Lumi (company)

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Lumi is a Los Angeles-based company founded by Jesse Genet and Stephan Ango that manufactures branded packaging and supplies. The company started developing Inkodye , a reactive photo vat dye that developed its color through UV exposure or sunlight.

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History

Jesse Genet started experimenting with different printing techniques as a teenager in 2004, trying to print photos on cotton T-shirts. Unsatisfied with the screen printing and sublimation of the dye he pursued his research and discovered what became the precursor to Inkodye, a chemical formula of the 1950s owned by a retired engineer. After meeting Stephan Ango while studying at the Art Center College of Design, the couple obtained a chemical formula and began to modernize it.

Lumi launched the Kickstarter campaign in December 2009 to fund R & D technology. The Company raised $ 13,597 and rewarded its supporters with purses, bags and other products printed using the process. The project was an early success for the Kickstarter platform and later won the Kickstarter Best Design Project in 2010. In June 2012, Lumi launched a second Kickstarter campaign with an initial fundraising target of $ 50,000 to commercialize his printing process, Inkodye. The project was successfully funded, reaching over 500% of the initial target and raising a total of $ 268,437. Prizes include Inkodye printing kits that allow users to create personalized photo prints on cotton and other natural materials. In February 2015, Lumi appeared on ABC's Shark Tank and received 2 offers, but Genet did not receive any of those offers.

In March 2015, Lumi announced its new software platform, Lumi.com, to design and order custom-made packaging and imaging tools such as rubber stamps. This service is funded by the company's capital company Y Combinator. Lumi's platform is inspired by the challenges facing the company in producing packaging for Inkodye. This platform is compared to other services such as Blackbox by Cards Against Humanity and Make That Thing! by TopatoCo, provided by a company that also finds success through Kickstarter and sees to simplify fulfillment. and manufacturing for others.

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Inkodye Process

The printing process with Inkodye is similar to other alternative photography processes, although the chemistry is associated with a vat dye like indigo rather than iron or silver-based chemicals used in cyanotype or Van dyke brown that have higher toxicity. Inkodye is available in several colors (red, orange, copper, blue, navy blue, magenta, plum, sepia and black) which can be mixed together and diluted with water.

The first monochromatic digital negatives printed on transparency films generally use inkjet printers in black ink only. Negatives are made into the same size as the final print. Inkodye is then applied to the desired T-shirt or fabric in an undeveloped state. Negatives placed on sensitive cloth and exposed to sunlight or UV rays. The exposure time varies from 3 to 15 minutes depending on the color and intensity of the desired light. Exposure to sunlight develops the color of the dye and ties it to the fabric. The final step is to wash the unexpanded dye using a washing machine and detergent.