E Ink Corporation announced it has entered into a partnership with the Japanese firm StellarLink to launch a range of sustainable full-color e-paper signage solutions in Japan. As TechNews reported, the collaboration is targeted at promoting low-power, eco-friendly signage meant for use in the retail sector, hotels, restaurants, museums, transport hubs, and so on. The aim is to replace the traditional LCD/LED displays that consume a lot of power and contribute to higher CO2 emissions.
The partnership will yield two e-paper signage products in Japan – the J-Poster, which is an A2-sized e-paper display, and aecoPost, a 31.5-inch display produced by the Japanese subsidiary of AU Optronics. Both the display modules will be featuring the E Ink Spectra 6 color e-paper panels that offer a glare-free interface having vivid, print-like colors.
What makes Spectra 6 display technology most adept for use as a signage solution is its ability to render an enhanced colour spectrum, all thanks to the advanced imaging algorithms that it features. This allows for a near-print color reproduction on e-paper, thereby making it the best digital alternative to print paper posters on one hand and traditional displays such as LCD/LED on the other.
Apart from a glare-free display that is soft on the eyes, the other inherent advantage of e-paper displays is that they consume power only when updating the image. It draws almost zero power as long as the image remains static. This makes such e-paper signage extremely power-efficient. Such displays also boast thin and lightweight designs that make them easy to transport, install, and maintain.
E Ink display has also been certified by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) for helping reduce light pollution. This owes it to the very basic design of E Ink displays, which makes it reflective in nature and is hence safe for the eyes. It is unlike LCD or LED, which are reflective and have a constant stream of light hitting our eyes. This makes it harmful for your eyes when used over a prolonged period of time.
Plus, as already stated, traditional displays are also known to hurt our environment as they contribute to a far higher amount of CO2 pollution compared to e-paper. Studies have shown that a 32-inch color e-paper signage, when used for 18 hours a day and refreshed every 6 hours, emits only 0.0139 kg CO₂ per year. That’s a massive 46x lower compared to LCD.
Earlier, we have seen E Ink partnering with the Japanese advertising agency Oricom for launching the e-paper display, Sustainable Board. Each of the Sustainable Board display modules comprises four E Ink Spectra 6 panels arranged to create a ‘larger, videowall-style display surface’. The Sustainable Board is meant for installation in various railway stations in Japan and would display railway-related info for the convenience of the passengers and travellers.
All of this is in line with the green initiatives adopted by the Japanese government and corporate sector, which emphasize sustainable and energy-saving display technologies.
On a different note, more recently, we have seen the US-based company Aura introduce the Aura Ink wireless E Ink photo frame based on the Spectra 6 display tech.
