David Savastano, Editor03.02.11
In October 2008, Esquire magazine created a unique cover to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The cover, utilizing technology from E Ink, featured a flashing display screen, batteries and electronics. As a result, the Esquire cover brought increased interest in the possibilities of printed electronics .
In February 2011, a new cover project has captured the potential of printed electronics. Developed in conjunction with Cal Poly State University, Canvas magazine brought together a large number of industry leaders to create an innovative, interactive cover. NTERA provided its NanoChromics™ systems, which are advanced, fully printable electrochromic materials. Other key players included Ricoh, Fujifilm Sericol, Blue Spark Technologies (which supplied the batteries) and DuPont Teijin Films.
The project was a screenprinted 10-color process, although the actual color stations were set up to use specialized systems. NTERA’s ink systems were utilized on six of the stations.
Dr. David Corr, NTERA’s CEO, said that the Canvas project came together quickly.
“The Canvas project actually had a very aggressive timeline for us, being in the works for only three to four months,” said Dr. Corr. “We had previously promoted our Ink Systems as being available in late 2009 and had already tested and incrementally improved the system for use in this kind of application. Having sold several Ink Systems as trial kits, we therefore had a lot of practical partnership arrangements in place that enabled us to pull together to make this happen.
“NTERA became involved after being contacted by Dr. Malcom Keif at the California Polytechnic University and we proposed some ideas between us for the project, eventually settling on the maze concept,” Dr. Corr added. “From that point forward it was agreeing budget and co-opting our partners to be involved.”
To Dr. Corr, the key was to make the cover fully printable, both for cost reasons as well as to showcase what can be accomplished using printed electronics technology.
“Our vision of printed electronics as it relates to our display is to have a truly all-printed display,” Dr. Corr said. “I believe we have achieved this in the first releases of our products, IS3 and IS4 ink systems. We felt that by not having something that was truly all-printed, we would be impeded by cost as a potential continuous process would be interrupted by batch processing. In addition, we have always felt that by not having something all-printed, this would be a barrier to uptake by printers.
“There was therefore very little adaptation of NanoChromics for the form factor required of this project, as it could be directly printed on to the same substrate that the graphic inks had been printed onto,” Dr. Corr added. “The only attached part onto the substrate was Blue Spark Technologies' battery.”
Cal Poly designed the project, and NTERA provided the electrochromic inks and expertise in that field.
“The design was put together by the team at Cal Poly, and we worked together to have this design implemented according to our NCD™ design rules,” Dr. Corr said. “We provided the NanoChromics inks and design and technical support, and the displays and graphic inks were printed at Sical on a web-fed flat bed screenprinting press. The sheet was then laminated on a converting line at Baril Corporation and the Blue Spark batteries in this case were attached by hand, though there is automated equipment available now to do that process. In short, the majority of processes used to make this cover where standard graphic and CAD design, web-fed printing and converting processes that the industry uses on a daily basis. We have innovated at the materials level and leveraged existing processes to complete that loop.”
Dr. Corr said there were some interesting challenges NTERA was able to overcome for the project.
“New processes, however seemingly simple, always throw up new challenges,” Dr. Corr noted. “Most process engineers live by the mantra ‘The Devil is in the Details’ - our project was no exception and we gained exceptional learning. However, we were already familiar with many of the process parameters from previous trials and other projects so we were able to overcome those challenges and get a very good yield of displays.
“The other challenges were all execution-based,” Dr. Corr addled. “There was a tight timeline and we were making a very new product for the first time, and deadlines are deadlines. One of the most satisfactory outcomes of the project was the practical implementation and coordination of a real supply chain and making product with reasonable commercial volume. Dealing with the logistics and planning gives us tremendous confidence that this kind of product is now viable and more than a technological curiosity, it is a commercial reality.”
Dr. Corr said that this project showcases the capabilities of printed electronics, and answers the questions surrounding the actual ability to commercially manufacture printed electronics systems.
“The practicalities associated with bringing together the supply chain and executing in real manufacturing facilities demonstrates that we can produce at commercial volume,” Dr. Corr said. “Previous implementations of interactive media on magazines were too expensive to implement on a continuous basis, though they demonstrated the art of the possible.
“Using this process and this technology, we believe that we have just demonstrated the art of the practical, i.e., this is a commercially viable process and very nicely integrates traditional media with printed electronics,” Dr. Corr concluded. “The challenge is now for the creative people in the industry to take this example and innovate. We believe that the current implementation can be added to the creative artist's tool box now as something to consider to add another dimension to printed media, and I also believe as the technology evolves, the integration of other printed electronic components, resistors, diodes, logic and memory will add further functionality.”
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The project was a screenprinted 10-color process, although the actual color stations were set up to use specialized systems. NTERA’s ink systems were utilized on six of the stations.
Dr. David Corr, NTERA’s CEO, said that the Canvas project came together quickly.
“The Canvas project actually had a very aggressive timeline for us, being in the works for only three to four months,” said Dr. Corr. “We had previously promoted our Ink Systems as being available in late 2009 and had already tested and incrementally improved the system for use in this kind of application. Having sold several Ink Systems as trial kits, we therefore had a lot of practical partnership arrangements in place that enabled us to pull together to make this happen.
“NTERA became involved after being contacted by Dr. Malcom Keif at the California Polytechnic University and we proposed some ideas between us for the project, eventually settling on the maze concept,” Dr. Corr added. “From that point forward it was agreeing budget and co-opting our partners to be involved.”
To Dr. Corr, the key was to make the cover fully printable, both for cost reasons as well as to showcase what can be accomplished using printed electronics technology.
“Our vision of printed electronics as it relates to our display is to have a truly all-printed display,” Dr. Corr said. “I believe we have achieved this in the first releases of our products, IS3 and IS4 ink systems. We felt that by not having something that was truly all-printed, we would be impeded by cost as a potential continuous process would be interrupted by batch processing. In addition, we have always felt that by not having something all-printed, this would be a barrier to uptake by printers.
“There was therefore very little adaptation of NanoChromics for the form factor required of this project, as it could be directly printed on to the same substrate that the graphic inks had been printed onto,” Dr. Corr added. “The only attached part onto the substrate was Blue Spark Technologies' battery.”
Cal Poly designed the project, and NTERA provided the electrochromic inks and expertise in that field.
“The design was put together by the team at Cal Poly, and we worked together to have this design implemented according to our NCD™ design rules,” Dr. Corr said. “We provided the NanoChromics inks and design and technical support, and the displays and graphic inks were printed at Sical on a web-fed flat bed screenprinting press. The sheet was then laminated on a converting line at Baril Corporation and the Blue Spark batteries in this case were attached by hand, though there is automated equipment available now to do that process. In short, the majority of processes used to make this cover where standard graphic and CAD design, web-fed printing and converting processes that the industry uses on a daily basis. We have innovated at the materials level and leveraged existing processes to complete that loop.”
Dr. Corr said there were some interesting challenges NTERA was able to overcome for the project.
“New processes, however seemingly simple, always throw up new challenges,” Dr. Corr noted. “Most process engineers live by the mantra ‘The Devil is in the Details’ - our project was no exception and we gained exceptional learning. However, we were already familiar with many of the process parameters from previous trials and other projects so we were able to overcome those challenges and get a very good yield of displays.
“The other challenges were all execution-based,” Dr. Corr addled. “There was a tight timeline and we were making a very new product for the first time, and deadlines are deadlines. One of the most satisfactory outcomes of the project was the practical implementation and coordination of a real supply chain and making product with reasonable commercial volume. Dealing with the logistics and planning gives us tremendous confidence that this kind of product is now viable and more than a technological curiosity, it is a commercial reality.”
Dr. Corr said that this project showcases the capabilities of printed electronics, and answers the questions surrounding the actual ability to commercially manufacture printed electronics systems.
“The practicalities associated with bringing together the supply chain and executing in real manufacturing facilities demonstrates that we can produce at commercial volume,” Dr. Corr said. “Previous implementations of interactive media on magazines were too expensive to implement on a continuous basis, though they demonstrated the art of the possible.
“Using this process and this technology, we believe that we have just demonstrated the art of the practical, i.e., this is a commercially viable process and very nicely integrates traditional media with printed electronics,” Dr. Corr concluded. “The challenge is now for the creative people in the industry to take this example and innovate. We believe that the current implementation can be added to the creative artist's tool box now as something to consider to add another dimension to printed media, and I also believe as the technology evolves, the integration of other printed electronic components, resistors, diodes, logic and memory will add further functionality.”
