the method described in the scientific reports article &ldquostructural color printing based on plasmonic metasurfaces of perfect light absorption&rdquo involves the use of thin sandwiches of nanometerscale metaldielectric materials known as metamaterials that interact with light in ways not seen in nature. experimenting with the interplay of white light on sandwichlike structures, or plasmonic interfaces, the researchers developed what they call &ldquoa simple but efficient structural color printing platform&rdquo at the nanometerscale level. they believe the process holds promise for future applications, including nanoscale visual arts, security marking and information storage&ldquounlike the printing process of an inkjet or laserjet printer, where mixed color pigments are used, there is no color ink used in our structural printing process &ndash only different hole sizes on a thin metallic layer,&rdquo says dr. jie gao, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at missouri s&t and a coauthor of the paper
