E Ink has been working on Advanced Color E-Paper for a number of years and it was designed for digital signage in mind. TOPPAN Printing and Isetan Mitsukoshi has just developed the world’s first digital point-of-purchase using ACEP. E Ink’s first generation ACeP display is capable of displaying well over 32,000 colors, making the solution an attractive and sustainable alternative to wasteful paper POP.
E Ink’s ACeP display achieves a full color gamut, including all eight primary colors, using a proprietary four pigment microencapsulated electronic ink containing cyan, magenta, yellow, and white. Rich color is achieved by having all the colored pigments in every pixel as opposed to the side-by-side pixel colors achieved with a color filter array (CFA). Like other E Ink e-paper technology, ACeP is low-power with paper-like readability under virtually all lighting conditions.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd., which has been promoting initiatives for the reform of working practices and from ESG, or Environment, Social, and Governance, perspectives, worked with TOPPAN to develop POP signage to reduce paper waste from in-store promotions, and to enhance worker efficiencies. Isetan Mitsukoshi will install a prototype in the Isetan Shinjuku store for their “HANABANASAI” campaign that launches on February 20, 2019.
The POP product developed by TOPPAN and Isetan Mitsukoshi enables a simple content update process through a PC or smartphone for greater operating efficiency and reduced environmental waste. The signage does not require any power at the location of installation for easy mobility around stores when layout changes are needed. The addition of E Ink’s ACeP display brings an enhanced visual appeal to the in-store promotions, with the ability to update information wirelessly.
“E Ink appreciates TOPPAN’s initiative to drive the ACeP POP business at a top tier Japanese department store. As technology guides our world in becoming increasingly connected, it’s imperative that we find sustainable solutions that help our workers and the environment,” said Naoki Sumita, General Manager of E Ink Japan. “We look forward to working together with TOPPAN to continue efforts to expand ACeP in the POP market and in other potential markets.”
A pilot of the solution is scheduled to be on display at the Front Entrance of Isetan Shinjuku Main Store in Tokyo, Japan, from Wednesday, February 20 to Tuesday, March 26.
E Ink has told me on a number of occasions that this tech might eventually be brought to e-readers, but it will be at least 2021 before this is a reality. They need to make ACEP compatible with Regal Waveform controllers.
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.
