HP has just announced a new piece of technology called IonTouch that utilizes E Ink. They will be used on all sorts of products from visitor badges to embedded displays for printers and fax machines.
The new technology consists of an IonTouch imager and 2.5-inch rewritable display media, with the former printing digital content, such as photos, QR codes or text messages, onto the latter made up of e-paper film embedded on an IonTouch display, which is about the size of a credit card.
IonTouch displays content by driving black or white ink particles contained in e-paper film. The e-paper film, functioning as display media, can display content permanently without using power and be rewritten for more than 10,000 times. Currently, IonTouch display features resolution of 300x300dpi in black and white and 16 levels of gray scale.
HP cites a myriad of potential uses for their new IonTouch technology. These include gift cards that display personalized messages and are both refreshable and transferable, security badges that are reauthorized daily, smarter hotel door keys and medical cards, and public transport passes and loyalty cards that update their value with every ride or purchase and include fresh information about the service and discounts or offers that are personalized for the user. The technology also has potential application for other kinds of signage, such as durable, low-cost, rewritable shelf labels of the kind used by pharmacies, grocery stores, and other retailers.
via HP
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.
