At IPI Conference 2025, one topic repeatedly stood out across presentations and demonstrations: the growing industrial potential of high-viscosity inkjet technology. Once associated mainly with specialist laboratory work, high-viscosity jetting is now moving steadily toward scalable manufacturing applications in electronics, batteries, packaging, and functional materials.

Conventional inkjet systems work best with relatively low-viscosity fluids, typically below 10-50 mPa·s. Higher-viscosity materials are more difficult to jet reliably because they resist flow and can destabilise droplet formation. Yet these thicker materials often contain higher particle loading, functional additives, or structural properties that are highly valuable in industrial manufacturing.

Recent advances in printhead design, fluid control, coatings and material formulation are beginning to overcome these limitations.

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Electronics is one of the most dynamic frontiers for inkjet. From flexible PCBs to structural sensors, inkjet enables new form factors, potentially greener processes, and rapid prototyping. Yet the promise of printed electronics is only realized when research transitions into scalable production. At IPI, this theme is amplified by the first-ever OEM Perspectives track, giving voice to those who must integrate printing into real manufacturing environments. 

 

3D AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION

Traditional electronics are flat. But markets — from automotive interiors to wearables — increasingly demand functional electronics embedded into curved or 3D parts. Didier Rousseau, Founder & CEO of KELENN Technology frames this as a complete process chain challenge: surface prep, ink formulation, robotic motion control, and deposition strategies must all align to ensure adhesion and resolution on complex geometries. Inkjet’s drop-on-demand precision makes it a candidate technology, but only when paired with robotics and adaptive toolpaths. His perspective shows how combining robotics with inkjet demonstrates feasibility to integrate electronics into curved and 3D parts.

12 November 2025, 14:55: “3D Structural Printed Electronics: Overcoming Surface, Motion and Deposition Challenges” by Didier Rousseau, Kelenn Technology 

Visitor takeaway: 3D integration highlights inkjet’s potential to move beyond flat circuits into structural electronics for automotive and wearables.

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Inkjet has matured into a reliable, versatile platform. But its real potential lies in the emerging technologies that push it into new realms: nanotechnology, precision optics, and hybrid processes that blur the lines between printing and manufacturing. At IPI, the emerging technologies track showcases how researchers and companies are extending inkjet into areas once considered out of reach.

 

BEYOND THE DROPLET: REDEFINING DEPOSITION

Traditional inkjet relies on droplets in the 1-10 picolitre range, optimized for smooth films and patterned graphics. But many emerging applications require either much finer resolution – sub-micron patterning for displays and electronics – or entirely new material classes such as nanocrystals, conductive pastes, and biological particles. Meeting these demands means rethinking droplet formation itself.

Scrona, for example, is leveraging electrohydrodynamic jetting to go beyond piezo limitations. By using electric fields to draw fluid, rather than pressure waves to push it, EHD achieves feature sizes and viscosities unattainable with conventional systems. This not only expands material compatibility but also opens new scaling paths through MEMS-based multinozzle arrays. Scrona’s approach shows how EHD jetting opens applications for electronics and optics that need finer features and thicker materials.

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Viscosity has long defined the boundaries of inkjet technology. For decades, piezoelectric printheads have been optimized to jet fluids in the range of 8-25 mPa·s. That range has enabled remarkable growth in graphics, textiles, packaging, and even some functional printing. Yet, entire industries remain out of reach because their materials – adhesives, coatings, paints, resists – are simply too thick. The future of inkjet depends on breaking this viscosity barrier.

 

WHY VISCOSITY MATTERS

Viscosity is not just a number. It is the expression of a fluid’s resistance to flow, shaped by its molecular structure and interactions. High-viscosity fluids tend to carry functional payloads – polymers, nanoparticles, conductive fillers, or resins – that enable electrical, optical, or structural performance. But these same properties make them difficult to jet: they resist acceleration, risk clogging, and require careful control of surface tension and nozzle geometry.

For industrial production, this is a critical limitation. Manufacturers who rely on screen printing or dispensing have access to a much wider viscosity window, which allows them to work with richer and more functional formulations. If inkjet is to challenge these incumbent processes, it must stretch far beyond its comfort zone.

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