Printed Electronics: Just Another Disruptive Technology, or A Sterling Business Opportunity?

  In general companies in the printing industry have not been good at branching out into new markets. If one looks at the latest digital printing technologies the major acceptance of these has not been by existing printing companies, but by entrepreneurs and companies from outside the printing industry.

  For example few commercial printers have invested in super-wide format inkjet printers for the poster, signage, point-of-sale and other markets. The same can be said of digital color presses. Most buyers of these have come from service bureaus, direct mail companies and IT based organizations. It is only in recent years that commercial printers have invested in this technology, and that was largely because of pressure from their customers.

  Most commercial printers, whether they are offset, flexo, gravure or screen, are very reluctant to move in to new technologies or even new markets they don't understand. If they do make the move they tend to move late in the day when markets have already been established.

  Glimmerings at Print 05

  One new market that is causing great interest is printed electronics. Most printers don't know what this is. I have to say I know very little about it, but I am rapidly trying to find out what it offers to the printing industry. At Print 05 there were a few companies hidden away in a special area of one hall showing certain printed electronics capabilities. This area, billed as the RFID Pavilion, highlighted potential applications of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to tag and label production. There was also a session at the Print 05 seminars run by Michael Kleper of RIT. The definition of this session was as follows:

  Printed Electronics and RFID Are Coming

  Batteries, computer circuitry, flexible viewing screens and other electronics are being printed. Yes, printed. What will printed electronics mean to the commercial printer? Can printed electronics cause a redefinition of the printing industry, or will it require a complete retooling? Who will control the future of printed electronics-the printing industry or the electronics industry? All of this and more will be addressed in this thought provoking session.

  What You Will Learn

  What printing processes might be applied for the printing of electronics
  What kind of devices might printed electronics enable
  What can the history of the UPC (universal product code) can teach us about the likely future of RFID
  What market forces are at work to push printed electronics forward rapidly
  Will printers be prepared for a new manufacturing model, and what can they do to prepare

  How realistic is printing electronics today, and is it relevant for commercial printers to get into? At this time I don't know and I'm not really sure if anyone really knows. What is happening is a new disruptive technology is emerging and this is the ability to print electronics and electronic components, using inks and conventional printing techniques.

  The new technology potentially allows for printing a range of electronic components using organic semiconductors, which are special plastics that can be used to make transistors or other components. Unlike silicon based semiconductor products that have to be etched, organic semiconductors can be added to a substrate in order to build up a component. Using printing allows for such devices to be produced in volume and at very low cost. As well as organic semiconductors, work is also proceeding on non-organic metallic based inks that can be printed to build up components.

  Panacea for Packaging?

  There are already developments, but they are very highly specialized and not in areas where commercial printers could have an interest: for example, in printing electronic displays using unique inkjet and other technologies. The real interest for printers may be potential future applications of RFID tagging. In the longer terms one potentially sees such devices being printed directly onto packages. This may lead to identifiable cartons for inventory and distribution tracking or to tags replacing barcodes for consumer goods or even foods.

  If this comes about the opportunities will be huge, but will they be opportunities that are suitable for existing commercial printers? Will this industry miss out again on major evolving markets that require different business approaches?

  Just after IPEX, where no doubt there will be some limited showing of current printed electronics, I am planning to try to find out more of the realities of the future of printed electronics. I will probably be retired from this industry before the use of printed electronics really happens, but things move quickly these days. In April I will attend a conference organized by IDTechX on Printed Electronics at Churchill College at Cambridge University in the UK. There are also similar upcoming conferences on this subject in the US, including RFID Smart Labels USA 2006 and To find out more, I would suggest you follow one of these links.