Intelligent inks and functional coatings to develop high added-value products
The printing technologies traditionally used to reproduce texts and pictures have evolved so that they allow to place other functional materials on different formats, such as plastic, metal, wood, cardboard, glass or textile. Aimplas, the Plastics Technology Centre, has implemented a new department, functional printing and coatings, thus strengthening its range of solutions to give added value to the traditional printed product, as well as to develop new products and materials with advanced properties for its printing.
Focussing on new functionalities
The new department is developing its tasks on the new functionalities allowing these technologies, from traceability, monitoring or anti-counterfeiting, to the incorporation of barrier, bactericide, mechanical or surface properties, going through the development of intelligent or active labels and packages.
On the other hand, it is working to develop inks, varnishes, lacquers and coatings in general, with new and improved functionalities and properties. This is possible thanks to the incorporation of polymer matrixes in solution, providing chromo-active, conductive, semiconductor or dielectric functionalities. New devices will be also developed, which indicate time-temperature, coolness, humidity or leakage and innovations on flexible electrical components printing, such as RFID antennas, printed circuits or resistors.