Webinar Recap: Printing Electronics with Silver Conductive Inks

In this webinar, our Applications Lead Thomas Pol teamed up with Dr. Rudresh (“Rudy”) Ghosh from NovaCentrix to explore printed electronics using silver conductive inks. The webinar covered Voltera’s two additive electronics platforms – V-One and NOVA – followed by an in-depth presentation on silver ink technology and a live Q&A with the audience. ​

Webinar highlights

Overview of Voltera printers 

V-One

V-One is a compact desktop PCB printer for rapid prototyping on rigid boards. It dispenses conductive ink to print circuit patterns and cures them with a built-in heated bed. V-One can also apply solder paste and drill through holes for vias, enabling double-sided PCB prototypes. 

NOVA

NOVA is a materials dispensing system for flexible and stretchable electronics​. It can print on flexible, stretchable, conformable, and biocompatible substrates, as well as rigid substrates like FR1, FR4, and silicon wafers with a wide range of screen-printable inks (silver, gold, copper, carbon, etc.).

Example projects printed with NOVA include:

• Stretchable circuit: Silver ink printed directly on cotton fabric 
• Flexible multilayer circuit: Four-layer display printed with electroluminescent ink
• Conformable multilayer circuit: Two-layer ECG electrodes printed with gold and silver ink
• Flexible multilayer circuit: Seven-layer flexible battery printed with a battery ink suite

Guest presentation: Silver conductive inks

Dr. Ghosh presented an in-depth look at conductive inks, focusing on silver-based formulations. He explained how material properties such as particle size, solvent composition, and binder selection impact ink performance. Compared to copper, silver inks offer higher conductivity, lower oxidation risk, and easier processing, making them ideal for prototyping and flexible electronics.

Dr. Ghosh also introduced NovaCentrix’s HPS U11 Silver Nanoparticle Ink, optimized for direct ink writing with:

• High metal loading for lower sheet resistance
• Fine resolution and minimal line spreading
• Low curing temperature (around 140 °C)
• Strong adhesion on both rigid and flexible substrates

Live Q&A

After the presentations, Tom and Dr. Ghosh answered audience questions. Key questions included:

• Q: Can NOVA’s software be accessed without purchasing the machine?
• A: No, it comes included with the NOVA printer (at no extra cost).

• Q: Can I print circuits on fabric?
• A: Yes. NOVA’s stretchable silver inks have been successfully printed on fabric. We have a white paper explaining the details of a project where we printed silver conductive ink on cotton. However, porous fabrics are more challenging to print on.

• Q: What’s the typical print thickness with NOVA?
• A: Approximately 20-25 µm after curing. Thickness can vary based on print settings, but typically metal inks exhibit some level of shrinkage after curing.

• Q: How does silver ink compare to copper?
• A: Although copper is cheaper as a raw material for traditional PCB manufacturing, its inks require additional processing to prevent oxidation. Silver is often the preferred material for additive electronics prototyping applications due to its high conductivity and chemical stability.

• Q: Can silver conductive inks be used for RF applications?
• A: Yes. Many RF circuits and antennas have been successfully printed with silver conductive inks due to their high conductivity.

• Q: Can you explain the process of the electroluminescent project? What was the dielectric used?
• A: We have a white paper on the electroluminescent project, with inks used and the process documented. We used Saralon Saral Dielectric 600 Dielectric Ink. 

• Q: Are silver inks flexible and stretchable?
• A: It depends on the formulation. Inks like HPS U57B are designed for stretchable applications such as wearable sensors.

• Q: What soldering materials are recommended?
• A: Low-temperature solder pastes such as tin-bismuth alloys are preferred to avoid damaging printed traces.

• Q: How can I use Voltera’s printing service to print my designs?
• A: To get started, visit our printing service page and tell us about your project requirements in the form.

Additional resources

Want to learn more about Voltera’s products and how they print silver conductive inks? Check out these resources:

• Partner Highlight: Dispensing systems for electronics prototyping from Voltera
• Blog: Print Multilayer Flexible and Stretchable Circuits with NOVA
• Videos: Projects completed using NOVA
• Videos: Projects completed using V-One

Ready to talk about how our products and printing service can help you prototype? Book a meeting to speak with a Voltera technical representative.