Novel Applications for Print Technologies Provide High Growth Opportunities
Manufacturers are looking for inexpensive ways to produce bigger OLED displays on flexible substrates to use as room lighting. OLED TV displays with 40in diagonal screens have been introduced but movie screens are some way off. Current concepts for largearea OLEDs have reached the limit of manufacturing and quality. Printed OLEDs could be the solution. OLED displays are more energy-efficient than liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which require a backlight, especially when the image content is largely dark areas, often the case with movies. OLEDs offer sharper contrast than a conventional backlit LCD and achieve contrast levels of up to 1 million to 1. With no need for a backlight, they can be made very thin. Manufacturers have already introduced OLED screens that are 3mm thick.