The PrintoCent Pilot Factory for Printed Intelligence Industrialisation, based at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland’s Oulu campus, was opened yesterday. The latest Roll-to-Roll (R2R) pilot printing line offers a unique set of manufacturing capabilities for integrating printed intelligence into everyday consumables and the environment around us.

This new PrintoCent Pilot Factory will serve industry, research, and education. Photo courtesy of VTT.

Founded in 2009 – by VTT, the University of Oulu, the Oulu University of Applied Sciences, the City of Oulu, and BusinessOulu – PrintoCent acts as a centre for business development in Printed Intelligence and provides a world-class production environment with a special focus on R2R and hybrid production, optical measurements, and applications ranging from printed passive and active electronic components to microfluidic solutions, printed indicators, and Point-of-Care diagnostics.

The new PrintoCent Pilot Factory will reduce the commercial and technical risks for participating companies prior to starting commercial operations, and is intended to stimulate both application-driven industry activities and the work of the European COLAE project, a pan-European initiative aimed at promoting the commercial exploitation of organic and large area electronics.

Printed Intelligence technology enables new large area, flexible, thin, and light products to be created as standalone items or integrated into structures such as buildings, packaging, and vehicles; and market forecasts indicate that it could be responsible for an industry worth hundreds of billions of euros in just 15-20 years’ time.

Home diagnostics, distributed and renewable energy, smart packaging and anti-counterfeiting solutions, and interactive user interfaces for everyday services are just some of the application areas that could benefit.

Companies can benefit from cooperating with PrintoCent in numerous ways, ranging from small-scale subcontracting and consulting to customised product development and production services. Photo courtesy of VTT.

For more on PrintoCent, visit the organisation’s Web site or VTT.

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