Living Ink is on a mission to make pigments and inks more sustainable by transforming waste from algae grown in the United States into renewable, value-added colour solutions. Based in Colorado, Living Ink collaborates with global companies, including Patagonia, to integrate carbon-neutral pigments and bio-based inks into their supply chains. The US company's two product lines, Algae Black pigments and Algae Ink printing inks, provide safer, climate-friendly solutions for various sectors, from packaging to footwear, textiles to cosmetics, and paints.
The production process is straightforward. Algae are cultivated on a large-scale using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. The raw pigment derived from the algae is purified using a proprietary technology and processed into a finished ink with characteristics similar to those of conventional carbon black ink. The final product can be used for standard printing techniques, including offset, flexography, and screen printing.
As Devon Murrie, the company’s Director of Partnerships & Strategic Growth, explains, “the Living Ink process diverts algal waste from landfills, where they decompose and release greenhouse gases, and transforms it into black pigment particles that can sequester carbon for hundreds of years”.
Living Ink is in the final stages of planning to design and construct an on-site pyrolysis demonstration plant to vertically integrate the thermal processing of biomass inputs. The on-site facility will substantially lower production costs, enhance supply chain transparency, and further reduce the company’s carbon footprint by centralizing a key stage of pigment processing.
Name:
Living Ink
Website:
Sector:
Materials Science
Plus:
Renewable, carbon-free, and algae-safe pigments and inks
Features:
Next-generation inks and coatings for printing, packaging, textiles, and footwear
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