Blue spark technologies, a supplier of thin, flexible printed battery solutions, and novalia, a leading designer of printed electronics products, have signed a joint marketing agreement to drive the creation and launch of innovative &ldquointeractive printed media&rdquo ipm products for the publishing, consumer, packaging, retail, and other markets including radiofrequency identification rfid tags. The ipm venture is initially looking into specialty consumer packaging and instore retail merchandising displays. The printed electronics can easily and affordably be integrated into standard manufacturing processes and printed using traditional processes, such as offset, gravure, and flexographic printing. &ldquobst&rsquos focus is on the marriage of printed electronics with interactivity and to partner with the best companies in vertical markets. Bst&rsquos largest customer todate is the cryovac division. Of sealed air corp. For turbotag, a creditcard size, 13.56 mhz frequency rfid tag with temperaturesensing and data logging capabilities suitable for coldchain applications. Potential packaging applications include interactive cereal boxes with light and sound from printed displays, adding shelf awareness and encouraging consumer use at home. The idea is to take packaging to the next level using sensory input and responses. The cost of enabling interactive packaging could be in the perunit range of 1 to 4, depending on functionality, such as the inclusion of lights, sound, sensors and displays. Something very basic could be less than this, 2010 will see commercial examples of the technology.
