TCL is printing OLEDs. The first 27-inch IJP 4K panels will go into production in 2026.

The OLED monitor market is currently dominated by two players: LG and Samsung. However, this situation may change thanks to TCL CSOT, which according to reports from EET China, has completed "functional testing" of its first consumer panel made using inkjet printing technology (IJP OLED). This is a groundbreaking moment, because although "printing" OLED screens has been discussed for years, only now do we have a specific start date for mass production, which has been set for July 2026.

End of problems with blurry text?

The new panel from TCL has a diagonal of 27 inches and a 4K resolution. However, the most interesting information for people working with text and graphics is not the resolution itself, but the applied Stripe RGB subpixel layout. Unlike many currently available OLED monitors, which often have issues with clearly displaying fonts due to their specific pixel arrangement, TCL's proposal aims to offer image precision known from traditional LCD panels while retaining all the advantages of OLED. In fact, you could see this solution in our YouTube video:

In technical terms: the panel supports a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and its brightness at 300 nits along with a HDR True Black 500 certification suggest that it will be a strong competitor to the current WOLED and QD-OLED panels, offering almost infinite contrast with 99 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

Inkjet Printing: Cheaper Production, Difficult Start

Why is IJP (Inkjet Printing) technology so important? Currently, OLED matrices, including QD-OLED and WOLED, are produced through complex vacuum processes. The spray method that TCL is working on allows for significant reduction in material waste and simplification of the production line. In theory, this should lead to a noticeable decrease in the final prices of devices.

However, one should maintain some skepticism regarding announcements of mass availability. Industry sources indicate that although July 2026 is an internally confirmed deadline, TCL is still struggling with the issue of "yield," meaning the percentage of functional panels in the final production. This means that in the initial phase, the number of functional panels leaving the factory may be low, which will limit the number of available monitors on store shelves.

Prices and market debut

The manufacturer has not yet revealed official prices, but inkjet printing technology is intended to be a cheaper alternative to current solutions. For now, the panels are undergoing final touches in China, and that is where they are most likely to debut first. If the process goes according to plan, in the second half of 2026 we can expect a surge of 4K OLED monitors at new and hopefully lower prices.

Source: EET China