Issue #13 Printing and Graphics Science Group Newsletter

By Roy Gray

Exciting new developments are taking place in graphic arts technology and printing applications. This issue includes 2 reports (Advances in Printing Technologies & Advances in Security Printing) from the IS&T Printing for Fabrication conference held in Dresden in September 2018 and on the 15th International Conference on Web Handling held at Oklahoma State University in June 2019. There us also a report from the PGS Student Conference held in January 2019 at FFEI Ltd in Hemel Hempstead, UK.

The digital revolution initiated a whole range of new ways of reproducing and displaying images and information: physics is involved in forming and measuring the image and how it is perceived. Inkjet and other printing and deposition processes are being used in many novel applications such as visual displays, flexible electronics, smart packaging, lighting and photovoltaics based on organic and polymer electro-optic materials. Physicists are actively involved in developing the processes, designing and characterising the products, and developing the new materials.

The UK has a world-leading position in these technologies, and the Printing and Graphics Science Group promotes the application of physics in these fields. We will bring together scientists working in industry, academy and elsewhere, and develop links with other active professional societies, such as the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, Institute of Paper, Printing and Publishing, Royal Society of Chemistry, Royal Photographic Society and the Colour Group. Research in our areas is multi-disciplinary, often carried out in departments not called “physics”, by scientists whose original discipline is often not physics. Our activities include this wider community, wherever physics is being developed and brought to bear.

This newsletter, #13, was edited by Roy Gray and formatted as an Ebook by Roy Gray for The Printing and Graphics Science (PGS) Group of The Institute of Physics (IOP). Sevenearlier editions #12, #11, #10, #9, #8, #7 & #6, were published as E books.

The PGS Group is affiliated to the Applied Physics and Technology Division of the Institute of Physics. This ensures strong links with IOP Groups in related subject areas, such as Polymer Physics, Materials and Characterisation, Engineering Physics, Tribology, and Ion and Plasma Surface Interactions. We participate in the Division Conference, as well as maximising the opportunities for joint meetings with other Groups. The PGS Group is a relaunch and renaming of the Printing, Packaging and Papermaking (PPP) Group, which was formed in 1985 to promote physics in these subject areas. We maintain an interest in the manufacture and properties of paper as a key substrate for printing, and in the physics of packaging.

Our objectives are:

To promote the application of physics in graphics arts technology, printing, packaging and papermaking
To promote the development of innovative printing in new markets such as displays, lighting and printed electronics
To promote a recognition of the importance of physics in those industries, and to promote physics in these industries as a career choice to graduates
To act as a forum for communication within the scientific community in these industries

Our activities include:

An annual one-day group meeting on a current application of physics to technology.

Technical meetings and visits to companies, laboratories and other venues
An annual Student Conference to enable postgraduate researchers to present their work and network
Encouraging student participation by awarding two presentation prizes and making travel funds available.

A newsletter published at least annually
A website covering the Group’s activities is on the Institute of Physics Website Activities/Groups pages

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roy Gray
• Release date: Dec 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781370657933

Roy Gray

I am both an author and publisher on this page. My short story 'Neutrino C.A.T' was freely available on the TTA Press Smashwords page but is now on my own publisher page but still free. I had a couple of stories in Interzone around 2000 and more recently had stories in the 'Cern Zoo', 'Escape Velocity' and 'Null Immortalis' anthologies.Pendragon Press published the novelette 'The Joy of Technology' in print, as a chapbook, in 2011. The E book version here is that and much more. My blog at has more about this see links above or https://roy444.wordpress.com/about/.There are also a few of my poems scattered around the web and in publications such as “The 1999 Rhysling Anthology” and the British Fantasy Association's Dark Horizons 57 (2010) (There is another Roy Gray who writes erotic poetry, I am not that person)In 2003 I won a UK Public Awareness of Science grant for a drama treatment. That drama remains untreated.

Book preview

Welcome and Message from the Chair

Another eventful year has been and gone. We reflect on the highlights of 2019 in the annual edition of our PGS Group newsletter.

As usual our annual student conference was a success, with students engaging on a wide range of printing areas and enjoying a tour of the print facilities at FFEI. It is always good to see both academia and industry coming together. Thanks to all our participants for sharing their research with us. We look forward to seeing more in a year’s time.

This year we welcomed our new treasurer Dr Dilwyn Jones back onto the committee, who returns after several years away from us. We also warmly welcome two new ordinary members, Dr Fouzia Ouali and Dr Garry Wells who bring their expertise and fresh ideas to the group committee.

In 2019/20 there will be a host of new events lined up which the PGS group will be involved in. Look out for the History of Printing and Fluids, Droplets 2019 and more. Check out the PGS webpage https://pgs.iop.org, group calendar, and social media pages for more information.

Dr Emma Talbot

Chair, Printing and Graphics Science Group

September 2019

Committee Membership 2018-2019

committee

Note; this table is an image

Reports from Recent Group Events

Student Conference

18 January 2019

11:40 Session 1

The Annual Student Conference for 2019 was held at FFEI Ltd in Hemel Hempstead. With 20 delegates and 9 speakers who presented over two sessions.

Christina Koutsiaki, Excimer Laser Annealing of sol-gel Metal-Oxide thin films, Nottingham Trent University

Printing TFT’s on flexible substrates with the use of a film of TCO’s and patterning with Pulsed Excimer Lasers to anneal the TCO.