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Sea change
Academics can debate the history of screen printing but which ever way you look at it the timeline will be measured in centuries or millennia rather than decades or years. The screen process has benefited from an extremely long development period which is one reason why news of technical innovations and sector growth can seem in short supply.
Worry not, screen development continues apace, it’s just the news is a little hidden. The reason is that screen is such a broad process it finds applications in virtually every area of manufacturing industry. While graphics applications (the general focus of this title) are under pressure from digital printing techniques, screen’s current growth is in advanced technology applications where no other printing process can compete.
This issue highlights one such application: the manufacture of a new generation of solar panels (see page 26). Other growth sectors include medical and electronics, both high value industries.
Given that technology transfer fuels most innovation, I expect to see engineering developments in these advanced manufacturing sectors slowly permeate through to the graphics industry, once again shifting the screen process up a gear.
If my predictions are correct, I expect screen to gain new ground as digital innovation plateaus and the results of technology transfer reach the market. Five, ten, fifteen years? I’m not sure. Will this sea change be driven by Europe, the US or Far East? Keep a close eye on patent applications over coming years and you will have your answer.
Jon Barrett
Editor
