Printed Electronics

From life-saving medical devices and rapid COVID-19 tests, to dashboards and musical instruments, printed electronics are a high-value opportunity. To exploit the opportunity requires high touch engineering and customer support. Are you up to the challenge?

The market for printed electronics is sizable and experiencing substantial growth. Last year, conductive inks, used for a wide range of applications, generated $2.9 billion in revenue, while printed and flexible sensors came in at $3.9 billion, according to IDTechEx. The researchers project the total market for printed, flexible and organic electronics will grow from $41.2 billion in 2020 to $74 billion in 2030, a 6.0% CAGR. 

Printed electronics are electronic devices produced with digital or analog printing technologies. The parts may be fully functional conductors, semiconductors, resistors, dielectrics and optical materials. Inks with material including metallic conductors, nanoparticles and nanotubes are printed one layer on top of another. The finished parts are then incorporated into larger systems ranging from biosensors and RFID labels to apparel and wall coverings.

Often high-value products, printed electronics require a degree of engineering and technical skill beyond what is necessary for ink on paper printing. The effort requires more time and engineering expertise than many printing companies have or want to dedicate to it. 

One technology provider that is not shy about the market, Avery Dennison (USA), has more than 1,700 RFID patents. In 2019, revenue from its RFID products and solutions grew by more than 20%, generating roughly $365 million. The company is developing a $500+ million revenue platform, which it expects will grow 15-20% annually. In addition to its estimated 50%+ share of the RFID market in the apparel industry, Avery Dennison sees early-stage RFID developments in food, beauty, aviation and logistics.

Printed electronics have been an integral part of the global response to Covid-19. SPG Prints (The Netherlands) manufactures rotary screen presses and mesh screens that printers use to produce a wide range of products, ranging from wine labels to flexible solar panels. Hank Guitjens, commercial manager of Label Printing and Industrial Applications, notes that many clients transition from flat-bed to rotary screen printing by integrating SPG's rotary screen integration (RSI) units on a narrow-web press. 

A pharmaceutical manufacturer approached SPG as part of its quest to develop a rapid response COVID-19 test. Working with their anonymous client, SPG integrated their RSI III narrow-web print unit with the client's manufacturing system to produce the multilayer strips inline (figure 1). One RSI III unit was required for each layer with a quality assurance system between units to monitor print registration and laydown. SPG Print's design achieved higher output and greater accuracy than the client expected, supporting its worldwide roll-out of the COVID-19 rapid response test strips.

Figure 1. RSI III Unit 

Source: SPG Prints

Among the printers who have ventured into printed electronics is Classic Stripes Private Limited (India), a global leader in "surface augmentation solutions" for the automotive, consumer durables and appliance industries. The company provides printed electronics production services ranging from design development to manufacturing in-house. Classic Stripes' offerings include:

• Flexible Piezoresistive sensing solutions for a variety of applications such as force/pressure sensors, touch sensing wall switches and temperature detection sensors
• Ultra-thin and flexible electroluminescent solutions, which include illuminated decals and 3D badging as well as multi-channel programmable signage
• Capacitive sensing solutions for a variety of applications, including instrument/device touch panels

In addition to printed electronics (thin, flexible sensing and illumination solutions, touch interfaces), the company also produces OEM decals, badging, automotive cluster dials and appliance fascia.

Musical instruments may not appear to be a likely market unless you are Tangio Printed Electronics (Canada). Tangio is a global provider of human-machine interface (HMI) products such as labels, membrane switches, force-sensing resistors and, yes, colorful musical instruments such as the LUMI keyboard, which TIME named one of the best educational-tech inventions of 2019.

Tangio introduced its Multi-Touch NEO platform in November 2019. Sensor, hardware electronics interface and firmware make it possible for Tangio's customers to quickly develop and deploy three-dimensional interfaces that detect multiple touchpoints with simultaneous position (X-Y) and force (Z). Existing multi-touch solutions are typically enabled by capacitive sensing that cannot offer multi-finger detection with independent force reported on each touch. Multi-Touch NEO supports use with gloved hands and under multiple cover materials, including metals as well as 3D gestures.

While printed electronics is a viable market for printing companies desiring a more significant share of their existing customers' business or to employ excess capacity, there are substantial barriers to entry, including large and well-established vendors. Colin Page, Development Processing & Design project manager, notes that Tangio developed proprietary production and testing equipment, enabling it to produce as few as 10 parts for its clients. But in the end, as Page said, success in the printed electronics market "comes down to customer service and engineering support."

Successful entry into the printed electronics market will depend on your ability to develop new or leverage existing strengths in:

• Programming software and design for printed electronics techniques
• Ink development, modification and print quality
• Substrate performance and ink laydown characteristics
• Operating commercially available equipment and modifying it as needed
• Test and quality assurance equipment including proprietary tools

Lastly, bear in mind that the large corporations likely to use printed electronics are reluctant to have just one vendor provide anything they purchase. Your operations must have the capacity and ability to quickly recover from any interruption, including having a partner who is available on standby.

Unlike many traditional printing markets, printed electronics is substantial and growing, making an analysis of your near- and long-term opportunities worthwhile.