Zink Imaging to buy Konica Minolta manufacturing plant

According to a press release, Zink Imaging will hire and leverage the expertise of the (currently approximately 60) employees to manufacture Zink paper – an advanced composite material with dye crystals embedded inside and a protective polymer overcoat layer outside. The Zink-enabled printers use heat to activate and colorize these dye crystals to form a permanent color image. Zink Imaging was founded by Robert D. White, who bought the Zink technology formally known under the name “Opal” from Polaroid. Wendy Caswell, President & CEO of Zink Imaging, commented: “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." Bob Harris, President of Konica Minolta Manufacturing USA, told “The Business Journal” that Zink also plans to manufacture normal inkjet paper and other digital imaging products at the plant once it takes over. The financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by July 2, 2007, were not disclosed.