My Bio Ink project requires a different type of thinking rather than my biomimicry or cellular automata projects, it’s more technical and scientific rather than artistic. Bio ink can also potentially be considered biomimicry but I haven’t quite seen the imitation yet. The goal for my bio ink project is to be able to print graphics with a cell-based ink to be able to grow plant sculptures. The artistic part is to design the sculpture in a 2D program such as indesign, illustrator or canva and then have it grow vertically as a normal plant. This potentially might be a better method for the 3D printer but I haven’t gotten there yet. I’ve been doing some researching and studying on the manufacturing of ink and what it takes to get the different properties correct. I actually found a patent issued by a company in Keene, NH that details some of these properties.

Making ink isn’t obviously a new concept in the art and design world and actually an ancient process, but to be able to make printer ink at home is relatively new. With the literature available today and some understanding and interpretation it wouldn’t be that difficult. Artists and designers are already swapping traditional printer ink with sublimation ink to convert a desktop inkjet printer to a sublimation printer. So why can’t we mess with the variable here (the ink) to be something else? Other’s have done this with magnetic ink, for example, to make printed circuits at home for electronics. In the case of sublimation ink you’d take refillable cartridges and fill them with the alternative ink. The key component here would be to make the ink have the same properties/qualities as traditional ink. The above graphic is a start of these qualities where the viscosity is important to the type of printer used. Traditional inkjet printers fall under the piezo inkjet, at 5-30mPa.s. Thermal inkjets are thermal printers often used for label printing, the others are kind of self-explanatory. The viscosity range is important so it can flow through the nosal in the printhead properly, otherwise it runs a risk of getting clogged and ruining the printer.

Now that we have an understanding how printer ink is manufactured, the next part would be the bio part. The initial concept of this project is to add plant cells to an ink to see if they would grow vertically, as normally when planted in a soil or water based environment. Maybe I can use my knowledge of hydroponics here and create an ink with the coco peat substance that is used to make grow sponges for hydroponics, for example, create some sort of resemblance to a water based environment since that is what ink is (rather for ink it’s an oil based environment). On paper the design would be in a shape of the coco peat substance with plant-cells in them. I guess you would have to take care of and water these plant designs as normal.

US Patent for Manufacturing Printer Ink

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