US Research firm NanoMarkets says that the arrival of a broad range of printable electronics technologies are making smarter packaging possible and only printing can deliver sophisticated electronic capabilities to packaging at a price that makes next generation economically viable.
Among the printable devices that will be used in packaging to make products healthier, more secure, longer lasting, easier to use and more aesthetically appealing are RFIDs, OLED displays and light, sensors, thin film batteries and photovoltaics. Smart packaging will account for over $1.1 billion in printable electronics components by 2011 growing to $4.2 billion in 2013 according to NanoMarkets researchers.
NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities created by developments in advanced materials. The firm has published numerous reports related to nanoelectronics, organic, thin film and printable electronics materials, applications and production modalities.
The research company believes that smart packaging will consume $1.1 billion in printable and chip-based RFID tags by 2011 and they will be used in many different kinds of smart packaging including everything from time temperature indicators for the pharmaceutical industry, through various smart packaging systems based on smart labels, to packages used to ship military supplies overseas.
Critical to this success, however, will be printable electronics making good on its promise to deliver an RFID tag for around one cent or so. For this to happen there must significant improvements in the ability of printing machines to create RFIDs in high volume and print them on a wide variety of substrates.
In the past, the evolution of smart packaging has been hampered by the lack of small low-cost power sources. NanoMarkets claims that help is coming from three sources: piezoelectric materials, organic photovoltaics and thin film batteries. As these technologies mature and fall in price, the power will be there to drive lights, sensors, displays and active RFIDs in the latest generation of smart packaging technology.
NanoMarkets also believes that in the future, smart materials will have an important impact on smart packaging technology. Among the potential opportunities are using thermochromic inks to show when an optimal (or dangerous) temperature has been reached, shape memory alloys to control the opening and closing of packages depending on environmental conditions, piezoelectric materials to provide power for lighting and audio features on packaging, and smart adhesives that can be used in conjunction with smart labels to ensure freshness through colour changes.
