ETNews reported on Oct. 20, 2026, that Samsung Display had begun discussions with partners about a possible pilot line for inkjet-printed RGB OLED panels. The report said the proposal was under review. The process could avoid the fine metal masks used to pattern conventional RGB OLED panels, but producing uniform layers remains a technical challenge.
What ETNews reported about the pilot line
ETNews said discussions began on Oct. 19, 2026, and described inkjet printing as Samsung Display’s focus among approaches that avoid fine metal masks, or FMMs. The proposed process would form RGB OLED pixels by depositing material directly, without an FMM.
How inkjet OLED printing works
Samsung Display describes dissolving organic material in a solvent, jetting droplets into spaces between pixel banks, then drying the solvent so the organic material remains. The approach can improve raw-material use and operate at normal pressure or low vacuum, according to the company.
The process has to control how that material dries. Samsung Display identifies the coffee-ring effect, which can leave material unevenly distributed, as well as the difficulty of maintaining consistent layer thickness and density. Omdia also cites ink efficiency and lifetime as challenges for inkjet-printed OLEDs.
OLED inkjet: from solution to pixel bank
Samsung Display describes dissolving, jetting and drying organic material; keeping the layer uniform remains a challenge.
Inkjet places organic material directly where needed, but making a uniform layer remains technically difficult.
| Stage | Process |
| Dissolve | Dissolve organic material in a solvent |
| Jet | Jet droplets between pixel banks |
| Dry | Evaporate the solvent; organic material remains |
| Challenge | Coffee-ring effect; uniform layer thickness and density |
The English-language HDTVTest review below covers a separate inkjet OLED example: an MSI monitor with a panel from TCL CSOT. MSI sponsored the review.
Samsung’s QD-OLED inkjet use is different
ETNews reported that Samsung Display uses inkjet to deposit quantum-dot material in the color-conversion layer of its QD-OLED panels. The OLED light-emitting layer is formed by thermal evaporation. Depositing quantum dots this way is distinct from inkjet-printing the RGB OLED emitters discussed in the pilot-line report.
A Samsung Display-authored paper published online on Aug. 15, 2025, reported an 8.5-generation inkjet printer producing 27-inch, 5K QD-OLED monitor panels at 220 pixels per inch. The authors described the defect level as being at a mass-production level. The result concerns QD-OLED panels and their color-conversion layer.
What Omdia’s cost estimate covers
Omdia estimates that inkjet printing could lower manufacturing costs for OLED notebook panels by approximately 30–35% compared with conventional FMM OLED panels. Its example uses a Gen 8.6 substrate to produce 66 panels, each 16.3 inches, about 10% more than an equivalent FMM process. Panelization efficiency varies with panel size and aspect ratio.
