Autor: Sven

Drupa renews its long-term cooperation with the Media Mundo industrial action group. As in 2011 and 2012, the trade fair will act as cooperation partner of the 5th Media Mundo congress in Dusseldorf on 17th and on 18th November 2014. This year, the congress will focus on the motto „rethink sustainability – economic motivation for sustainable media production“.

In contrast to the mottos of previous years, which concentrated on ecological behavior, one aspect of sustainable media production, the 5th Media Mundo congress will look into an equally important sustainability aspect: economy. Particularly affected by the current economic situation and faced with the challenge of having to consolidate its market position, the printing and media industry is looking for practical measures and the required initiative. The congress is supported by the WWF and the FSC as NGO partners, Antalis, IGEPA and the Swedish SCA group.

Green printing at drupa

Werner M. Dornscheidt, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, underlines drupa’s commitment to this subject: “The issue of green printing and sustainability across the entire process chain will be one of the focal points of drupa 2016. The aspect of sustainability has become a major concern of brand owners all over the world, and they expect their printed communication to adhere to “green” standards. This is a challenge for the industry and printing service providers, and they are well advised not to veer from the path that they have already chosen“.

Meanwhile, green printing has also become an important selling point. In the first “drupa Global Trends Report“, 48 % of all printing service providers reported that they used certified paper to accommodate customer requirements. Another 37 % operate a sustainable waste management system, and 33 % are committed to a certified environmental management system.

Economic production for competitiveness

“Economic production is an important motivation for achieving a sustainable media production, and as such it generates important effects of ecological sustainability“, says Rüdiger Maaß, Managing Director of the association of the media production industry. “Economy is the cornerstone of competitiveness – an issue that has become more important than ever before.“

The 5th Media Mundo congress will deal with topics such as “The effects of process optimisation“, “Energy efficiency“ and “Standardisation“. It will also provide an overview over different ways of thinking and provide some ideas on how to master this change and some answers the question of where this change might lead. International experts from science, environmental associations, politics and the industry will engage in a critical discussion about the current situation and about likely scenarios for the near future. Pioneers of sustainable media production will illustrate practical solutions as well as problems and unexpected challenges that they encountered.

Experts on sustainability

Dr. Daniel Dahm, member of the Club of Rome, has agreed to present a paper on the “The conflicting areas of global overshoot“. 45-year-old Dahm is founding member of the Utopia foundation and the “Oekosoziales Forum Deutschland” and is also member of different non-profit organisations. He has become internationally acclaimed because of his contribution to the Potsdam Manifesto of 2005. This paper explores the root causes of the current crisis and suggests a radical and far-reaching re-orientation for the future of human development.

The congress also presents the following speakers:

• Dr. Meike Gebhardt (Utopia AG): How much sustainability do consumers want?
• Uwe Lübbermann (Premium Cola): Marketing with potential for the future
• Peter Jeschke (GC Graphic Consult GmbH): Sustainability in printing
• Alexander Rossner (zukunftswerk eG): Communicating sustainability (Strategic tasks, practical advice and the argument of “benefit“)
• Michael Müller (IPM): Wasting resources leads to economic ruin (Top ten of the most striking action areas for printing service providers and purchasers of printed products)

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So far, developments in the field of printed electronics have focused merely on expensive high-end gadgets like phones, cameras and wearable devices. But this technique can also be used to make packaging more exciting and functional. What makes a product stick out more than flashing LEDs and displays with additional information? A university project has now found a way to make this more affordable for the broad market.

In order to bring electronics on packaging, they must be produced the way color inks are applied on a package with high printing speed and in ambient conditions. However currently, printed electronics based products are far too expensive for its wide spread application in packaging. The reason behind this is that the integrated production is missing.

At the moment, robotic assembly of different electronic components such as battery, display and circuits are done on one substrate which is manufactured by different producers. Therefore establishment of a new automatic assembly line requires huge initial investment. Few manufacturers are willing to take this since it presents such a new and experimental technology.

The institute of Print and Media technology of the Technical University of Chemnitz (pmTUC) tried to solve this problem and took an initiative to develop cost-effective electronics for smart packaging. Under the guidance of Prof. Arved Hübler, the institute had already produced various innovative products in the past. For example, they reported the first printed solar cell on paper substrate in 2011. In the same year the institute printed loudspeaker on paper.

Now a new project at pmTUC funded by EXIST, a support program of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, has started. This initiative aims to commercialize printed electronics for smart packaging application. To do so, the scientists prints different components directly on one substrate by using only standard printing machines.

So far, the project has brought a spin-off named Saralon. The word itself is a combination of the old language Sanskrit and means “simple” while the phrase “on” comes from electronic combining the approach and the intercultural structure of the project.

The team has already developed different ideas for actual application. These products are currently being presented to companies and are expected to be launched soon. One of them for example includes a printed battery, printed finger touch sensor and a printed display on a package. Whenever an end user touches it, a display will be activated. This can show a text message, a picture or corporate logo.

The electronics can easily be incorporated to any existing package, with an already existing production technique. As the complete compounds are made from environment friendly materials, the disposal of the package is not a big issue. As an additional feature, the special packaging can be used as an anti-counterfeiting device, which is impossible to copy. According to Saralon, the price of the product will be little higher than holograms. The battery is supposed to last for six months.

Another product sample is a bottle label with integrated battery, circuit, LED and a humidity sensor. Once touched lightly with a finger, the sweat activates the sensor, which then sends an electrical signal through the printed circuit to the LED.

A third one works the same way. Only this time, LEDs on the outside and inside are activated and supported by a reflecting foil on the inside. That way the glass packaging on the inside appears to be glowing. All components apart form the LED are very flexible and thin and can therefore be printed on any surfaces.

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