Welcome to my first blog entry for Printed Electronics Now. I see these blogs as an opportunity to discuss issues of the day is a less formal setting. I welcome your input: if you would like to comment, or to offer your own blog posts, please contact me at [email protected].
 
Last week, I wrote a feature on Molex’s acquisition of Soligie in May 2015, which led me to create a slideshow of some of the mergers that have taken placewithhin the last few years. That set me to thinking about the changes in the printed electronics industry over the 10 years I have been attending conferences – my first one was Printed Electronics USA 2006 – and the eight years that Printed Electronics Now has been covering the industry.
 
At that time, the industry was moving ahead, with an eye on a few fields in particular. Organic photovoltaics was seen as a particularly strong possibility for printed electronics, with companies such as Konarka and Nanosolar receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital investments. OLED displays was another area of interest, with Plastic Logic a sizable opportunity, and companies like Samsung and Sony sizing up the market. Companies like PolyIC, Soligie and T-Ink were the leaders in developing actual printed electronics.
 
Now let’s fast forward to today. The OPV field has changed dramatically – Konarka and Nanosolar are long gone – but there remains potential with Heliatek seemingly leading the way. OLED displays are still an interesting play, although role of printing remains to be seen in large scale applications. Today, we see sensors (Thin Film Electronics) and wearables as becoming clear opportunities for flexible and printed electronics.
 
Technology is always evolving, and while some markets change, others emerge. Ten years from now, we will likely see even more changes as flexible and printed electronics move toward mainstream markets.