Printed electronics firm Novalia has launched a KickStarter campaign to raise £12,000 to fund the print costs of its Printed Touch Creation Kit, while second generation QR code developer Linkz is hoping to raise £250,000 via CrowdCube to ramp-up sales and technical capabilities and expand the business further into overseas markets.

Linkz, which launched in 2012, offers print and packaging companies a low-cost way to make their printed products interactive. It works by embedding a digital watermark in any print-ready file that is invisible to the naked eye but can be read by the Linkz app.

The app directs the consumer's smartphone to a mobile-optimised microsite containing whatever content the brand owner wants to feature. This allows printers and marketers to create and track interactive marketing campaigns from a static print product.

Linkz, which has already partnered with a number of print and packaging companies such as Paragon Europe and Berkshire Labels, is hoping to attract investors via the equity crowdfunding scheme, with the £250,000 equating to an 18% stake in the company.

The company has already attracted 30 new investors and raised £48,580 towards its target. For more information visit crowdcube.com/linkz.

Meanwhile, Novalia's £12,000 KickStarter campaign aims to cover the print costs for a bulk order of its Printed Touch Creation Kit, effectively a developers' kit for anyone to integrate sound into a physical object, printed or otherwise.

The kit is made up of sheets of stickers pre-printed with an array of touch points using conductive ink (available in A0, A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5). The number of touch points varies from eight to 20 depending on the sticker size.

Each touch point connects to a control module, which either generates the sound itself via a small surface-mounted actuator, or connects via a line out to an external speaker or headphones.

Novalia has pre-printed adhesive on both sides of the paper sheet with liner paper applied over the top. Users peel off the paper liner and stick to any non-conductive surface that they wish to make interactive. A printed design can then be applied over the top.

A simple software package is used to program the sound effects or music into the control module.

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