OLED ink jet printing

South Korea-based LORDIN is developing a platinum-based blue phosphorescent OLED emitter platform, based on its proprietary ZRIET mechanism and ZETPLEX molecular design. The company recently disclosed the molecular structure of its ZETPLEX Pt dopant and started shipping evaluation materials to panel makers and material suppliers.

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We had the opportunity to ask LORDIN about its technology, how it compares to UDC's PHOLEDs and to Hyperfluorescence/PSF emitter systems, its commercialization timeline, its supply chain in India, and whether platinum presents any disadvantages. We thank LORDIN for this informative Q&A!

In July, we reported that TCL CSOT has began to commercially produce consumer inkjet printed OLED panels, for laptops and monitors. The company has now announced that its inkjet printing process has reached the point of "stable mass production".

TCL CSOT already announced it is starting mass production at its 5.5-Gen inkjet printed OLED line towards the end of 2024, but these were panels that target the medical market, that were produced at a very low volume. The company is now ramping up production for consumer products, at higher levels. TCL's first panels are produced at the company's 5.5-Gen pilot line. The company's T8 large-scale 8.6-Gen line is not ready for production yet.

TCL CSOT is one of the world's largest display makers, and one of the leaders in OLED production. TCL CSOT is also the only display maker betting its next-generation OLED capacity almost entirely on inkjet printing rather than evaporation.

In this Spotlight we look at how the company got here, what it can actually produce today, where its OLED business stands, and what the numbers and the roadmap suggest about the next three to five years.

From Shenzhen newcomer to global number two

TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology (TCL CSOT, also known in China as Shenzhen Huaxing Photoelectric Technology) was founded in November 2009 as a joint venture between TCL and the Shenzhen municipal government. Its first fab, T1, was a Gen-8.5 TFT-LCD line in Shenzhen,  notable at the time as one of the first high-generation LCD lines built in China with a domestically-led project structure rather than a straight technology transfer. Production started in 2011.

Xi'an Manareco New Materials (also known as Ruilian New Materials) announced that it has signed a collaboration agreement with TCL CSOT, with an aim to advance its printable OLED materials R&D.

Under the agreement, CSOT will license some of its inkjet printing OLED patents and trade secrets Ruilian New Materials, and will so authorize the company to conduct research and development, production, and sales of printed OLED materials. Any new IP and technology improvement that results from this agreement, will be jointly owned by both companies. 

As TCL CSOT begins to commercially produce inkjet printed OLED panels at the company's 5.5-Gen line, MSI announced the first product to use one of these panels - the premium MSI Pro Max OLED 271UPJW12, based on a 27" 4K (164 PPI) 120Hz and Real RGB Stripe side-by-side subpixel structure. The monitor integrates MSI's OLED Auto Care Compensation Technology, to mitigate burn-in.

Today, at the ChinaJoy tradeshow in China, MSI demonstrated this panel, and a reviewer posted a video where they tested the new display and revealed several interesting specifications.

Seiko Epson Corporation and its Epson X Investment Corporation announced that they have jointly made an additional investment in Gosan Tech, a South Korean inkjet printing technology developer. This follows the company's first investment into Gosan in April 2025. Epson did not disclose the investment amount.

Gosan Tech, established in 2015 in South Korea, is a manufacturer of inkjet process equipment for display and solar cell (perovskite) production. Epson says that Gosan Tech developed an ink supply system, pressure control technology, and simulation technology that enable it to achieve excellent ink droplet uniformity and precision. 

A few days ago we reported that TCL CSOT is launching commercial production of inkjet printed OLED panels at the company's 5.5-Gen line, and today two companies formally announced the first products to utilize these panels. This is an exciting moment for the OLED industry - we already had commercial inkjet production by JOLED years ago, but the company did not manage to reach full-scale production. Hopefully TCL CSOT with its T8 large-scale 8.6-Gen line will fare much better.

The first product is the premium MSI Pro Max OLED 271UPJW12, based on a 27" 4K (164 PPI) 120Hz and Real RGB Stripe side-by-side subpixel structure. The monitor integrates MSI's OLED Auto Care Compensation Technology, to mitigate burn-in.

In March we reported that TCL CSOT's first consumer-grade inkjet printed OLED display has completed functional verification, and the company is planning to mass produce these panels in July 2026. There are now reports that the company is indeed starting production of this panel.

TCL's first inkjet printed consumer panel is a 27" 120Hz 4K stripe-RGB display, that offers a brightness of up to 300 nits, and a color gamut of 99% DCI-P3. This is a panel that TCL CSOT already demonstrated several times. CSOT is producing the panel at its low-volume 5.5-Gen inkjet line. This is low volume production, but a very important step for CSOT.

TCL CSOT continues to order equipment for its T8 8.6-Gen inkjet printing IT AMOLED production line in Guangzhou, and two Korean equipment makers announced orders from CSOT.

First up is DeviceENG, that secured a 25.7 billion Won ($17 million USD) order to supply it with mask cleaning systems. All systems will be supplied by November 2026. 

TCL CSOT has announced that the main building in its upcoming T8 8.6-Gen inkjet printing IT AMOLED Production line in Guangzhou has been topped out. The company is now starting to build the cleanrooms inside the building, install the power system, and then install the core equipment.

TCL CSOT started constructing this building on November 30, 2025, and it took only 151 days to complete the main structure - this is said to be a new industry record - and is actually ahead of TCL CSOT's original schedule.