E INK is suffering from a massive electronic paper display shortage that is affecting most players in the e-reader industry. Their largest factory is based in China and has been operating at limited capacity due to COVID. The local government took strict measures to control traffic and people’s mobility, and consequently, production at the factory has decreased a great deal. In addition to reduced production, many shipments from the factory have been deferred. So, how is E INK able to manufacture enough panels for the new Kindle, Kobo, Tolino and Nook e-readers?
Currently E INK has had a single production line in Massachusetts and Linkou District, northern Taiwan. E INK stated in the summer they were trying to build two more, so they could double the output. They are facing limitations to building this out, and it won’t be until the middle of next year, before each of them are completed. Can they make enough panels to make everyone happy, likely not.
Building your own factories takes time, but in order to solve the EPD crisis, E INK has partnered with eight Chinese companies. They will be able to produce e-paper modules using materials supplied by EIH. This seems ideal, since everyone who will be working with E INK, are all based near their largest Chinese factory. Making E INK panels is one thing, but they need the complete product stack for customers, which includes the digitizer, E INK Carta HD, Mobius, various protective layers, and all of the ribbons to connect to the motherboard to power the display. The rest of the components, such as front-lit display, battery, CPU, RAM, storage, and ports are normally sourced by OEM’s, such as Netronix or Onyx Boox.
I believe from everything that I have been writing about and the current state of E INK, is that this shortage will continue until the summer of 2022, if not later. China is still not only dealing with COVID, but also rolling blackouts, limited operating hours and a scarcity of rare-earth elements. Hopefully all of the moves E INK is making, will bear fruit soon, there are too many smaller brands that simply can’t get their hands on panels. This is why the Remarkable 2, Fujitsu Quaderno A4/A5, Supernote A5X and most of the Boyue product line are completely sold out and not available.
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.
