Printed Electronics Forecasts
Markets in 2009
Currently there are three main ways the technology is being applied, as shown in the following image. There are applications where companies intend to compete on cost, such as replacing the silicon chip in an RFID tag to reach lower price points enabling much higher numbers of items that can be tagged; those that compete on other benefits such as flexibility or robustness, such as those involved in flexible e-book readers that intend to sell these as a premium over rigid versions. In both cases, creative product design is needed. We also see that printed electronics know-how is being used in conventional electronics manufacture to reduce the cost, such as the move to inkjet printing of conductors enabling smaller circuits compared to etched versions.