Printed, Flexible and Organic Electronics

This article explores the emergence of alternative conductive inks for printed electronics. The rising cost of raw and bulk silver is causing the inflation of conductive inks that rely on silver flakes as a conductive element, and alternatives such as copper ink and carbon inks are being developed.

Innovations in renewable energy have never been so prevalent, with global decarbonization goals pushing for developments in ways to generate power that have no harmful or long-lasting environmental impacts.

The surge in silver prices is placing increasing pressure on conductive ink manufacturers to develop alternative solutions for printed electronic applications, either with different conductive elements or lower silver content. This article details the technical challenges involved in developing a new ink formulation.

The ability to print electronics has revolutionized the miniaturization capabilities of technology. This article covers how streamlined, discreet, and flexible electronics are creating waves through the wearables and consumer device markets.

Join IDTechEx Principal Technology Analyst Dr Conor O'Brien on Thursday 18 June for the expert-led webinar, "The Silver Squeeze: How Rising Costs Are Reshaping the Conductive Inks Market". Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times in one day.

From lymphatic drainage tools to insulin pumps, the latest medical and wearable devices were showcased at the Med Tech Expo 2026, where IDTechEx spoke with multiple companies making waves across the sector with their latest innovations.

The conductive ink market relies heavily on silver as the conductive element of the ink. With sharply increasing silver prices, alternative inks are coming to the market including low-silver, copper and carbon inks.

Printed and flexible electronics is a diverse sector, accommodating a variety of technologies and applications from flexible batteries and conductive inks to photovoltaics. This article covers wearables, consumer electronics, and energy.

Producing streamlined devices to measure a number of medical biometrics and creating modern and efficient wearable products are some of the latest achievable possibilities with printed electronics. LOPEC 2026 saw companies showcasing their latest printed electronics technologies emerging into the market.