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Color Printing Reaches Its Ultimate Resolution
ananyo writes "The highest possible resolution images — about 100,000 dots per inch — have been achieved, and in full-colour, with a printing method that uses tiny pillars a few tens of nanometres tall. The method could be used to print tiny watermarks or secret messages for security purposes, and to make high-density data-storage discs. Each pixel in these ultra-resolution images is made up of four nanoscale posts capped with silver and gold nanodisks. By varying the diameters of the structures (which are tens of nanometres) and the spaces between them, it's possible to control what colour of light they reflect. As a proof of principle, researchers printed a 50×50-micrometre version of the 'Lena' test image, a richly coloured portrait of a woman that is commonly used as a printing standard (abstract). Even under the best microscope, optical images have an ultimate resolution limit, and this method hits it."
I can think of one way their claim can be entirely true, and not just another shortsighted statement like Duell's:
If they make it any smaller, they won't be dealing with visible light anymore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Holland_Duell
Famous statement attributed in various forms to various people throughout history. Duell's actual statement (provided that was attributed correctly) was the exact opposite of this.
This just hits the resolution limit for color printing that includes red. It is possible to make color images with just greens, blues and violets at a higher resolution, it just wouldn't count as full color. Researchers could go to even higher resolutions, if they just use blues and violets, but they wouldn't be able to render a very convincing human flesh tone. Competition will start shortly, for the smallest smurf vision display.
And you are correct. If they printed it any smaller, the colors would start blurring together because of the wavelength.
Here's a picture if you want to see it. Although it is small, fidelity to the original image is clearly low. The technique could use some improving. Still cool.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."