TechBlick Boston 2025, held 11–12 June at UMass Boston’s Campus Center, convened over 75 tabletop exhibitors in a program rich with data-driven presentations and hands-on demonstrations. After a challenging Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 funding climate, the printed and hybrid electronics community rallied around four imperatives—cheaper materials, cleaner processes, finer features, and smarter workflows—delivering concrete progress and laying the groundwork for production-ready applications.

Market Highlights

1. Cheaper Materials
With silver prices up by roughly 25 percent year-on-year, silver-coated copper and pure-copper nanoparticle inks took center stage. NovaCentrix previewed a beta inkjet formulation (CI-004) that uses pulse-photonic sintering below 150 °C to meet industry electromigration standards while cutting precious-metal costs by an estimated 60–70 percent. University of Massachusetts Amherst and Fraunhofer IAP posters demonstrated copper-rich inks sinterable on flexible substrates, unlocking low-cost options for roll-to-roll production.

2. Cleaner Processes
Sustainability was a priority. Greensource Fabrication showcased a zero-liquid-discharge PCB line with closed-loop water and copper recovery, marrying reshoring ambitions with stringent environmental targets. This approach addresses the need for eco-responsible manufacturing without sacrificing throughput.

3. Finer Features
Hybrid microcircuit printing resurfaced with new momentum. NextFlex presented additively printed low-temperature co-fired ceramic modules for Ku-band phased arrays, while TracXon demonstrated double-sided flexible circuits with printed micro-vias under 75 µm—eliminating the need for laser drilling and enabling high-density interconnects on thin films.

4. Smarter Workflows
Altium’s “Agile Electronics” stack linked its design tools directly with product-lifecycle systems like Jira, allowing cross-discipline teams to manage BOM updates, tickets, and design revisions on a unified sprint board. Early adopters in consumer wearables reported reducing two to three board spins per project, translating into significant time and cost savings.

Standout Innovators

While every exhibitor contributed valuable insights, the following companies caught our attention for their novel approaches:

• TracXon – High-density printed VIAs (<75 µm) for double-sided flexible circuits
• Greensource Fabrication – Zero-liquid-discharge PCB manufacturing line
• Satosen – Stretchable PCBs using liquid-metal channels, showing <5 percent resistance drift after 10 000 flex cycles
• Irisi Light Technologies – Inkjet-printed optoelectronic devices based on nanomaterial semiconductor inks

Bottom Line

TechBlick Boston 2025 signaled that printed electronics is moving from laboratory novelty to manufacturing reality. By embracing copper-rich inks to cut costs, adopting sustainable fab lines, refining micro-via techniques, and integrating design workflows, the community is converging on a mature, production-focused ecosystem: cheaper, cleaner, finer, smarter.

— BotFactory