A card made with living ink (Kickstarter video here ).

     Using algae from a lake in California, Colorado State University biochemists Steve Albers and Scott Fulbright discovered an algae-based ink that reveals its message of a span of days. The discovery, made while researching the possibility of turning sustainable algae into ink, will allow for novel ways of communication; such as greeting cards, or save-the-date reminders, that reveal their message after a certain amount of time. Write or draw with the Living Ink, and the lines and images will reveal themselves over 1-4 days.  

     "One of the greatest parts about it is that it truly is a renewable resource," said Albers. We're growing our ink while other people are mining for ink. That's a fun part about the bioprocessing, bioproducts space that we're in; we're using biology to grow a product that people use. We're using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow ink."

     Long term the duo hopes to market the ink as a product that would be perhaps 10 times cheaper than traditional, petroleum-based ink. While the ink currently only comes in green, they are close to "pretty close" to red, and are working on black. 

     For the full article from coloradoan.com click here or on the link available below. The Living Ink Kickstarter is available here for those interested in supporting, or purchasing Living Ink.