All Paper Membrane Switch

Printing of electronic circuitry on paper is a frontier being explored by many in the printing industry. The study was conducted to determine if conductive circuitry could be printed on paper with equivalent functional characteristics as traditional circuits printed on plastic substrates. This four week study utilized both UV and conventional solvent based screen printing inks. Ink thicknesses were varied to determine the effect upon the circuit. Paper samples were pretreated with UV dielectric ink to determine if there was any difference between circuits printed on pretreated and untreated substrates. Pretreatment with UV dielectric ink proved beneficial on uncoated paper stocks, but detrimental on coated paper stocks. Many untreated, coated paper stocks yielded circuits with equivalent or superior conductivity to circuits printed on polyester. The final, assembled circuits functioned as membrane switches. Future tests need to be done utilizing other pretreatments and curing parameters to determine the ideal combination of printed layers and materials to produce cost effective and dependable circuits on paper.