Printechnologics Touchcode Recognized as Overall Gold Winner in WSJ 2012 Technology Innovation Awards

On Oct. 15, 2012, Touchcode was awarded with the renowned Wall Street Journal’s Technology Innovation Awards, which honors outstanding technological breakthroughs and innovations. The cutting-edge technology by the Germany-based company Printechnologics is the “Gold Winner” of this year’s awards, being considered the most innovative solution by America’s largest newspaper.

Moreover, Touchcode won the “Wireless” category for enabling a seamless connection between off- and online content. For the first time in the entire history of the awards a German company was recognized as “Gold Winner.”

Scott D. Anthony, managing director of Innosight Ventures and one of the jury members, was quoted by Wall Street Journal as saying that innovation “used to be isolated to pockets like Silicon Valley or a very small number of operating companies. Today, innovation can come from anywhere.”

In total, the Wall Street Journal received 536 applications by international organizations and innovative start-ups from more than two dozen countries. After a first review by a team of editors, 172 pre-selected applications were carefully examined by an independent panel of judges which chose the winners and runners-up.

The Technology Innovation Awards honor innovations which break with conventional processes, go beyond marginal improvements of existing technologies and are considered to have a broad impact.

This year, the invisible printed data tag Touchcode, which seamlessly links printed products and digital content, fully convinced the jury. The technology enables publishers as well as consumer-product companies or event promoters to include invisible codes on printed items that can be read instantly on smartphones, tablets or information displays.

There is just one requirement: the device must have a capacitive touchscreen. After placing the Touchcode-embedded product on the display, the code unlocks the correlating content in a mobile app or on a special website – similar to a key. Subsequently, the device automatically displays the correlating content like videos, games, recipes or any other digital feature.

The simplicity of the new technology impressed the independent panel of judges from venture-capital firms, universities and organizations in particular. Wall Street Journal quoted Technology Innovations Awards judge William Webb, chief technology officer of the UK start-up Neul, as saying, “It does look very novel. Much simpler than using a camera.”

“We are very proud that the Innovation Technology Awards jury has honored Touchcode as ‘Gold Winner.’ This award is one of the most important and prestigious prizes for innovative technologies and proves once more the great potential the Touchcode technology offers. Moreover, it encourages us that we are on the right track with our point of view to further the evolution of printed paper,” said Sascha Voigt, founder and CEO of Printechnologics. Printechnologics is a 3M New Venture Company since 2010.