Inkless Printing for Small Business, SOHO and personal use leverages ZINK Zero Ink® Instant Printing Technology

Today from booth #16744 at the 2019 Consumer Electronics (CES) Show, ZINK Holdings, the pioneer of ZINK Zero Ink® printing technology, announced that Brother International Corporation VC-500W compact color printers, which use ZINK’s patented inkless printing technology and paper, will be available for purchase in the United States at all major online retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Office Depot and Staples starting February 1, 2019.

The Brother VC-500W is an easy and fun-to-use compact, versatile label and photo printer that allows you to print directly from smart phones and tablets, in full vivid color. Consumers are drawn to devices like the Brother VC-500W for quality and convenience. With ZINK Zero Ink® technology the Brother VC-500W doesn’t require ink and allows the device to maintain its compact size; and printed labels don’t need to dry before handling.

For businesses, the printer provides the agility to adapt and capitalize on the spike in flexible packaging. With the Brother VC-500W with ZINK Zero Ink® Technology, users can quickly and easily print amazing full color labels tailored for specific branding, photos, stickers and more, up to 17” long in a single pass without the need for ink cartridges, ribbons or toners. ZINK Paper comes in 5 widths and can be printed up to 17-inch lengths.

All colors required for high-quality photo printing are embedded in the ZINK® paper which is water, tear and smudge resistant and has an adhesive backing that adheres to most surfaces – perfect for creating stickers. The absence of bulky ink cartridges and ribbons align ZINK Paper with the needs of on-the-go smartphone photographers who want sleek, compact devices; all the color required for printing an image or text is embedded in the paper itself.

“Today’s world is inherently mobile, and both business and consumer users want portable technology that lets them capture and share their memories in a simplistic yet high-quality manner,” said Brother Senior Manager of Product Marketing, Bob Brady. “This ZINK-powered addition to Brother’s portfolio is a direct response to our customers’ need for a small, lightweight compact color printer that works in both business and personal scenarios.”

ZINK® is a full-color printing system that eliminates the need for ink cartridges or ribbons - all the color required for printing an image is embedded in the paper itself. The ink-free value proposition enables ZINK to provide full-color printing where other technologies have been unable to meet customer requirements. Over the past 12 months, not only has ZINK’s global marketshare grown significantly, but also the use-cases for its technology.

Brother joins Canon, HP, Polaroid, Kodak, and Lifeprint as anchor consumer brands that leverage ZINK technology in their devices, several of which will be on display at ZINK’s booth at CES.

“Industry innovators like Brother understand their customers want convenient yet high-quality products and the VC-500W is exactly that,” said J.C. Van Dijk, president, ZINK Holdings.

ZINK CEO, Chaim Pikarski added, “We’ve seen the phenomenal impact of tweens and millennials who rely on image-based social media platforms on demand for instant print images, which grows exponentially every day.

“However, it is also important to note how businesses now comprehend and are embracing the utility of instant label printing for an evolving market, which now extends well beyond the selfie generation.”