OLED can be embedded in printed materials

The transformation prospects for OLED lighting remain elusive, but this does not prevent developers from pursuing novel applications because a small Canadian company has announced a flexible OLED material that can illuminate prints in newspapers and magazines.

OTI Lumionics said its "Aerelight for Print" technology leverages new manufacturing processes and materials developed by the Toronto manufacturing company.

The company did not disclose any details about the manufacturing innovation and the composition of the materials.

In the live demo, only Aerelight is part of the latest annual cover of a magazine. OTI Lumionics, Frontier and a Toronto print production company called Flash Reproductions collaborated to embed a flexible OLED panel in a small rectangle that will illuminate when the panel is touched.

This is another example of how flexible OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) can extend beyond the traditional form factor to extend the range of illumination. In another example, the Fraunhofer FEP in Germany presented a flexible OLED wristband and stated that it can be used for medical purposes.

Unlike LEDs that have only a single spot, OLEDs are multiple pieces of material that illuminate in response to electrical current, including a variety of flexible and rigid materials. Although they have made great progress in the fields of cars, televisions and smartphone screens, they have not completely changed the field of lighting that some people have predicted for many years.

OLED enthusiasts say that soft materials will enable designers to create artificial light sources directly into clothing, furniture, walls, bridges, and many other necessities such as print. However, due to shortcomings such as manufacturing costs and energy efficiency lag, the development of OLEDs has been hindered. At the same time, LED developers are constantly looking for ways to embed LEDs in a variety of materials to achieve the same goals as OLEDs.