After recently joining E Ink, there was a lot of information to take in. Coming into this position, I didn’t understand how exactly the products worked, why they worked the way they did, and most of the benefits behind using a product with an E Ink display. Learning the technology, often referred to as ePaper, is pretty much how I spent my first week. This process of understanding how everything worked was definitely a learning curve, especially because it is so different than what we are used to with LCD and LED screens. Luckily, there were so many different resources I could look at to make sure I truly understood what E Ink does.
How does an E Ink display actually work?
For E Ink Carta—which is the black and white display— there are 2 electrodes and millions of particles suspended in a liquid. The electrodes send voltages through the mixture, causing particles to attract to the corresponding electrode, either positively charged black particles or negatively charged white particles.
Credit: E Ink
These voltages cause the color changes you see on your screen, by making sure the particles move into the correct spot to create a shape or pattern. As the display is updated and new designs are created, the screen will refresh to correct any particles that may remain a color or shade they aren’t supposed to be. The full color displays work the same way, except there is a bit more complexity because there are more colors added to the mix. This is why color ePaper displays can take a little longer to refresh.
Using a product with an E Ink display has so many benefits, some of which I wouldn’t have thought about previously. I think the most obvious benefit, and one of the main reasons why someone may switch to an E Ink product, is that the display emits no blue light. The constant exposure to blue light can have negative effects on your body; it can be the cause of eye strain and difficulty sleeping. The reduction of blue light, even by just one screen you use regularly, can help improve these issues. Some E Ink products will have a front light so that they can still be used in any lighting condition—like at night—but the blue light in those front lights is significantly less than the backlights from an LCD. One of my favorite features about E Ink products is the fact that you can use them in the sun. There is nothing worse than trying to use an electronic device outside and the glare is so bad that you can’t see anything. E Ink displays have no glare, so you can read at the beach, or by the pool, in the direct sun for as long as your heart desires.
How many products are there?
More than you would think. Before starting, I would tell friends and family that I was going to work at “the company that made the screens for Kindles.” I really only knew about ePaper displays being used for Kindles and shelf labels. But E Ink is so much more than that. These displays are used in so many ways, from phone cases to the paneling on a BMW, or the front of a guitar. There are too many products out there to even have a specific number. Since starting, I notice them everywhere, and so does my family. We will notice Soofa signs while driving through town centers, or price labels in places we’ve been to a countless number of times. It’s funny how these things happen.
More to come in this New Inker series as I continue to explore the different applications of ePaper technology.