Unless you've been out of the loop for the past few years, you know that in several ways the future of narrow-web converting lies not with pressure-sensitive labels. Nor even with the hot trend toward shrink sleeves, for that matter.

The answer is printable electronics; everything from RFID tags and batteries to OLEDs and smart tickets appear to be the real market for future sales. A recent report from Glen Allen, VA-based researcher NanoMarkets LC forecasts that inks, substrates and other materials used in printable electronics (or PE) will total $1.9 billion in sales by 2010, rising to $8.9 billion in 2013 (www.nanomarkets.net).

The next few years represent a key period for PE business as a whole, NanoMarkets predicts. Crucial materials developments need to take place for future revenue opportunities to be realized for all segments of the value chain, says Robert Nolan, principal with NanoMarkets. Materials and production issues in many ways are the limiting factor for what PE will ultimately enable—namely, electronics anywhere they are needed.

Some high-potential applications for printable electronics have very demanding material requirements. For example, flexible displays require flexible substrates, but they also need inks that do not easily crack when dry. Printed RFIDs will be created on high-speed presses, which places strict requirements on ink viscosity. Such needs will drive both demand and R&D dollars in the novel inks sector.

PE inks already exhibit good stability and performance. Nanoparticle inks have shown good conductivity and curing properties in actual products. However, the growing PE business will lead to new inks with even better performance and suitability to specific applications, NanoMarkets says. These will include inks based on oligomers, small molecules and a variety of traditional metals and semiconductors. By 2010, the ink segment of the PE materials market alone will be worth more than $700 million.

The lion's share of opportunities for PE substrates will be found in plastics, revenues from which are expected to reach $735 million by 2010, Nolan says. This is an area where business will flow to those who can show the best performance in a number of areas, especially flexibility, smoothness and antistatic properties, he adds.

Over the next eight years, expect paper and cardstock to become increasingly important substrates for printable electronics as the technology find its way into smart packaging, greetings cards and other novelties. To make this happen, however, paper manufacturers will have to come up with specialty-coated papers suitable for taking electronic inks.

The rise of "user-friendly" inks and substrates will be one of the most important catalysts that will propel PE into the mainstream printing industry and garner more attention from both converters and printing-equipment makers. In the meantime, firms currently pursuing opportunities include 3M, Advanced Nano Products, BASF, Dow Chemical, Merck, Sun Chemical and others.