Printed electronics
Printed electronics is an additive manufacturing technology
It's an innovative and promising technology that offers many benefits compared to traditional electronics manufacturing. Its capacity to produce flexible, cost-effective and environmentally friendly devices makes it an excellent choice for a wide range of applications.
Printed electronics is an emerging technology that offers many benefits over traditional electronic manufacturing. Unlike the production of conventional PCBs or rigid electronics boards, printed electronics relies on advanced materials like conductive inks to produce flexible and cost-effective devices in terms of costs and manufacturing times.
The ability to print on flexible substrates such as paper, plastics, and even textiles, enables the production of lighter, stronger and more flexible devices, expanding the applications in which they can be used. This is especially important in moving applications such as wearables, IoT devices, medical devices and environmental sensors. Additionally, by using additive manufacturing technology, more environmentally friendly production is achieved.
At Rotimpres, we are committed to offering our customers the latest technologies and innovative solutions. As leaders in the printing industry with over 40 years of experience in the graphic arts sector, we have expanded our offerings to include printed electronics.
Printed electronics is also known as flexible electronics, as it allows us to produce flexible and resistant devices, making them ideal for use in harsh environments and applications where devices must be flexible and durable.
Moreover, as it is an additive manufacturing process, it does not waste raw material in the printing process, nor does it require etching or developing processes typical of the conventional PCB or rigid electronics manufacturing sector, which reduces the environmental impact and production costs.
Markets
Benefits
Flexible
Printed electronics allows the use of flexible substrates such as PET films or paper. The inks we use are also flexible, so they fit perfectly on any surface while maintaining maximum performance and quality.
Low cost
Unlike conventional PCBs, devices made using printed electronics can be made using rotary-based machines that print using a reel, greatly reducing production cost for high-volumes.
Light
The substrates used in printed electronics are very lightweight and, thanks to that, can be used for wearables or in places where weight is a critical element.
Sustainable
As an additive manufacturing process, our printing methods reduce environmental impact and production costs by not wasting raw materials. This makes our devices more efficient and sustainable compared to conventional electronics manufacturing.
Robust
These types of materials such as PET are very durable and difficult to break compared to traditional PCBs.
Thin
The standard thickness of a PCB board is around 1.6mm. On the other hand, devices made by printed electronics can reach a thinness of 0.1mm, since the thickness is mainly given by the thickness of the substrate.
Rollable
These devices can take on practically any shape desired, and can even be thermoformed to integrate them into in-mold devices.
Low consumption
Most of the devices made that require constant connectivity enjoy low energy consumption.
Large areas
Industrial printing machines allow for printing devices on small or large surfaces, either in sheets or in reels. Free-form and free-design are key benefits of this technology.