Good e-Reader is live on the scene at Touch Taiwan and over at the E INK booth, the company is betting that digital signage will one-day eclipse e-reader sales. The company has recently announced E INK Spectra 6 and large screen posters that use Kaleido 3 colour e-paper, in addition to traditional black and white 61-inch displays. These verticals are primarily geared toward digital menus, digital posters and advertising signage segments. E INK believes that the signage market can grow larger than the ESL market, with more retailers utilizing signage boards for outdoor advertising.
Leading the charge in E INK’s new direction is Spectra 6, a revolutionary new colour product geared for in-store advertising, indoor signage or any paper sign replacement. E Ink Spectra 6 is a full-colour product, providing a level of colour saturation and vividness never before seen in a reflective display and with the ability to give a visual performance similar to the most advanced paper colour printers on the market today.
E Ink Spectra 6 builds upon the prior generations of the Spectra platform and has been engineered to provide a truly print-quality replacement for any paper sign, including POP displays, signage and posters and other in-store advertising. E Ink Spectra 6 features an enhanced colour spectrum and an advanced colour imaging algorithm to provide full colour to improve marketing and advertising performance.
E Ink Spectra 6 will be optimized for up to 200 pixels per inch, depending on panel size, a typical contrast ratio of 30:1 and an operating range of 0-50 degrees Celsius. E Ink Spectra 6 will be offered in a variety of display sizes, allowing customers to choose a suitable size for different application scenarios. E Ink Spectra 6 can also create a partial image flashing effect, E Ink Sparkle, which enhances the effect of advertising messages through motion, and helps advertisers achieve better results for their product promotions. E Ink Spectra 6 display modules are planned for release sometime in 2024.
The other new technology for E INK is a version of Kaleido 3, which is ideal for the outdoors. It will have the same phenomenal page turns, with no flashing of the screen and can easily display over 4,096 different colours. This new, print-colour ePaper is designed specifically for Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising signage and is suitable for outdoor use in varying temperature ranges. It offers dynamic colour display capabilities, poster-like visual quality, and a low-carbon and eco-friendly display solution.
E Ink Kaleido 3 Outdoor is based on print-colour ePaper technology and utilizes an RGB colour filter array on black and white electronic paper film to create a warm and colourful display. E Ink Kaleido 3 Outdoor offers vivid colour image information and clear text, providing a comfortable and non-irritating colour digital content viewing experience with a visual impact close to that of color printed paper signage. E Ink Kaleido 3 Outdoor’s operating temperature range is between -15°C to 65°C, which allows it to operate in extremely cold or hot areas without the need for expensive, high-energy-consuming heating or cooling devices, reducing additional power consumption.
Many European countries are facing an energy crisis and new regulations have been put in place to limit the operating hours of digital signage. However, E Ink Kaleido 3 Outdoor uses very little power, and can even run on renewable energy from solar panels, without relying on electricity from the grid. That means it can replace energy-hungry digital signage and conform to the new restrictions. When used for outdoor information displays, E Ink Kaleido 3 Outdoor color ePaper allows for quick and easy updates of information. It’s much more functional and environmentally friendly than traditional paper posters and display boards.
Sharp and E INK have been working together for over a decade. Sometime in the next few weeks, Sharp is going to release a 42-inch black and white digital poster tech for the Japanese market. Â In addition to having a power consumption of 0 W during display, it also uses light reflected from outside sources to display its image, providing optimal visibility even in bright environments. The display is also thin and lightweight. Using their expertise in installing and operating digital signage, along with their extensive service network across Japan, Sharp will offer digital poster options to replace paper posters in locations where digital signage has been previously difficult to install.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
