Daan de Kubber | SPGPrints: How do you design a high-performance RFID antenna using only pencil lead and paper?
00:07:05 - 00:08:35
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Summary of the clip:
How do you design a high-performance RFID antenna using only pencil lead and paper?
Sustainable, biodegradable electronics can be fabricated using non-traditional green materials. By utilizing recycled paper as a substrate and a specialized, low-cost functional ink based entirely on graphite and water, manufacturers can produce fully biodegradable and compostable electronic components.
To print this unique water-based formulation, the process utilizes a 75-mesh screen with a 40% open area, which delivers a substantial 60-micrometer wet deposit. Because the graphite-water ink features a very high solid loading factor, the resulting dry film remains thick enough to ensure functional electrical pathways without relying on expensive silver or carbon nanoparticles.
This combination of raw graphite, water-based binders, and paper substrates bypasses the high costs and supply chain risks of precious metals, offering an eco-friendly and economically viable path for high-volume, single-use RFID tags.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Explore the formulation of an eco-friendly, biodegradable RFID antenna ink made from graphite and water.
* Learn the screen mesh and wet deposit parameters required to print thick-film, highly-loaded carbon conductors.
* Understand how leveraging abundant, non-precious materials reduces both production costs and environmental impact.
š **Clip Abstract** This clip explains the technical parameters of printing biodegradable RFID antennas using a graphite-and-water-based ink on recycled paper. It showcases how thick-film deposition parameters compensate for using non-metal conductors.
š Link in comments š
#BiodegradableRFID, #PaperElectronics, #GraphiteConductiveInk, #ThickFilmPrinting, #PrintedElectronics, #GreenElectronics
This is a highlight of the presentation:
Mass-Producing Sustainable RFID: How the Basalt Printer Delivers High-Capacity Innovation
Future of Electronics RESHAPED USA 2026
10-11 June 2026
Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California, USA
Organised By:
TechBlick
More Highlights from the same talk.
00:03:07 - 00:04:37
Why is 70% of the world's RFID manufacturing trapped in an environmental bottleneck?
Why is 70% of the world's RFID manufacturing trapped in an environmental bottleneck?
Traditional subtractive RFID manufacturing relies on fully metallized substrates (often copper or aluminum on PET) where the antenna patterns are defined via photoresist imaging and subsequent chemical etching. Since the physical design of most RFID antennas leaves a very small percentage of metal remaining on the final substrate, the vast majority of the expensive metal layer is chemically stripped and wasted.
This chemical-intensive, high-waste subtractive etching process represents a major ecological and regulatory bottleneck. It is the primary reason why roughly 70% of the world's RFID tag production is concentrated in regions with looser environmental restrictions, as these chemical processes are heavily restricted or banned in Europe and the US.
By transitioning to additive manufacturing techniques, the industry can eliminate chemical etching waste and open the door to localizing high-volume electronics manufacturing in regions with strict environmental regulations.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Learn why traditional subtractive RFID etching generates excessive chemical and material waste.
* Understand the regulatory barriers preventing chemical-heavy subtractive processing in Western markets.
* Discover how additive manufacturing bypasses environmental bottlenecks to enable localized production.
š **Clip Abstract** This clip explains the traditional, highly wasteful subtractive etching process used to manufacture the majority of the world's RFID antennas. It details why environmental and regulatory constraints prevent these chemical-heavy methods from being deployed in Western markets.
š Link in comments š
#AdditiveElectronics, #RFIDAntennas, #SubtractiveEtching, #PrintedElectronics, #FlexibleElectronics, #SustainableElectronics
00:05:23 - 00:06:43
Can rotary screen printing scale additive electronics to match subtractive speeds?
Can rotary screen printing scale additive electronics to match subtractive speeds?
Rotary screen printing offers an efficient, additive alternative to traditional flatbed printing and subtractive etching. Unlike flatbed screen printing, which relies on a flat mesh and step-and-repeat operations, rotary screen printing utilizes a seamless, rotating cylindrical screen with an internal squeegee mechanism that continuously deposits functional inks only where required.
To achieve high throughput and low production costs, this process is integrated into a roll-to-roll (R2R) line where the substrate moves continuously beneath the printing station. Depending on ink rheology and drying/curing kinetics, line speeds can range from 5 meters per minute up to 80 meters per minute.
This additive approach eliminates material waste and chemical processing while maintaining the high deposit thicknesses required for functional electronics, offering a path to economical, high-speed regional manufacturing.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Learn the mechanical differences between traditional flatbed screen printing and continuous rotary screen printing.
* Understand how roll-to-roll (R2R) web processing scales additive electronics production speeds up to 80 meters per minute.
* Discover how localized material deposition eliminates the chemical and material waste of subtractive manufacturing.
š **Clip Abstract** This clip outlines how continuous rotary screen printing functions on a roll-to-roll (R2R) line to achieve high-speed additive manufacturing. It highlights the mechanism of depositing thick functional layers continuously to lower production costs.
š Link in comments š
#RotaryScreenPrinting, #R2RProcessing, #AdditiveElectronics, #FunctionalInks, #PrintedElectronics, #FlexibleElectronics