Inkjet & Digital Printing

Kodak and Kingsbury Announce Agreement on Touch Screen Sensors

Friday 05. July 2013 - To be manufactured in Kingsbury facility at Eastman Business Park; Agreement aligns with new strategic focus to meet accelerating demand in dynamic global touch sensor market, leveraging Kodak's materials science technology and silver halide expertise

Eastman Kodak Company and Kingsbury Corporation have entered into an agreement to produce next-generation touch screen sensors to support the touch sensor module market that is predicted to grow to $32 billion by 2018.
Under the agreement, Kingsbury will open a new manufacturing facility in Bldg. 318 at Eastman Business Park in Rochester later this year to produce touch screen sensors utilizing Kodak’s silver halide technologies. Kingsbury will also work with customers who wish to integrate this technology into their own manufacturing facilities to produce sensors.
Kodak will supply chemicals, substrates and technical support, and assist Kingsbury with the marketing and selling of the sensors.
“In Kingsbury, we have aligned ourselves with a new manufacturing partner who will utilize our silver deposition technologies to pattern and produce touch sensor grid films with a high degree of precision and productivity,” said Terry Taber, Kodak Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President. “Kodak has a range of technologies and experience that allow us to partner with companies such as Kingsbury and broaden Kodak’s participation with multiple solutions for the touch sensor market. This agreement is aligned with previous announcements, and is another major step forward for Kodak’s functional printing initiative, which represents a key growth area for Kodak.”
“The new manufacturing and marketing partnership between Kingsbury and Kodak represents a major milestone in the scale-up, commercialization and roll-out of touch sensor films to meet the growing global demand for these products,” said Bill Pollock, Kingsbury President and Chief Executive Officer.
Kingsbury, a century-old builder of high speed assembly machines, will work in conjunction with Optimation Technology, Inc., a world class designer of roll-to-roll web based manufacturing systems for the design and implementation of the touch sensor manufacturing plant.
Touch sensors manufactured by Kingsbury will be based on a roll-to-roll manufacturing process. Compared to the traditional film-based Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) touch sensor solutions, the advantages of this new process include lower production costs due to fewer manufacturing steps and lower resistance for improved touch response. The attributes of these sensors address the requirements for multiple form factors and compatibility with flexible applications.
“Leveraging Kodak’s silver halide technology for new applications will play a vital role in the rapid scale-up of touch sensor production,” Pollock said. “Kodak’s unparalleled materials science expertise, coupled with its thin film deposition technology, allows us to leverage the materials, facilities and technical support needed to hit the ground running for the production of alternative touch sensor solutions for the printed electronics industry.”