Zink to Buy KMMU Plant

Waltham, Mass.-based Zink Imaging, developer of "zero ink" technology that enables printing of color images and photos without ink, ribbons or toner from mobile electronic devices, announced today it will buy a Whitsett, N.C., facility owned by Konica Minolta Manufacturing USA Inc. (KMMU) in which it will make paper for use in its printers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The site is a coating and chemical mix facility originally built in 1989 for the production of Konica Minolta imaging products. The manufacturing facility had been preparing to shut down, according to the areaweekly <i>The Business Journal of the Triad Area.</i> Zink Imaging said it will hire the KMMU employees now working there to assist in the manufacturing of its paper -- an advanced composite material with dye crystals embedded inside and a protective polymer overcoat layer outside.

Before printing, the embedded dye crystals are clear, so the paper looks like regular white photocopy paper, the company said. A Zink-enabled printer uses heat to activate and colorize these dye crystals. Zink said its products, which will integrate the printers in cell phones and other devices, are expected to be available late this year.

“We are quite pleased to be able to extend our manufacturing operations beyond our headquarters in Massachusetts to the Konica Minolta facility in North Carolina,” said Wendy Caswell, president & CEO of Zink Imaging. “The Konica Minolta manufacturing site is synergistic with our existing operations, which made the decision to purchase the facility a natural one.”

For more information, visit: www.konicaminolta.com