Business Management - Industry Trends

UHF RFID is of interest in the printing of electronics because the antennas are often printed with silver ink today, either by gravure, flexo or screen printing and the logic will be printed one day - all to save cost. It is one of the fastest growing types of RFID because it can sometimes give longer range, better multi-tag reading and so on but it is a long way from being the most popular RFID frequency by money spent and it is the only frequency at which the tag makers typically lose money. This is because they are pricing for high volumes which have

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, CA—A new report looks at print buyers’ interests in and experiences with e-procurement offerings, and how companies are saving money with e-procurement solutions. Titled “The Print e-Procurement Marketplace: 2007 Print Buyer Survey Results,” the report results from the EDSF research grant and mentor program. Among the findings: • Thirty-eight percent of large and very large companies report print procurement savings between 10 and 25 percent, while another 13 percent report saving more than 25 percent on the cost of print when an e-procurement solution is used. • Companies currently using an e-procurement solution undertake more centralized procurement than companies currently

NEW YORK—Looking for a safe investment for your portfolio? You might want to diversify into printing company stocks. The Associated Press quoted a Longbow Research analyst as saying the commercial printing industry may be a safe sector to invest in amid a general market experiencing volatility. Analyst Piyush Sharma, in a client note, said that commercial printing shipment growth is largely stable, “making the group a strong contender for inclusion in a defensive and moderate-risk portfolio.” He added that the graphic arts industry is “relatively attractive during a lean economic environment,” the AP reported. According to Sharma, commercial printing companies outperformed the broader market during the last

It seems that nobody wants to talk about the bindery. . .except perhaps the many NPES member companies that manufacture and market these solutions to the printing industry. After all, the bindery just isn’t sexy like the pressroom or prepress departments. Talk is one thing, but action is more important. Are printers investing in new bindery and finishing technology? If not, why not? After all, many people claim that the bottleneck in the print workflow is the bindery. Nothing goes out the door and gets billed until it’s cut, folded, perffed, diecut, foil stamped, embossed, stitched or bound, stuffed or mailed or shipped to

UK start up company Polymertronics is developing a new nanotechnology that will allow digital inkjet printing and instant curing of flexible electronic components. One application is embedded organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and touch sensitive interactive panels that can be used to enhance poster advertising campaigns. This unique technology will enable the production of advertising posters containing ‘pre-printed’ light displays, with zero lead time for production as the process utilizes existing printing press technology. An enhanced memorable experience can be created by advertising a product through a flashing interactive poster. Lights can be made to flash in any desired sequence and scrolling text displays

While the amount of information that we digitally process ever increases many people still prefer to read from paper rather than electronic displays even though the cost is greater with printing. Many companies are developing electronic paper, which combine the desirable viewing characteristics of conventional printed paper with the ability to manipulate the displayed information electronically. Electronic paper based on the electrophoretic motion of particles inside small capsules has been demonstrated and commercialized; but the response speed of such a system is rather slow, limited by the velocity of the particles. Electrowetting Philips Research in Eindhoven, the Netherlands have demonstrated that electrowetting is an

Overall, Europe may be losing the race for the huge new business of printed electronics and the rejuvenation of society that it will bring. This is despite having far more academic institutions than East Asia working on the subject, the number being somewhat ahead of North America as well. That is a possible conclusion from the new IDTechEx report Organic and Printed Electronics in Europe which analyses and compares the activities of 248 European organizations in the sector. Consider the patents scene. Analyst Cintelliq has issued a report “Inventors 2003-2005” - an analysis of inventors of organic semiconductor patents. See www.cintelliq.com for further details.

WASHINGTON DC—August 21, 2007—The Print Council announced the launch of Print in the Mix: a Clearinghouse of Research on Print Media Effectiveness, a web-based clearinghouse of information and research on the effectiveness of print in advertising and marketing. Published by the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Printing Industry Center and funded by The Print Council, Print in the Mix (http://printinthemix.rit.edu/) is a collection of statistical information and research on all areas of print including direct mail, magazines, custom publishing, newspapers, etc. “This is a very exciting and useful portal into the world of print for all those who study, design, create, evaluate and use

What are the killer applications for printed electronics? Which technologies are soon to be available in the marketplace and which are distant dreams? Is organic electronics the ultimate technology or does it now look as if inorganic and organic printed devices have a place? Are the traditional horizontal transistors the way forward or are the minority working on vertical transistors onto something? What are the crucial manufacturing technologies? The wealth of opportunity Concerning applications, Walt Bonneau of Cubic Corporation will talk at the world’s largest conference on the subject “Printed Electronics USA” in San Francisco, expressing his view that, “Printed Electronics offers a host

AS THE dog days of summer begin to wind down with five months remaining in 2007, printing sales are poised to grow faster than the 3 percent clip of the first half of the year. The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank is now forecasting the nearly 4 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) nominal growth rate that we predicted a year ago. The falling dollar continues to inflate prices in energy and other imports, and earnings growth among companies with foreign operations. At least two interest rate hikes before year’s end are inevitable, which will likely dampen retail sales and speed up mega-merger activity in every