View article

The emergence of the fields of wearable devices, e-textiles and smart packaging brings new requirements on electronics and sensing systems. One or a combination of the following properties can be desired for their proper operation and to meet the functionalities required by the application in order to improve market penetration. Very low-cost, thin, large area, lightweight, flexibility, conformability, transparency, stretchability are some of the characteristics that can be offered by making sensors on polymeric foil. We propose printing processes for the fabrication of these devices to mainly reduce their production cost and to improve the environmental friendliness of their manufacturing. In this communication, we discuss the benefits, drawbacks, potential, and challenges of printing sensors on plastic substrates illustrated with some examples of technical developments performed in our laboratory. We present …