Printed Electronics & Flexible Hybrid Electronics worked example

Substrate Usage at 68% target substrate utilization: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop target substrate utilization to 68%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Substrate usage is the share of your printed-electronics substrate — PET, PEN, polyimide, or paper — that ends up in good, usable circuits versus everything loaded onto the web or sheet.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Substrate area used for good circuits: 8 units (held at the documented default)
  • Total substrate area consumed: 250 units (held at the documented default)
  • Target substrate utilization: 68 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 95)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Substrate Usage rate = affected amount ÷ total amount.
  • Rate works out to 3.2 % at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gap to target works out to 64.8 points at these inputs.
  • Affected count works out to 8 count at these inputs.
  • Total count works out to 250 count at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where target substrate utilization sits at 95% and the headline result is 3.2 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 3.2 %.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to target substrate utilization, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. As a simple area ratio it does not distinguish avoidable trim from unavoidable machine margins, so a low number needs a waste breakdown before you can act on it.

Results at a glance

  • Rate: 3.2 % (headline result)
  • Gap to target: 64.8 points
  • Affected count: 8 count
  • Total count: 250 count

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Substrate Usage calculator, set target substrate utilization to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.