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Customised capacitive touch sensors for your industry needs

The use of capacitive touch sensors in HMI design has grown significantly, extending beyond consumer electronics into industries such as automotive, medical devices, automation, smart homes, and white goods. These sensors replace mechanical buttons with sleek, responsive panels, enhancing both aesthetics and functionality.

 

Wearable devices also leverage capacitive sensing to measure movements and pressure changes accurately. By integrating advanced materials and layered construction, this technology continues to shape modern interfaces, offering high sensitivity and durability.

 

Thinking about upgrading from physical buttons to touch functionality?

 

We can help turn your ideas into finished products. With automated roll-to-roll production in Denmark, our printed sensors are delivered as rolls, sheets, or punched items for easy processing.

How capacitive touch sensors work

Capacitive touch sensors rely on capacitance changes to detect user input. When a finger touches the surface, it alters the capacitance of the sensor electrode. The human body carries an electric charge, which the sensor detects and converts into a device response.

 

Unlike resistive touchscreens, which require physical pressure, capacitive touch works with the lightest touch. Conductive layers allow precise touch registration and signal transmission, making the HMI highly reliable.

 

Capacitive touch sensors have revolutionised modern touch technology, enabling seamless and responsive interactions. Capacitive touch sensors are usually placed behind a glass or plastic surface. Unlike traditional mechanical buttons, these sensors rely on electrical properties to detect user input.

Click to download our printed electronics lookbook 

The transparent or translucent foil allows for a uniform backlit interface. Backlighting creates homogeneous illumination of symbols.

Produced roll-to-roll in our Danish automated production. Delivered to you on rolls, sheets, or punched items for your further processing.

The choice of inks are based on the needed level of functionality, quality, and price. You may benefit from a number of already tested and proven conductive materials, or we may investigate new inks to fit your specific application.

There is complete freedom to design, size and shape the electrode area as it can be adapted to any interface design. Capacitive touch sensors rely on capacitance changes to detect user input.

The sensors are produced with flexible and pliable polymer foils which makes them well suited for use on curved and irregular surfaces.

Should the capacitive sensor behind the glass or plastic plate be masked so it appears with a uniform black or white colour when switched off? Make the symbols 100 % invisible with print of a coloured deadfront.

Mekoprint production facilities enable screen printing of narrow silver traces down to 50 μm – equivalent to half the width of a strand of hair.

Use capacitive touch sensors to turn monochrome, homogeneous, and curved surfaces into interactive control panels. Ask us about possibilities within backlighting and optical appearance.

Layer composition

Each capacitive sensor consists of multiple screen printed layers that work together to enable accurate touch detection.

 

  • Conductive layer forms the functional circuitry that detects touch inputs. Made of PEDOT, silver, or carbon.

  • Insulation layer protects the conductive layer and ensures electrical stability.

  • Lacquer coatings improve durability and resistance to environmental conditions such as moisture, dust, and abrasion.

  • Graphic overlay provides a customised interface while maintaining touch sensitivity.

Substrates

The effectiveness of capacitive touch technology depends on two key factors: materials used and layer composition. Printed touch sensors are made with thin, flexible polymer substrates. Common substrate materials include:

 

  • PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) a lightweight and cost-effective option with excellent electrical insulation properties.

  • PC (Polycarbonate) known for its transparency and high impact resistance, making it suitable for rugged environments.

  • TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) offers flexibility and resistance to abrasion.

Display foils and combination foils

Display foils, also called combination foils, integrate a capacitive touch sensor with a graphic overlay for a seamless HMI. They feature solid colors for custom branding, icons, or functional markings, combining both functionality and design in a single structure.

 

The graphic overlay is printed on top of or opposite side of the sensor layers. Substrate materials and conductive inks allow for precise touch detection, even through the colored surface.

 

Creating variants directly on the sensor

 

The advantage of using graphic colours to create symbols directly on the foil is that the creation of variants can be achieved directly on the foil rather than on the glass or plastic surface. This allows you to use the same glass and plastic component for multiple devices, as variations are made directly on the sensor.

 

Backlight and blackout effect

 

Display foils enhance visibility through backlighting. The blackout effect keeps the screen dark when inactive, ensuring a clean, modern look. This feature enhances the visual appeal while providing a functional advantage in various applications.

Anders Menholt
Key Account Manager, Printed Electronics
+45 6011 6169
ame@mekoprint.com

Get in touch with us

  • Our fully automated roll-to-roll screen printing process ensures high-volume, consistent, and precise sensor manufacturing. With five multi-station roll-to-roll printing lines, we produce kilometers of sensors daily, making us a leader in printed electronics.

    Read more about our manufacturing process of printed electronic components.

     

    PRODUCTION OF PRINTED ELECTRONICS

  • The choice of substrate materials is critical in printed electronics, influencing sensor performance, flexibility, and durability. Our high-quality substrates include:

     

    • Polyester (PET) – Cost-effective with excellent insulation properties.

    • Polycarbonate (PC) – Impact-resistant for demanding environments.

    • Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) – Superior heat resistance and mechanical stability.

    • Non-woven materials – Ideal for stretchable, breathable applications.

    • TPU foil – Stretchable and elastic, perfect for wearables and flexible sensors.

  • Our automated  sensor production includes:

     

    • Single and double-sided printing for increased design flexibility.

    • 1, 2, and 3-section printing enabling multi-layered structures for advanced electronic applications.

  • We support a variety of roll-to-roll formats:

     

    • Roll width up to 750 mm

    • Roll lengths from 250 meters to several kilometers

    • Material thicknesses ranging from 50 to 500 μm

    • Line widths and spacing down to 50 μm, ensuring high-precision circuit patterns

  • To optimize sensor production, we provide advanced roll-to-roll finishing with minimal manual handling. Our finishing techniques include:

     

    • Die-cutting ensures precise component cutting for seamless assembly.

    • Laser cutting delivers high-precision, burr-free edges for complex designs.

    • Embossing adds raised textures for improved usability.

    • Laminating enhances durability and protection against environmental factors.

    • Slitting provides custom roll widths for specific production needs.

    • Electrical testing ensures optimal sensor performance before delivery.

  • We integrate flying-probe electrical testing to verify high-volume sensor functionality, ensuring reliability through:

     

    • Capacitance testing verifies electrical storage properties.

    • Resistance testing ensures circuit integrity.

    • Inductance testing evaluates energy storage capacity.

    • Open circuit detection identifies breaks in conductive paths.

    • Short circuit detection prevents unintended electrical connections.

    • Component testing confirms the functionality of integrated elements.

     

    Depending on requirements, we conduct complete electrical test of sensors on final production batch and/or regular testing throughout the manufacturing process to detect potential defects early.

     

    Test of printed electronics

Customer story: Improved sensor robustness through close collaboration

Real-world applications demonstrate the benefits of capacitive touch technology. One of our long-term customers enhanced their sensor robustness through a technological leap, improving the durability and performance of their control panels.

Read the casestory

Download free lookbook

Get an overview of printed electronics building blocks, various sensor solutions, customer collaborations, industry trends, and much more.

Expanding possibilities with capacitive touch sensors

Capacitive touch sensors enable innovative solutions across industries, enhancing user experience and functionality. From home appliances with seamless touch controls to robotics with artificial skin-like sensing, these sensors redefine how we interact with technology. They drive automotive innovation, enhance wearable technology, and improve medical device monitoring, making them essential for modern, responsive interfaces.

  • Home appliances with improved user experience by replacing traditional buttons with smooth, touch-sensitive controls.

  • Robotics with sensors acting as artificial skin, allowing robots to detect object interactions with precision.

  •  Automotive innovation with redefined car interiors by replacing mechanical buttons with sleek, responsive panels.

  •  Wearable technology utilize capacitive sensing to accurately measure body movements and pressure changes.

  •  Medical device monitoring of pressure distribution on patients or surfaces.

Why choose Mekoprint as your production partner of printed sensors?

By combining roll-to-roll automation, high-performance conductive materials, and cutting-edge capacitive touch sensor technology, we offer reliable, scalable, and precise sensor production. Our expertise in printed electronics ensures that we meet the evolving needs of industries requiring large-scale, high-quality capacitive touch sensors.

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Anders Menholt
Key Account Manager, Printed Electronics
+45 6011 6169
ame@mekoprint.com

Get in touch with us