Cycolor

About Cycolor

In the 1980s, a spin-off from the Mead Corporation called Mead Imaging set out to revolutionize color printing. They developed a technology named Cycolor, an ingenious process that didn't use ink or toner. Instead, it used a special film coated with millions of microscopic capsules, or 'cyliths', containing cyan, magenta, or yellow dye precursors. The process was clever: when exposed to colored light, specific capsules would harden. The film was then pressed against special paper, and only the unhardened capsules would break, releasing their dye to create a continuous-tone image almost instantly. It was a dry, fast, and high-quality photo imaging system with panchromatic sensitivity. The core innovation was an evolution of carbonless paper technology. Despite the brilliant technology, Cycolor faced a significant hurdle: cost. The process was considerably more expensive than the emerging toner and ink-based systems that would come to dominate the market. In 1996, the company, by then known as Cycolor, Inc. and based in Miamisburg, Ohio, was acquired by a Japanese businessman, Yasuhiro Oshima. However, the technology never achieved widespread commercial success. The journey seemingly concluded when Eastman Kodak acquired the company in 2003, absorbing a remarkable piece of imaging history that struggled to find its place in the market.