However, photography printing is still very much alive. At the time it was killing off film cameras, Canon announced its new IVY Mini Photo Printer. The IVY is targeted to a young audience. Today, 85% of all photos are taken with smartphones, and IVY is a clear play to put Canon products in the hands of mobile consumers.
The smartphone accessory that lets Instagrammers print photos for lasting memories is poised to be a winner. Gifting a printed photo has a lot more meaning than a Facebook posting. What makes these printers acceptable are their size - they are small and that's all due to a technology called ZINK.
Zink is a 'zero ink' printing technology, originally developed by Polaroid and spun-off as a separate company in 2005. Like Polaroid photos everything needed to produce a great image is embedded on the ZINK paper itself. The devices that use ZINK don't require ink which allows the devices to maintain their compactness, and photos don't need to dry before handling.
With an initial retail of 50 cents per print regardless of quantity the attraction of affordable instant printing is huge.
Canon isn't the only company pushing the ZINK technology, Polaroid, Kodak, HP, and LG are among the global manufactures that also have an array of ZINK powered instant cameras and mobile printers.
In addition to consumers there is great potential for corporate use. The primary business printer market is dying as tablets take over. But, screens can't always replace all images and ones that produce hard-copies instantaneously.
ZINK is going to be big and its use has only, thus far, been confined to consumer selfies - there is much more it can, and will, do.
Best,
Jim Lavorato
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