A heating element is provided with a conductive path pattern which can be printed in a mask-free manner (e.g., drop-on-demand) with existing printing technology. The printing step can be performed, for example, with a thermal inkjet printer, a piezoelectric inkjet printer, an aerosol jet printer, or an ultrasound printer. The ink solution can be formulated so that it establishes an electrically conductive path which is free of polymer binders.