Epson has developed a circuit-making technology based on inkjet printing, firing droplets of conducting “ink” or insulating “ink” onto a circuit board to make a circuit that is 20 millimeters square, 200 microns thick, and consists of 20 individually printed layers.

Epson estimates inkjet-printed circuits should be about half as expensive to make as current circuitry and also less environmentally harmful. They expect in the future that it will be possible to manufacture inkjet-printed circuits with individual components measuring just 15 microns.