Printed Electronics can Revolutionize Print Media

Digital and electronic technologies have brought a profound effect to the business industry. What used to be a long communication process can now be done in just a matter of seconds. Smartphones, social media, and the Internet have all made the exchange of information as quick and affordable as possible.

 At the same time, though, these modern advancements have brought extensive challenges to the print industry. A lot of printers have gone out of business as more and more consumers choose to patronize modern media. And yet, amid these challenges, the print industry continuously explores new opportunities to create high-value print products. One such opportunity comes in the form of printed electronics.

Several companies are now incorporating electronic functionality directly to printed media as reported in an article from What They Think. Some of these companies are the following.

·         US Home Depot stores introduced this year a smart packaging application from MeadWestvaco with integrated security tags.

·         PragmatIC Printing has included security in its print products which allows consumers to verify a product through visual images that will be displayed when the product is touched or placed near an RF source. This RF-activated security labels makes use of a printed antenna and printed logic.

·         Novalia makes use of design-led approach to create interactive print materials. They have put circuits on several educational books which when touched will provide additional audio files to the material.

Aside from these companies, some of the notable print products that have incorporated printed electronics these days include interactive birthday cards, posters that portray a drum kit, children’s books that have sounds, and an interactive display for the ingredients of a cocktail.

The goal of all these innovations is to make print media more engaging and interactive. After all, printed materials are still worthwhile investments today and they shouldn’t be the backburner of digital alternatives. Companies who can bring new life to print media may find that there’s a lot of potential to print marketing, and printed electronics has the potential to change the way they interact with consumers.