Ntera Prints a Display on Almost Any Surface: "An Irish startup says its can print a display on almost any material through a process similar to printing ink on paper.
Displays don’t always have to live encased in glass houses. Instead, a color screen can now be printed on almost any material — plastic, ceramic, paper or textiles — through a process similar to how ink is printed on paper, says Irish startup Ntera.
The new displays, called NanoChromics, use specially synthesized molecules that can produce images with a resolution equivalent to that of a conventional inkjet printer. The difference is that NanoChromics displays are screens that can be changed electronically, like an LCD, instead of being static images.
“The molecules change color when they receive a charge so it can go from a colorless state to a colored state,” says Chris Giacoponello, vice president at Ntera. “We can manipulate that by putting it on almost any surface.”
Ntera’s displays can be viewed from virtually any angle and under a wide range of lighting conditions, says the company. They also don’t consume much power and can be “tricked” into being bistable, which means they’ll retain their image even when the power is turned off, according to Ntera. On the downside, they are currently able to show only one color: blue.
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