Offset lithographic printing of nanocomposite graphene ink.

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Offset lithographic printing presses are used continuously to print the high quality glossy colour pages of magazines. Thepresses can have multiple colour print units to allow a vast range of graphics to be printed on cardboard, paper and thinplastics. This project is focused on printing on thin polypropylene sheets which are 1000mm by 707mm and less than 60microns thick. Commercial presses at Nano Products parent company are set up to print on thin plastic to produce in mouldlabels. These labels are loaded into injection moulding die cavity prior to polypropylene melt being forced in at highpressure. When the cavity is opened the label is incorporated into the wall of the injection moulded object. This iscommonly used to brand label food packaging such as yoghurt and cream pots, ice cream tubs, and fast moving consumergoods. It is hoped that the outcome of this project will be a new electrical and thermally conductive offset lithographic inkwhich can be used on the same press with conventional colour offset inks. In the future it is hoped that the printedgraphene features can be incorporated in super-capacitors, batteries, toys and games, electronic anti-counterfeit labels andas the conducting layers in flexible photovoltaic devices and displays. Because of the high quality and speed of offsetlithographic printing there are likely to be significant cost reduction of flexible electronic devices and components, whichwill lead to lower prices. As well as established opportunities there is the strategic potential to print power harvesting, powerstorage, sensing, actuation, display and telecommunications devices on a single flexible substrate to enable new systemslevel devices for logistic, healthcare diagnostics and telecommunications devices to name a few.The collaborative partners are working together to develop a new UV cured graphene ink and to test whether it is feasibleto formulate the ink for high quality, high speed offset printing.