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ZINK bringing printers to your handheld gadgetry

Although you probably haven't shaken a Polaroid picture in quite some time, a bit of that allure is reportedly headed to your handhelds, as Massachusetts-based ZINK looks to deliver a pocket-sized printer that can be "embedded in any device" and shoot out photos sans ink. The sensational sounding product will initially be used to print 2- x 3-inch color photographs, and interestingly enough, won't require a single drop of liquid to form the images. In ZINK's system (another pic after the break), "images are created when a heated printer head comes into contact with a sheet of specialized paper," which is actually a polymer containing three crystalline layers. Varying temperatures and pressure points create the pixels of color, and just in case you figure out your latest printout doesn't showcase your eye color as well as you'd hoped, it's recyclable. The company's first offerings will likely be offered in a $99 standalone format or as a $199 camera / printer hybrid, while the snazzy paper will run you $19.95 for a pack of one hundred, but we're definitely holding off on this here invention until we see just how impressive (or not) the printed results actually are. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via CNET]