OE-A Expands Activities in Asia

The OE-A (Organic and Printed 
Electronics Association) recently hosted a Working Group Meeting that was jointly organized by the Japanese 
association JAPERA (Japan Advanced Printed Electronics Technology Research Association) and the OE-A. 
More than 60 participants came to Tokyo at the end of January.

“This is a big deal for the 
international cooperation of this young industry,” Dr. Stephan Kirchmeyer, OE-A chairman and head of the 
Business Unit Functional Coatings at Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG, said.

Thanks to an open 
dialogue with JAPERA, members were able to gain important insights – for example, on decision making 
processes in Japanese companies and on different goals of development. 

The organic and printed electronics industry is able to print circuits on foils, it is able to print solar 
cells, sensors, organic LEDs (OLEDs) and displays of all kinds. 



The focus of the Working Group Meeting was on current trends. High level speakers updated the participants on 
the state-of-the-art of the Japanese market. Additional highlights were company tours of Ricoh, Toppan Printing 
and AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology).

“The two printing firms more and 
more bet on using printed electronics to upgrade their classical electronic- and printing products,” Kirchmeyer said, particularly the further development of displays towards flexible, robust and inexpensive display elements. 

Ricoh employees demonstrated how to integrate printed electronics into mass-produced items. For 
example, antennas can be printed into covers for mobile phones. This reduces weight and saves space as well as cost.

AIST scientists presented their development of 
“super inkjet technology.” With this technique, they are able to print fine patterns. This enables smaller, even more 
efficient circuits that work faster than previous alternatives.

“We have laid the foundation for collaboration and 
the frequent exchange of experiences,” Prof. Toshihide Kamata, OE-A vice chairman, chief technology officer at 
JAPERA and director of Flexible Electronics Research Center at AIST, said.