Printing circuits using commercial inkject printers is something that is becoming more and more convenient and affordable day by day. In their 2014 paper Instant inkjet circuits: lab-based inkjet printing to support rapid prototyping of UbiComp devices Prof. Kawahara and others showcased several applications from touch sensors to capacitive liquid level sensors. If you are interested in trying this out (I am sorely tempted), then checkout this Instructable.com: Print Conductive Circuits With an Inkjet Printer post that walks you through how to modify your printer.
The Ink to print these circuits is available for purchase online at novacentrix.com. You need the following to start printing circuits:
- A low-cost printer such as EPSON WF 2010
- Printing substrates like PET and glossy paper
- Oven or hot plate for sintering & drying the ink
- Empty refillable cartridges
A good area for experimentation would be for wearable circuits on clothing and other such places. But there are a ton of other applications especially in the embedded electronics market.
Well this is all for now. Will write more later.
Thanks to Hackernews: Rapid Prototyping with a $100 Inkjet Printer for the link.
– Suramya