the phosphor layer’s voltage requirements: “The approach is based on the key insight that the phosphor layer only lights up when a high AC voltage is applied on one electrode while the electrode on the other layer is grounded. It does not light up when DC or a low voltage AC (we identified <14 V) is applied, or when one electrode is set to high impedance…By time-multiplexing between a display and a sensing cycle, the electrodes on one, or even on both layers, can be used for sensing.”

While the examples in the researchers’ video and images are monochromatic, it is in fact possible to have a multicolored PrintScreen display; you just have to print multiple layers of phosphoric ink in the colors that you want. Head to Embodied Interaction to read Olberding and company’s full paper on PrintScreen.

[via Gizmodo]

 

Miley Cyrus becomes a Tattoo Artist and wears TNMT Underwear

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Miley Cyrus turned the tables on her tattoo artist and instead of him tattooing her, she tattooed him. Bang Bang, the tattoo artist, has collaborated with Justin Bieber in the past too. Miley...

Awesome Batman Sleeve Tattoo: Where Does He Get That Wonderful Ink?

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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. Anyway, this amazing Batman tattoo captures this spot on.

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This super detailed, full-color tattoo by British artist Ian Hopkins truly brings the classic Batman comic books to life. This is pre-Dark Knight Batman, when the colors were alive and stunning.

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This tattoo won him a prize at the Titanic Ink Tattoo Convention in Southampton, UK and took him 40 hours of work to complete. Amazing job, Ian!

[Ian Hopkins via Neatorama]

Innovations in Ink Making Spurs the Advent of New-age Devices

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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.

Behind these innovations is nanotechnology, which involves the use of small-sized membranes, tubes, and components that can be used for a variety of purposes. Currently, its use has been popularized within the healthcare and electronics industry. Nanotubes ensure that minute quantities can be delivered at the designated place, in a highly specific manner.

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A recent innovation by Linde Electronics involves using carbon nanotube inks to generate new display technologies. These nanotubes provide an ideal use for ink making and printing because of their size (their diameter is just 1/10,000 of the diameter of human hair) and physical properties (they have a high stress resistance when it comes to heat and mechanical pressure).

The ink industry is also making progress with the advent of organic electronics. For example, ink-based tags for biomedical implants has led to the development of thermochromic displays which uses conductive wires to make patterns.

Aside from these, InkTechnologies.com brings another model to the table that uses an online platform to promote the usage of diverse ink and printing technologies. This is an example of R&D moving so fast that it has basically created an online exchange for ink-savvy and eco-conscious consumers.

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Nanotechnology is still in its nascent phases, so the progress that has been achieved up until this point is just in its primer stage. Consider dye development through nanotechnology. If you think about it, numerous industries now need markers or fluorescent dyes for various applications.

Electro-wetting is another ongoing innovation which is massive because it would give e-paper the feel of classic ink on paper. Such displays have the advantage of being brighter than LCDs while consuming less power. Imagine how this can change e-readers

How ink technology will develop further – and the new tech it will spawn – is definitely something to watch out for.

[via LCN]

You can draw circuit boards onto paper with this pen (video)

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When dreaming up that world-changing invention, wouldn't it be great if you could just sketch out the circuits and have them magically work? That's the idea behind Circuit Scribe, a ballpoint pen that's full of quick-drying ink that'll help you doodle your circuits on notebook paper. Emerging out of research from the University of Illinois, the team is now accepting your cash through Kickstarter to help bring it into the real world. $20 will get you a pen and an LED component, while $30 will buy you a basic kit, complete with plenty of accessories to help you test the systems to their fullest. We imagine it'll be a big hit with STEM educators as well as hobbyists, but if you're not yet convinced, check out the video to watch it in action.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Kickstarter

You can draw circuit boards onto paper with this pen (video)

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When dreaming up that world-changing invention, wouldn't it be great if you could just sketch out the circuits and have them magically work? That's the idea behind Circuit Scribe, a ballpoint pen that's full of quick-drying ink that'll help you doodle your circuits on notebook paper. Emerging out of research from the University of Illinois, the team is now accepting your cash through Kickstarter to help bring it into the real world. $20 will get you a pen and an LED component, while $30 will buy you a basic kit, complete with plenty of accessories to help you test the systems to their fullest. We imagine it'll be a big hit with STEM educators as well as hobbyists, but if you're not yet convinced, check out the video to watch it in action.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Kickstarter

Now You Can Bathe in Ink–Because Regular Bath Salts Are So Yesterday

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Ink Bath Salts

Bathing in ink doesn’t sound like something most of would normally do. In fact, pouring a bottle of ink into a tub with running water doesn’t sound like something anyone would do.

But if you’re curious at the notion of bathing in ink, then you’ll be pleased to know that you can do exactly just that sans the bottle of ink with these black-and-blue ink bath salts by Japan’s Kaimei & Co.. This company has been producing India ink for calligraphy for more than a century, so they obviously know what they’re doing in the ink department. In the bath department, I’m not very sure.

Ink Bath Salts

No one really knows if you’ll emerge from the bath black and blue. Maybe someone out there is willing to give it a try and let us all know how enjoyable (or not) an ink bath is. They’re available online for $3 a pack.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Technabob ]

 

These Bath Salts Let You Bathe in Ink

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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. But there are still actual products that you can use to take a bath with and not turn into a maniac and eat someone’s face off. This particular bath acoutrement is unusual because of the addition of an unlikely ingredient – ink.

ink bath salts

Instead of coming out of the package as clear or white crystals, these bath salts pour out with an unusual blue-black color. They’ve actually been made with ink from Japan’s Kaimei & Co., who have been producing india ink for calligraphy for over 115 years.

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What’s unclear from the product description is whether or not the ink leaves any sort of residue on your skin. I’m doubting that it does, or else nobody would buy the stuff. If you’re interested in finding out if you can get an instant tattoo while you take a bath, you can order the Ink Bath Salts for $3(USD) a pack over at White Rabbit Express and try them out for yourself.