­Driven by the need for cost reductions, conductive inks and pastes, new transparent conductive films, and semiconductor inks will grow the market for printed electronics materials to $2.6 billion in 2017, according to a report by Lux Research.

"Much of the promise of printed electronics lies in the potential to manufacture devices through low-cost, high-throughput manufacturing," said Jonathan Melnick, Lux Research Analyst and the lead author of the report. "But realizing this potential requires materials that offer good enough performance and are compatible with printing processes -- without becoming too costly themselves."

Lux Research analysts examined a range of materials, varying widely in complexity, performance, and cost -- to assess their value proposition.

Among their findings:

• Silver thrives while alternatives see slow uptake. The market for opaque conductive inks alone will grow to $2.4 billion in 2017, from $1.4 billion in 2012, with medical and RFID among the fastest-growing segments. However, silver paste will still dominate and other materials will only find traction in solar applications.
• Rapid smartphone adoption offers bonanza. Transparent conductive films (TCF) to replace indium tin oxide (ITO), widely used in touchscreens, will grow to $705 million, with $112 million coming from the inks. Growth is led by smartphone touchscreens, with tablets a distant second.
• Displays lead the way for printed semiconductors. Printed semiconductors will grow to $68 million in 2017, with solution-processed OLED emissive materials the lead application.