Living Ink is a biomaterials company on a mission to use sustainable algae technologies to replace petroleum-derived products, such as ink. Currently, the majority of pigments used within industry are derived from petroleum, such as carbon black.
We are changing the way pigments are made by using algae as colorants for ecofriendly Algae Ink™ products. We are commercializing the a black algae-based pigment that has a negative carbon footprint, bio-based, resistant to UV-light exposure and is safe. Scott and Steve met when they were PhD students in the Cell and Molecular Biology Program at Colorado State University.
They were both researching algae projects related to biofuels and bioproducts. In 2013, it was brought to their attention that the majority of printing ink used in the world are produced from toxic petroleum products. This inspired them to use algae as biopigments to develop the world’s most sustainable ink. The company has raised $1.5M from the National Science Foundation. The company was received numerous honors from the U.S. Department of Energy, University of Colorado, Colorado State University, Biofuels Digest and Hello Tomorrow Challenge.
