Chennai: In what could be a huge game changer in the printing industry and the related environmental pollution, the Aura Labs team of SRM Institute of Science and Technology has developed a prototype of inkless printing technology machine.
The brains behind the invention, Shilpa Thakur (M.Tech, Robotics, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, SRM KTR) and Shylesh Srinivasan (B.Tech, Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, SRM), plan to float a startup once the prototype is perfected for commercial applications in a few months.
They have come up with a Plasma Carburisation Inkless Printing Technology that can print on paper without using any kind of toxic, consumable and expensive inks or toners. Their Aura Labs team topped the ten teams at the India Innovation Challenge Design Contest held in Bangalore.
The technology is perceived to be very effective in reducing the generation of Plastic and E-waste generated on huge scale from discarded Printer Ink and Toner Cartridges, besides also eliminating the discharge of toxic chemicals contained within them. "We used plasma energy to carbonise the paper surface instead of chemical inks and toners which pose health hazards when discarded," said Srinivasan.
Aura Labs of SRMIST was awarded the Chairman's Award, the first prize at IICDC conducted by Texas Instruments India, DST India, IIM-Bangalore and My Gov India for the Best Innovation and Technological Impact.
Presenting the award, AICTE chairman Prof. Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe, complimented the two proud winners on their innovative effort that fetched the prize from about 26,000 Startup applications presenting 10,000 projects from 1,750 colleges across the country. Ten teams had made it to the Bangalore finals.
