With ePaper, design engineers have the flexibility to create a variety of shapes that support electronic displays. Instead of being restricted to one specific shape, designers have the opportunity to be creative with their displays, by including holes or having circular shapes, and allow other hardware design elements to interface.

A straightforward fusion of chemistry, physics and electronics, EPD gives viewers the experience of reading from paper while having the power of upgradeable information.

Paper is becoming a thing of the past as new technologies provide consumers eBooks, eNewspaers, eTextbooks; and the latest tablet sensation, the iPad; as a means to read, study, and obtain breaking news.

To keep up with the demand of receiving, transmitting and updating information, E Ink, the leading supplier of electronic paper display (EPD) technologies, manufactures an electronic ink which is made into a film used as an optical component to make EPDs.

“The $400 billion publishing industry offers content that is very readable (on printed paper) but not changeable,” says Sriram K Peruvemba, vice president, global sales and marketing, E Ink. “The $100 million LCD industry offers changeable content, but it’s not fun to read because most LCD screens strain my eyes. E Ink has the best of both worlds, where displays can wirelessly receive and transmit information that reads just like paper.”

Peruvemba explains, how consumers will read instead of skimming the content with the new E Ink Vizplex and Pearl products, because the content is presented more clearly.

According to Peruvemba, the displays are light weight, low power and can last an entire week on a single battery charge. Unlike other displays, EPDs can be used in sunlight, with no shade required, for consumers to read what is on the screen.

The Charged Particles Phenomena

ePaper is a product manufactured by E Ink that uses Electrophoretic technology. It is the material that displays the text or content.

“Electrophoretic displays are based on the phenomena of motion of charged particles in a liquid,” states Peruvemba.

Positively and negatively charged black and white particles are encased inside a microcapsule that, according to Peruvemba, has a diameter less than the thickness of a human hair.

“By applying a voltage across the microcapsule, we cause either the white or black particles to rise to the top of the capsule. When you look at the capsule from above, you will see a miniature white or black dot,” continues Peruvemba. 

Millions of these microcapsules are coated onto sheets and built into rolls. They are then cut according to the required size for various applications.

“Electronic ink is a proprietary material that is processed into a film for integration into electronic displays.” says Peruvemba.

“Although revolutionary in concept, electronic ink is a straightforward fusion of chemistry, physics, and electronics to create this new material.” 

To form an E Ink electronic display, the ink is printed onto a sheet of plastic film that is laminated to a layer of circuitry. The circuitry forms a pattern of pixels that can then be controlled by a display driver. These microcapsules are suspended in a liquid “carrier medium” allowing them to be printed using existing screen printing processes onto virtually any surface, including glass, plastic, fabric, and paper.

The Future of Reading Behavior

ePaper has several advantages for the future of reading. Virtual libraries will be available worldwide for consumers to read up on breaking news and favorite books.

“ePaper [will also] have a profound impact on the environment where it will be used as a better alternative to cutting trees,” says Peruvemba.

Peruvemba explains how ePaper is RoHS compliant and should be treated like any other electronic device when it comes to disposal.

“The green aspect of the product is more in its application than the material itself,” says Peruvemba. “A single sheet of ePaper will potentially replace millions of sheets of ordinary paper.”

Consider the paper production process, from chopping the trees; transforming it to pulp and paper rolls; transporting it to printing presses; cutting, printing, and distributing; and finally, disposing of it.

Seems to be a lot of wasted energy and material.

Peruvemba notes that consumers use up to 700 pounds of pulp-based paper for a single subscription of their favorite newspaper annually.

With EPDs, changes in information can happen instantaneously without throwing away any paper material.

EPD Specs

“We would like to challenge design engineers to ‘Think outside the Rectangle,’ and create unique shaped displays using ePaper and not be constrained by rectangular LCD products,” concludes Peruvemba.

With ePaper, design engineers have the flexibility to create a variety of shapes that support electronic displays. Instead of being restricted to one specific shape, designers have the opportunity to be creative with their displays, by including holes or having circular shapes, and allow other hardware design elements to interface.

Design engineers can now fit the display to design rather than compromise design to fit a rectangular display. A variety of connection options and pin outs are available depending on the design type.

For more information on the specifications of EPDs visit www.eink.com/products/surf/specsheet.html