John Markoff's latest article in the New York Times, on HP's plans for the future of inkjet, show how hard it can be to stay ahead of the future. We've been very interested in the evolution of inkjet from a printing to a manufacturing technology, and Markoff outlines some plans in this direction:
The company, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif., plans to use the technology for inkjet printing to aggressively enter a range of new markets beyond printing, including television and computer displays, printed electronic circuits, automotive fuel-injection systems and even drug delivery for treatment of diseases like diabetes....Beyond printing, Hewlett-Packard has been actively exploring the use of inkjet technology for drug sprays used to treat diseases. Using inkjet systems offers advantages in particle size and dosage control, the company argues. Although the company has made working prototypes, no products or business alliances have been announced.
Another promising area is "printing" electronic circuits. In April, the company announced that it had successfully printed a fully functional transistor, but it acknowledged that there was still significant development work yet to be done to create products.
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