The unique ability of flexible electronics to change their shape gives them a major advantage over conventional rigid devices, particularly in medicine and consumer electronics. The commercialization potential of flexible electronics is greatly enhanced by the use of large-area cost-efficient printing technologies, which are currently employed to prepare identification tags to track goods in shops and large area displays for TVs and smartphones.

The great vision behind printable and flexible electronics is towards commercializing intelligent packaging, post cards, or promotional materials that can communicate with the environment and provide responses to the customer. Realization of this vision requires printable electronic components that are flexible and can change their properties in a permanent magnetic field. Towards this concept, a German research team have fabricated flexible and printable magneto-electronics, which fulfill the requirements for consumer electronics in terms of the performance and temperature stability. The group believes that their work paves the way towards commercial use of magneto-sensitive elements in the printable electronic industry, which, although highly demanded, has not yet been possible.