Believe it or not, conductive inks and paints have been around since the 1980s when they were used in the manufacture of circuit boards and other printed electronics. But now, innovations in ink composition and manufacturing have opened up a wider range of applications — and allowed these cutting-edge inks to be used in a standard inkjet printer, a boon for production print shops and print houses everywhere.
With the ability to be of use in smart products such as smart clothing and products for the home, conductive inks have the capacity to create new streams of revenue for the savvy print house.
The Why and How of Conductive Ink
The current conductive ink market is poised at $2.3 billion — and growing. Because it is such a diverse product with so many applications, the possibilities for market growth are nearly endless. Most current sales and revenue are focused on the printing of photovoltaics, touch electrodes, heaters and more, but many more products and applications continue to be added as businesses — and consumers — discover the utility and flexibility of these inks.
Conductive ink is an ink based on graphite, silver, copper, or carbon that is designed to transmit electrical signals, making them perfect for printing electronics and capacitive sensors. The ink relies on nanoparticles of metal that, when dried, create paths in the ink. The new formulae are inkjet compatible, allowing these inks to be used in any standard inkjet printer — including production level printers such as those found in print shops and print houses.
Smart Clothing
High tech clothes that have electronic circuitry interwoven in the garment allow it to be paired to a device for programming through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity, although this is not necessary. Examples of smart clothing include socks that can determine pressure areas on your feet during a run, sleepwear that absorbs heat during sleep and uses infrared light to improve sleep quality, and even clothing that tracks wear time and rewards customers for product usage.
RFID Tags and Sensors
Conductive ink is also used in agro-industrial applications and in different industries that use RFID sensor tags such as manufacturing, distribution, and more. Recently, an RFID sensor tag was printed using conductive ink that could be connected to Bluetooth for wireless communications. RFID tags are often used in tickets for transit such as subway, toll paying, and more.
Other Uses
Conductive inks are being used in toll transponders on the highway, in automobiles to embed radio antennae in car windows and to provide defrosting features, seat occupancy sensors, and seat heaters as well as a number of biosensors, large-area heaters, and even OLED and LED lighting.
With all these possibilities, you can see how using conventional printing techniques paired with conductive inks can help your print shop acquire new revenue streams for a sturdier bottom line and a more competitive edge.
Look to Blue Technologies for Leading Edge Production Print Technology
If you are looking to expand your print shop capacity by adding new technologies such as conductive inks to your schedule of services, you need a production printer that can tackle the task at hand. At Blue Technologies, we source the finest production printers with the widest capabilities to provide effortless business flexibility and versatility.
Our range of Konica Minolta and KIP production printers can deliver unparalleled and consistent quality and performance through any number of complex copying, scanning, or printing jobs. And our wide format printer selections allow you to print oversized projects on a variety of media from canvas and textiles to glass, wood, magnetic media, and more.
Open up your revenue stream with the right production printer. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and explore our wide range of high quality, high performance print machines.