TCL has launched mass production of low-cost OLED displays using inkjet printing

TCL decided to try its luck where the Japanese JOLED lost – the Chinese company officially launched mass production of OLED screens using inkjet printing, which is designed to reduce the cost of this technology, reports OLED-Info. The first was a 22-inch 4K panel.

Image source: tclcsot.com

TCL CSOT officially announced the launch of mass production of OLED displays using inkjet printing at its own factories. The first production product is a 21.6-inch panel with a resolution of 3840 × 2160 pixels, which will be installed on monitors. The display covers 99% of the DCI-P3 color space and offers a brightness of up to 350 cd/m². TCL has already demonstrated such a monitor at Display Week 2024 – it is addressed to professional users, including those from the medical sector. The panels are produced using Gen 5.5 glass (1300 × 1500 mm) and JOLED materials, which declared bankruptcy in 2023.

The JOLED joint venture was established in 2015 by Japan Display, Panasonic and Sony – it was engaged in the development and production of small and medium-sized OLED displays for tablets and monitors. The company demonstrated the first models two years later at CeBIT 2017; actual mass production started only in March 2021 under the OLEDIO brand – the line included screens with a diagonal of 10 to 32 inches. The inkjet printing method was intended to reduce the cost of producing OLED displays, but the actual financial performance did not live up to expectations. Millions were invested by Denso, Toyota and TCL, but they also could not recoup them; the situation was aggravated by the ensuing economic recession and low demand for electronics.

One of the first mass-produced products with a JOLED panel (then they went into small series) was the Asus ProArt PQ22UC portable monitor – it was introduced in 2018 and released to the market about a year later for a whopping $5,000. Notably, TCL’s debut OLED panel has the same size and resolution. In 2025, the Chinese company intends to expand the line.