Since then, there's been little news from Zink, save for the purchase in late June / early July of a factory previously operated in North Carolina by Konica Minolta Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc. We understand that Zink's operation is based around certain technologies developed by Polaroid, and that the company already includes a number of ex-Polaroid staff - now some 60 factory employees from the Konica Minolta operation are also set to be hired by the company. Other than that development though, things have been quiet - at least, in public. Behind the scenes work has continued towards a product launch, and tech blog Engadget yesterday picked up on an update to the Zink website. There's now a little more info on when we should be seeing the first Zink products and what they'll look like.

First up is a combined digital camera and printer. Zink isn't the first company to have tried this - the first such product we're aware of was launched in late 1999. Fujifilm's FinePix PR-21 digital camera coupled 2.1 megapixel resolution and a fixed focal-length lens with built-in Instax Mini printer, and Olympus followed up a few months later with the Camedia C-211Z - also a two megapixel camera, but with 3x optical zoom lens and a built-in Polaroid printer. Both of these efforts were aimed primarily at business use, however, and Zink's design seems much more clearly aimed at consumer usage. Resolution is said to be seven megapixels with a 3x optical zoom lens, and a 2" LCD display looks to consume a surprisingly small area of the camera's lengthy rear panel. Images are stored on SD memory cards, and can also be printed on 2" x 3" borderless Zink paper. Power comes from an internal, rechargeable battery, and there's also a built-in flash strobe.

Unnamed Zink printer camera

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Alongside the combo unit, Zink is also preparing a standalone printer. This has the same 2" x 3" borderless print size, and presumably uses a closely related print mechanism. It also runs off battery power, and is said to be compatible with all Pictbridge cameras and camera phones with wireless connectivity.

There's no news yet on pricing - either of the products or the media they'll consume..

Unnamed Zink standalone printer

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