New NanoMarkets Predicts Printed and Organic Electronic Signage to Reach $2.5 Billion by 2015

GLEN ALLEN, Va.—Signage manufactured using printed and organic electronics will generate $2.5 billion by 2015, according to a new report published by NanoMarkets, an industry analyst firm. NanoMarkets’ report finds that electrophoretic displays, electrochromic displays, cholesteric liquid crystal, field-emission displays, OLEDs, electroluminescent materials and emissive carbon nanotube technology will impact a wide variety of signage markets ranging from large outdoor billboards to point-of-sale labels. This will offer major opportunities to manufacturers of OLEDs and paper-like displays as well as the materials, equipment and printing companies that support them. Additional details about the report including an excerpt can be found at www.nanomarkets.net.

Other Key Points:

• Conventional LCD technology is under pressure from electrophoretic, electrochromic and cholesteric LCD technology in the point-of-purchase (POP) display business. These new technologies bring the advantages of flexibility, readability in bright sunlight and especially low power consumption. With 35 million electronic shelf labels expected to ship in 2008 this is a highly attractive market and by 2015 NanoMarkets projects that the printed and organic electronic POP displays business will reach $1.4 billion in revenues.

• Reflective displays technologies are already challenging high brightness LEDs (HB-LED) in large area advertising displays. Proponents say such displays make for an easier electronic retrofit for traditional, reflective, hardcopy signs because such signs are usually situated in well-lighted areas. Power benefits are again dramatic, often as much as a 5:1 advantage over inorganic LEDs (ILEDs). NanoMarkets projects that the market for organic and printable electronics enabled billboards and large advertising displays will reach $320 million by 2015.

• At a time when the OLED industry is struggling with active matrix technology, signage offers an attractive alternative market for backlighting and actual displays. Printed OLED backlights are very thin, lightweight, bright, and relatively efficient. They could be the successor to the EL lamp if viable encapsulation technology can be brought to bear and materials and manufacturing costs reduced. OLEDs also offer the essential wide color spectrum needed for advertising displays where superb printed color graphics are the norm. NanoMarkets estimates that the market for OLED signage will grow to around $303 million by 2015.

About the Report

This report analyzes and forecasts the opportunities in signage that are emerging as the result of technologies such as OLED, e-paper, carbon nanotube and other emission devices and EL lighting. It describes the advantages of these new technologies in the signage context, but it also examines the challenges, such as lifetimes for printed electronic signage that has to work outdoors. The report includes detailed (volume and value) forecasts of the printed and organic electronic signage market, broken out by type of technology (OLED, e-paper, etc.), application (billboards, POP displays, etc.) and substrate (paper, plastic, etc.). Finally, the report includes the strategic profiles of firms driving organic and printable electronics into signage applications. Some of the firms mentioned in the report include: Add Vision, Avery Dennison, Dai Nippon Printing, DuPont, E Ink, Elumin8, Kent Displays, Fujitsu, Kent Displays, Magink, Midori Mark, Neolux, Nemoptic, Novus, Ntera, Novaled, SiPix, Toppan Printing, Varitronix and ZBD.