Printing Equipment for Printed Electronics

First was the significant investment from the materials community but now the equipment supply sector for printed electronics and allied topics has turned its attention to addressing the manufacturing need within printed electronics. Around 100 players are now involved in the equipment and consumable supply for printed electronics, growing rapidly. This article explores some of the trends and key players. Despite the intense focus on inkjet printing and high volume flexo and gravure printing, these printing types are mainly used in R&D and pilot production rather than manufacturing commercial products. Indeed, the majority of products that use printed functional inks are printed by screen printing. Coming second is coating - slot die coating - which is used in processes such as electrophoretic film manufacture and super capacitors and batteries.