David Savastano, Editor06.05.19
Displays have long been seen as a promising opportunity for flexible and printed electronics. Most of the focus has been on more traditional displays, such as TVs and smartphones, but there is also potential in the area of large flexible banners. This is an area where TF Massif shines.
Source: TF Massif.
Headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, TF Massif has developed proprietary extra-large area and flexible printed electronic media, including smart electronic illuminated banners and signs. The company is finding success in a wide range of segments, including trade shows and conferences, sporting events, point of purchase (POP) signage in retailers. At the 2018 IDTechEx Show!, in Santa Clara, CA, TF Massif’s illuminated ePosters were a notable highlight; two years earlier, TF Massif captured IDTechEx’s Best Product Development Award.
TF Massif president Judith Stewart said that the company’s innovative technology is the brainchild of thin-film printed electronics pioneer Alain Carel, TF Massif’s founder and CTO, who has over 30 years of industry experience.
“Our story began with a disruptive idea: what if a cost-effective technology could be developed to produce very large flexible circuit boards?” Stewart said. “TF Massif was founded in 2017 to pursue this vision, and has since made that idea a reality.”
What started with a two-person effort in a small workshop in North Vancouver, BC, Canada, has turned into a full-fledged company. Today, TF Massif brings its interactive LED eBanners to market through its marketing arm, CAPTIVA Innovations, which licenses the company’s technology to wide-format print houses to produce and distribute LED eBanners throughout North America, and soon to overseas markets.
Stewart noted that the ability to produce these eBanners by roll-to-roll methods is a key advantage.
“Our unique technology solution allows for the roll-to-roll production of very large yet cost-effective flexible circuit boards using the most prevalent wide-format print equipment,” Stewart added. “This also means that it can easily be produced in almost any size and shape and that a wide range of electronic components can be integrated to produce interactive products that are smart, connected and engaging.”
Another important differentiator is the sheer size of the LED eBanners.
“Our main point of differentiation is our focus on ‘extra-large’ flexible electronics, and that unlike other companies in our field, we are not trying to compete in the flexible digital screen space,” Stewart observed. “We are in a unique niche market whereby we provide a technology solution that effectively enables wide-format print shops to bridge the gap between print and digital to produce innovative hybrid printed e-signage products that are eye-catching and engaging. This allows our printing partners to leverage their significant investments in existing wide format printing and cutting equipment to tap into new revenue streams by offering differentiated products to their end customers.”
Stewart noted that TF Massif’s LED eBanners are market-ready and being produced by Sundance USA, its first manufacturing partner, who is based in Florida. “We are currently in negotiations with several other leading North American wide-format printing companies and plan on bringing on additional manufacturing partners this year,” she added.
Stewart noted that TF Massif and CAPTIVA are reaching a number of markets, and the response so far to the large interactive LED eBanners has been excellent.
“Our main market is the wide format print industry to address the need for illuminated signage for retail, POP, entertainment, trade shows and events, as well as illuminated custom interior decor for high-end buildings, home, cars, private jets and yachts. ” Stewart said. We are getting some great feedback so far and mainly, what we are hearing is: ‘This is so cool!’, ‘Why didn’t we think about it before!, ‘How do you do it?’, and ‘Can we integrate it into our product?
“In terms of end products, thus far, our LED eBanners have been mostly used in the trade show and event space in the form of either extra-large wall LED banners and retractable interactive LED eBanners,” Stewart concluded. “That being said, we are pleased to announce that our interactive retractable LED eBanners will be deployed in 50 retail stores across Canada this summer as part of an interactive marketing campaign. Other applications we are currently investigating include flexible heating elements, large array antennas, autonomous vehicles, interior decor lighting, as well as other electronics that require large area flexible backplanes as well as sensor, LEDs and/or IoT platform integrations.”
Source: TF Massif.
