印刷技术发展的回顾与展望

从单纯的技术角度,印刷可以定义为是通过选择性添加适当物质的方法将拟表达的信息、内容或功能呈现在适当载体上的过程,属于典型的附加型、面处理(并行处理)技术范畴,具有空间分辨率高、生产效率高和成本低的特点.正是由于这些特质,印刷是开创现代文明的重要载体,也是人类文明历史上最重要、历史最悠久的传媒技术,今天又在表面装饰、印刷电子、超高规模集成电路制备等领域得到广泛应用.作为传媒技术,印刷的核心作用是可视化,因此将适当呈色剂放置在适当载体上成为技术关键;在表面装饰和印刷电子领域中,印刷的作用是将适当功能单元(如,防护、装饰、电子或光电子功能单元)选择性放置在适当载体上,以满足装饰或/和某种功能的需要;在超高规模集成电路领域,印刷的作用主要体现在表面微加工,核心是印刷技术拥有的微纳米加工的能力.本文也是从这个几个方面,对印刷技术在过去几千年的发展历程和今后的发展趋势有一个概略的回顾和展望.

A Perspective on the Evolution of Printing Technology

From the viewpoint of pure technology,printing can be defined as an additive process in which the intended contents or information are rendered on suitable substrate by selectively applying materials,and is within the scope of additive and area processing(or parallel processing) technology,characterized by high spacial resolution,throughput and low cost.Because of these features,printing is the important carrier which has created the modern civilization and has been the most important and long live media technology in the history of human being's civilization as well.Today,it has found wide applications in areas such as surface finishing,printed electronics,super-large scale integrated circuit manufacturing,too.When judged as a media technology,visualization is believed the core role and function of printing.Putting colorant or ink on paper has been and will continue to be the key of the process.But in the areas of surface finishing or printed electronics,selectively applying specific functional elements,e.g.,protective,decorative,electronic,optoelectronic or other functions,onto suitable substrate is anticipated instead,in order to satisfy the requirements of end applications.In the area of super-large scale integrated circuit manufacturing,the significance of printing is manifested by its capability of creating micrometer or nanometer structures.This paper is intended to cast light over these aspects while progressing overview on the evolution of printing technology over the past thousands years and its tends in future.