Global market for printed electronics to reach $12.6 billion in 2016

MONTREAL, CANADA: ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announced the availability of a new report entitled "Printed Electronics: The Global Market".

According to a new technical market research repor, the global market for printed electronics was valued at nearly $3.5 billion in 2011 and is expected to increase to $12.6 billion in 2016, a five-year CAGR of 29.4 percent.

The market for printed electronics can be broken down into five segments: optoelectronics, energy, sensors, radio frequency, and other. The optoelectronics segment accounted for nearly $2.3 billion in 2011 and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 31.6 percent to reach $8.9 billion in 2016. The energy segment accounted for $525 million in 2011 and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 22.8 percent to reach nearly $1.5 billion in 2016.

The segment made up of sensors, worth $145 million in 2011, is projected to experience a CAGR of 40.4 percent to reach a value of nearly $794 million in 2016. The radio frequency segment was valued at $35.3 million in 2011 and should reach nearly $152 million in 2016, a CAGR of 33.9 percent. The other segment was worth $518 million in 2011 and, by 2016, should be worth nearly $1.3 billion, a CAGR of 20 percent.

Printed electronics represent a growing technology for fabricating electronic devices on materials such as paper, plastic, and textiles using electrically functional inks in combination with standard printing processes such as screen printing, offset Lithography, and ink-jet printing. Printed electronics are steadily proving that they have the potential to bring about a revolution in electronic applications.

Today, the potentially revolutionary character of printed electronics lies not only in its low cost, ease of manufacturing, and small size and light weight. It also lies in the ability of printed electronics to facilitate applications that are not feasible or are uneconomical with conventional silicon-based electronics. Flexible displays, smart labels, and animated signage are examples of such applications. Therefore, printed electronics has not only enhanced existing markets but is also creating new market opportunities.