David Savastano, Editor09.17.19
When we think of printing inks, we think of the materials that help make packaging, publications and much more stand out. The blacks and colors that we see are derived from either pigments or dyes, and for the most part, are petrochemical-based.
Living Ink has a different approach altogether. A biomaterials company, Aurora, CO-based Living Ink has developed inks based on algae, a sustainable technology, to replace petroleum-derived products. With Algae Ink, Living Ink is commercializing environmentally-friendly black algae-based pigments that have a negative carbon footprint.
Living Ink was co-founded by Dr. Scott Fulbright and Dr. Stevan Albers when they were Ph.D. students in the Cell and Molecular Biology Program at Colorado State University. They were always thinking of technology advancements that could be potential business ideas, and were fascinated by the field of biofabrication, or using biology to grow materials. Literally while standing in the greeting card aisle, Fulbright thought about the fundamental components of ink.
“The question was asked, ‘Could we use entire algae cells as a pigment for biodegradable ink?’ Steve grew some algae up at his house and we made a basic screenprinting ink formulation and made a print. It looked amazingly vibrant, and the story of ‘gluing” algae cells on a piece of paper to communicate a message was a neat story,” Fulbright, Living Ink’s CEO (Albers is the CTO), said.
Subsequently, they went through a variety of business accelerators and business pitch competitions. The company won several business pitches through the Department of Energy, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado. In 2017, the company won a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation grant.
Using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, the algae is grown at large scale. Once the crude pigment is purified using proprietary technology, it is milled and formed into a dispersion, which then can be formulated into a variety of products including inks.
Of course, ink doesn’t only come in black. Living Ink has created color inks as well.
“We have developed several different colors of algae,” Fulbright observed. “We can use naturally occurring colored algae and we also develop specialty strains in our lab that have colors. The colors have real potential, but we only access what nature produces. Thus, certain tones and colors are difficult to match. Thus, we are focused on scaling up black since there seems to be significant interest.”
Fulbright said that the printers Living Ink has worked with so far have been wonderful partners.
“Several years ago, the first printer that adopted the technology was Colorado-based Ecoenclose,” Fulbright added. “I called them up a few years ago and their owner Kyle Wente said, ‘Come in here today and let’s print your algae ink.’ That was for a 250 box print job. Years later we are doing print jobs of hundreds of thousands of boxes and looking to grow.”
Ink companies are taking notice of Living Ink and its algae-based inks.
“We have had a lot of interest from the ink companies around the world,” said Fulbright. “I think some companies think our products are very well timed in the sustainability trends of packaging and textiles, while others think we are futuristic. As to be expected, many of these companies are looking for products and stories that can differentiate them from other companies. Transforming algae into ink is one of those unique stories that are interesting and can scale.”
Ultimately, Fulbright sees the potential for bio-based inks to have an impact.
“We are excited now because, after years of work, the company is selling products and scaling up products to meet customers’ volume demands,” Fulbright concluded. “Looking back, I find it fascinating that new ideas happen when you least expect it.”
The Living Ink Lab
12635 E. Montview Blvd.
Aurora, CO 80045
https://livingink.co
Specialties: Biorenewable Inks and Pigments
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Living Ink has a different approach altogether. A biomaterials company, Aurora, CO-based Living Ink has developed inks based on algae, a sustainable technology, to replace petroleum-derived products. With Algae Ink, Living Ink is commercializing environmentally-friendly black algae-based pigments that have a negative carbon footprint.
Living Ink was co-founded by Dr. Scott Fulbright and Dr. Stevan Albers when they were Ph.D. students in the Cell and Molecular Biology Program at Colorado State University. They were always thinking of technology advancements that could be potential business ideas, and were fascinated by the field of biofabrication, or using biology to grow materials. Literally while standing in the greeting card aisle, Fulbright thought about the fundamental components of ink.
“The question was asked, ‘Could we use entire algae cells as a pigment for biodegradable ink?’ Steve grew some algae up at his house and we made a basic screenprinting ink formulation and made a print. It looked amazingly vibrant, and the story of ‘gluing” algae cells on a piece of paper to communicate a message was a neat story,” Fulbright, Living Ink’s CEO (Albers is the CTO), said.
Subsequently, they went through a variety of business accelerators and business pitch competitions. The company won several business pitches through the Department of Energy, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado. In 2017, the company won a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation grant.
Using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, the algae is grown at large scale. Once the crude pigment is purified using proprietary technology, it is milled and formed into a dispersion, which then can be formulated into a variety of products including inks.
Of course, ink doesn’t only come in black. Living Ink has created color inks as well.
“We have developed several different colors of algae,” Fulbright observed. “We can use naturally occurring colored algae and we also develop specialty strains in our lab that have colors. The colors have real potential, but we only access what nature produces. Thus, certain tones and colors are difficult to match. Thus, we are focused on scaling up black since there seems to be significant interest.”
Fulbright said that the printers Living Ink has worked with so far have been wonderful partners.
“Several years ago, the first printer that adopted the technology was Colorado-based Ecoenclose,” Fulbright added. “I called them up a few years ago and their owner Kyle Wente said, ‘Come in here today and let’s print your algae ink.’ That was for a 250 box print job. Years later we are doing print jobs of hundreds of thousands of boxes and looking to grow.”
Ink companies are taking notice of Living Ink and its algae-based inks.
“We have had a lot of interest from the ink companies around the world,” said Fulbright. “I think some companies think our products are very well timed in the sustainability trends of packaging and textiles, while others think we are futuristic. As to be expected, many of these companies are looking for products and stories that can differentiate them from other companies. Transforming algae into ink is one of those unique stories that are interesting and can scale.”
Ultimately, Fulbright sees the potential for bio-based inks to have an impact.
“We are excited now because, after years of work, the company is selling products and scaling up products to meet customers’ volume demands,” Fulbright concluded. “Looking back, I find it fascinating that new ideas happen when you least expect it.”
The Living Ink Lab
12635 E. Montview Blvd.
Aurora, CO 80045
https://livingink.co
Specialties: Biorenewable Inks and Pigments
–
