When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Heres how it works.
TheOLEDpanel in your next monitor, and TV could be made by an inkjet printer.
TCL has officially begun mass-production of inkjet-printed OLED panels.
TCL also unveiled a prototype 27-inch inkjet-printed OLED panel for monitors.
Its the first concrete evidence that the OLED panels of the future could be produced by inkjet printers.
TCL has long toutedthe benefits of panels made this way.
The new production method has lower costs and produces OLEDs that last longer and require less power.
What’s new?
Traditionally, OLED panels are made by depositing organic materials on a glass layer through a stencil.
This is achieved by a process of evaporation inside a vacuum chamber.
In contrast, inkjet-printed (IJP) OLEDs use large printers to precisely deposit the material.
According to TCL, this means it can display brighter images using the same amount of power.
That improvement in efficiency doesnt mean IJP panels are brighter, though.
The consumer benefits are instead a potential reduction in the cost of OLED displays.
IJP panels should be cheaper to run and last longer.
Question marks remain over whether the technology can be effectively applied to produce larger panels.
