Living Ink

Name

Living Ink

Legal name

Living Ink Technologies

Website

https://livingink.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Bio-based Pigments and Printing Inks

NAICS

Printing Ink Manufacturing (325910), Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Printing Inks (IMAEAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Labels, Adhesives & Inks (Wash-Off Labels, De-inkable Inks, Low-VOC) (IMALAMAJ), Digital & Specialty Inks (Inkjet, UV, Conductive) (IMAEAHAI), Carbon Black & Bulk Pigments (IMAEAAAF)

Keywords

• Bio-based pigments
• Algae-derived inks
• Carbon-negative materials
• Printing ink manufacturing
• Sustainable black pigments

Headquarters

HQ city

Berthoud

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Algae Black Pigment Sales: Sale of carbon-negative pigment in dry powder (Standard and Premium grades) and liquid dispersion forms to manufacturers for use in plastics, rubbers, foams, cosmetics, textiles, and inks.
2. Algae Ink Printing Ink Sales: Sale of printing ink products (Screen, Flexographic, Offset, UV Flexo formulations) for packaging, apparel, footwear, and publication applications. Available through direct bulk orders and North American retail via Screenprinting.com.
3. Sample Quantities: Sample quantity orders shipped within the US for testing and evaluation purposes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Living Ink Technologies manufactures and sells carbon-negative ALGAE BLACK™ black pigment and ALGAE INK™ bio-based printing inks derived from repurposed algae biomass waste. Products are sold in dry powder grades (Standard and Premium), a resin-free liquid Dispersion RF, and finished ink formulations for screen, flexographic, UV flexographic, offset, and UV offset printing, serving as a drop-in replacement for petroleum-derived carbon black in packaging, apparel, footwear, textiles, cosmetics, plastics, and coatings.

Product overview

Living Ink Technologies offers a portfolio of carbon-negative pigments and bio-based printing inks derived from discarded algae biomass. The core products consist of ALGAE BLACK™ pigment (available as dry powder in Standard and Premium grades, plus a liquid Dispersion RF) and ALGAE INK™ printing inks (covering Screen, Flexographic, UV Flexo, Offset, and UV Offset formulations). These products serve as drop-in replacements for petroleum-derived carbon black across packaging, footwear, textiles, cosmetics, paints, and rubber industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ALGAE BLACK™: Carbon-negative black pigment made from renewable algae waste, available as dry powder and liquid dispersion. Used to color plastics, rubbers, foams, cosmetics, textiles, and inks.
• ALGAE INK™

Products and services

• ALGAE BLACK™ Carbon-Negative Black Pigment

Quantifiable outcome

• Every 1kg of Algae Black keeps ~3kg of petroleum (crude oil) from being used
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ACTEGAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint development agreement signed in 2024 to develop UV flexographic ink using carbon-negative algae pigment. Collaboration combined ACTEGA's coating technology and ink formulation capabilities with Living Ink's bio-based pigment expertise. Resulted in ACTExact UV Black Algae Ink - the first commercially available UV flexo ink using algae pigment, launched with Waiākea as the initial customer.
• Jet TechnologiescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrategic distribution partnership to introduce Living Ink's algae-based pigment technology to the Australian market. Jet Technologies will distribute the portfolio of bio-based ink solutions for packaging print applications.
• Ryonet (Screenprinting.com)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorth American exclusive retail partnership making Screen ALGAE INK available through Screenprinting.com. Ryonet is an industry expert in screen printing that partnered to distribute algae-based inks to the North American market.
• Earthrise NutritionalscoreOthersCalifornia-based algae farm that provides algae biomass leftover from their natural nutritional supplement production. Living Ink partners with farms to divert agricultural waste away from landfills and repurpose it into sustainable black pigment.
• Colorado State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-party ISO certified team from Colorado State University conducted comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) validating that Algae Black achieves carbon negativity at large-scale production.
• Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic BeveragesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNationally distributed Hawaiian volcanic water brand that collaborated with ACTEGA and Living Ink to bring algae-based ink to scale for wider industry use. First brand to debut carbon-negative Algae Black pigment on labels, setting a new standard for sustainable packaging innovation.
• AGI DenimminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'Algae Alchemy' installation at Kingpins New York, presenting items using Living Ink's carbon-negative Algae Black pigment crafted from algae waste.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Flint Group: Major global supplier of printing inks and pigments for packaging, publication, and commercial print markets. Closely comparable in product portfolio (flexo, offset, UV inks) and serves overlapping printing press customers.
• Siegwerk: Specialist in printing inks for packaging and labels with a sustainability-focused portfolio. Directly comparable in flexible packaging and label applications, and an active competitor for the same downstream converters.
• Sun Chemical: World's largest producer of printing inks (a DIC Corporation subsidiary) offering screen, flexo, offset, and UV formulations. Directly comparable to Living Ink's ALGAE INK™ product line across the same printing technologies and end markets.
• Nazdar: Manufacturer of screen and digital printing inks with a comparable specialty/industrial focus. Directly competitive with Living Ink's Screen ALGAE INK™ in apparel and industrial screen-printing applications.

Broad incumbents

• Birla Carbon: World's largest carbon black manufacturer (Aditya Birla Group) supplying pigments for tires, plastics, and inks. Represents the entrenched competitor whose share Living Ink targets with bio-based pigment.
• ACTEGA: Altana-owned coatings and inks specialist and Living Ink's 2024 joint development partner for UV flexo ink. Operates broadly across coatings but is the most direct industrial-scale commercialization vehicle for algae pigment today.
• Cabot Corporation: Largest publicly traded carbon black producer serving inks, plastics, and coatings. The incumbent Living Ink is displacing with ALGAE BLACK™ as a drop-in replacement across these same applications.

Emerging players

• Stony Creek Colors: US-based producer of plant-based natural dyes for textiles and fashion. Comparable emerging sustainable colorants company; Living Ink's Director of Partnerships previously worked at Stony Creek Colors.
• Colorifix: UK-based biotech producing bio-based dyes and pigments using engineered microorganisms. Comparable emerging sustainability-driven colorant company addressing similar end markets (textiles, fashion).
• Pili Bio: French bio-based dye startup using fermentation to produce renewable pigments for textiles, inks, and plastics. Comparable emerging player targeting petroleum-derived pigment displacement across overlapping applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LivingInkTech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Living Ink