Paper is ubiquitous in everyday life and a truly low-cost substrate. The use of paper substrates could be extended even further, if electronic applications would be applied next to or below the printed graphics. However, applying electronics on paper is challenging. The paper surface is not only very rough compared to plastics, but is also porous. While this is detrimental for most electronic devices manufactured directly onto paper substrates, there are also approaches that are compatible with the rough and absorptive paper surface. In this review, recent advances and possibilities of these approaches are evaluated and the limitations of paper electronics are discussed.

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Thin and narrow conductive patterns of metal (silver) and organic polymer (polyaniline) were printed on various coated paper samples. A detailed characterization of the physical properties (i.e., short length scale roughness, surface energy, and air permeability) of the paper samples was conducted. These properties were correlated with print quality (print resolution and edge waviness) and electrical performance (resistance) of the printed wires. A plastic film was used as a reference substrate. The print resolution and the magnitude of the edge waviness were affected by the complex interplay of different physical properties of both the substrate and the ink. On the other hand, the resistance of the printed wires was found to correlate linearly with the short length scale roughness of the print substrate. The electrical performance of the paper substrates showing the highest conductivity for the printed patterns was comparable to that of the plastic film. The paper substrate on which the printed wires showed the best electrical performance was used as a substrate for fabrication of an organic transistor with low operating voltage.