"Roll-to-roll" denotes fabrication methods that use continuous processing on continuous, in principle endless, thin substrates. These are stored on a roll, unwound for processing and rewound after the processing steps are completed. The concept, which is well established in the printing industry, e.g. in the fabrication of wallpapers, has quietly penetrated other industries and is now a well-established method in the fabrication of automotive (decorative strips) and health care (glucose sensor strips for home diabetes monitoring) products. The name is suggestive of an important property of substrates and processed systems: both need to be flexible to be coiled up on rolls for easy storage and transport. The multiple functional units on a substrate are cut and separated only at the time when this is logistically necessary.
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