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The Future of Electronic Paper
Monday, October 15, 2007 - Iddo Genuth
Home >> Articles >> The Future of X

Thirty-five years in the making, electronic paper is now closer than ever to changing the way we read, write, and study — a revolution so profound that some see it as second only to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century. Made of flexible material, requiring ultra-low power consumption, cheap to manufacture, and—most important—easy and convenient to read, e-papers of the future are just around the corner, with the promise to hold libraries on a chip and replace most printed newspapers before the end of the next decade. This article will cover the history, technology, and future of what will be the second paper revolution.

E-paper History: An Interview with Nick Sheridon, Father of E-paper

In the 1970s, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC) was a powerhouse of innovation. Many aspects the modern computer, namely the mouse, laser printer, Ethernet, GUI, computer-generated color graphics, as well as a number of important computer languages, were invented at PARC around that time. Yet another development, nearly lost among those important breakthroughs, was invented in 1974 by PARC employee Nicholas K. Sheridon. The Gyricon, a Greek term for rotating image, was to be new display technology for the Alto personal computer; eventually, it became the basis for modern e-paper technology.

Nearly 35 years later, TFOT sat down with Nick Sheridon to ask him about his historic invention.

Q: How did it all start?

Nicholas K. Sheridon inventor of
Gyricon - first electronic-paper
(Credit:Deanna Horvath, Xerox)

A: In the late 60s and early 70s, Xerox PARC was developing and attempting to get Xerox management to appreciate the Alto personal computer; they never did. It was the world's first office and word-processing computer, but this remarkable machine had one serious drawback: the cathode-ray tube display it used—the best available—was not bright enough, and the contrast was not great. People that used the machine did so in a darkened room, with the lights turned off and the window shades drawn. Several of us scientists were asked to try to find a better display, hopefully one that could permit operation in a brightly lit ambient. I invented the Gyricon rotating-ball display and a display based on a physical phenomenon I called “electrocapillarity.” The electrocapillarity display worked by moving colored liquids against a white background. The rest of the group worked on electrophoretic displays (eventually dropped due to lifetime problems).

A piece of history: one of the first pieces of
Gyricon material to be made, about 2
centimeters on a side from the 1974 era. The
imagewas produced by placing an "X" shaped

electrode on the Gyricon sheet and

applying a voltage. Normally, the Gyricon

does not save images for 30+ years, but

a special procedure was used in this case

to save the image.

(Image: Nicholas K. Sheridon/TFOT).

I codeveloped the Gyricon and electrocapillarity displays for about 18 months and finally decided the Gyricon would be easier to develop. Hoping to get back to the electrocapillary display, I delayed applying for patents until the early 90s. When my patent applications were laid open in Europe, a university group revived the work and changed the name to “electrowetting.” Electrowetting is widely studied and is considered a promising candidate for electronic paper. I published a paper on the Gyricon and made several presentations. Several patents were applied for. About this time, I met the Xerox head of corporate research in the PARC cafeteria. He complimented me on my display work but pointed out that Xerox was not in the display business. At this point, I realized the Alto was not going to be developed by Xerox. He strongly urged me to invent new printer technology to counter the erosion of the Xerox copier/printer market by the Japanese.

I stopped the Gyricon work and eventually invented a new electronic-printing technology based on ionography. This became a large program at Xerox, consuming perhaps $150 million; this number is hard to establish. We developed and were in early-manufacturing operations of the world's first multifunction desktop machine—printer, copier, input scanner, and fax—when this program was cancelled. This left me free to invent the concept of electronic paper.

Much has been written about the incredible myopia of Xerox executives of the time, so I won't go into that except to say that there were numerous other opportunities to enormously expand Xerox's business that were similarly fumbled. Xerox had enough money to create an incredible research lab with top-notch people, but Xerox management could not shake off the copier mentality.

Q: So how was e-paper born?

Gyricon material (Credit: Xerox)

A: I realized the need for e-paper in 1989. At Xerox PARC, we had long predicted the advent of the paperless office, with the widespread adoption of the personal computer we pioneered. The paperless office never happened. Instead, the personal computer caused more paper to be consumed. I realized that most of the paper consumption was caused by a difference in comfort level between reading documents on paper and reading them on the CRT screen. Any document over a half page in length was likely to be printed, subsequently read, and discarded within a day. There was a need for a paper-like electronic display — e-paper! It needed to have as many paper properties as possible, because ink on paper is the “perfect display.” Subsequently, I realized that the Gyricon display, which I had invented in the early 70s, was a good candidate for use as e-paper. I set about developing a manufacturing process for the Gyricon and solving its early problems. At this time, I was working alone, with a very good technician.

Q: Was there a eureka moment, or was the outcome more or less anticipated from the start?

A: There was a eureka moment when the need for e-paper crystallized in my mind and I realized—or thought I did—the magnitude of the challenge. Very euphoric!

Q: It's been almost 35 years since the invention of e-paper. Why do you think it is taking so long to enter the market?

A: E-paper has entered the market, but not yet in a big way. Gyricon sold message signs, and E Ink Corporation provided the e-paper for the Sony Reader sold in Japan. Kent Displays is also selling signs. No technology is yet sufficiently paper-like to grab the huge latent market widely recognized to be there. More invention is needed. This is a lot like the early days of television development, when everyone knew what was needed but getting the technology right was tough.

Q: What do you see as the obstacles facing mass adoption of e-paper technology?

A: No technology is sufficiently paper-like, yet. By this, I mean a display medium that is thin, flexible, capable of storing readable images without power consumption, highly readable in ambient light, and has good resolution, high whiteness, and good contrast — and is pretty cheap. A big part of this equation is the addressing electronics. Organic thin film transistors, or TFTs, will provide flexible addressing at a low cost, and other technologies show promise, but none of these are quite ready.

Q: Are these problems currently being addressed by the industry?

A: More than a dozen companies have announced work on active e-paper programs, and there are a number of start-ups. As I mentioned, the low cost and flexible electronic-addressing capability of organic TFT technology is important and is being intensively developed by a number of organizations. Still, I have not yet seen the ideal e-paper media solution.

Q: Are you still working on the development of e-paper?

A: Xerox closed its Gyricon operation in December 2005 for financial reasons. (I was director of research. I am now working independently and doing some consulting. And, yes, I am working to invent the perfect e-paper medium.

Q: When do you think we will see widespread use of e-paper?

A: I think the revolution will evolve, first as handheld displays of high contrast that are readable in direct sunlight —probably in the next year or two—followed by low power-consuming book readers (available in Japan, and more widely as intellectual-property rights issues are sorted out); and over the next five years, electronic signs and billboards. The pocket document reader will take a little longer.

Q: How do you see the future of e-paper?

Nick Sheridon and Fereshteh Lesani show

off the first roll of Gyricon E-PAPER
producedby 3M partners. (Credit: Xerox).

A: I like to tell people that the holy grail of e-paper will be embodied as a cylindrical tube, about 1 centimeter in diameter and 15 to 20 centimeters long, that a person can comfortably carry in his or her pocket. The tube will contain a tightly rolled sheet of e-paper that can be spooled out of a slit in the tube as a flat sheet, for reading, and stored again at the touch of a button. Information will be downloaded—there will be simple user interface—from an overhead satellite, a cell phone network, or an internal memory chip. This document reader will be used for e-mail, the Internet, books downloaded from a global digital library that is currently under construction, technical manuals, newspapers (perhaps in larger format), magazines, and so forth, anywhere on the planet. It will cost less than $100, and nearly everyone will have one!

How e-Paper Works

E-paper comprises two different parts: the first is electronic ink, sometimes referred to as the "frontplane"; and the second is the electronics required to generate the pattern of text and images on the e-ink page, called the "backplane".

Over the years, a number of methods for creating e-ink have been developed. The Gyricon e-ink developed in the 70s by Nick Sheridon at Xerox is based on a thin sheet of flexible plastic containing a layer of tiny plastic beads, each encapsulated in a little pocket of oil and thus able to freely rotate within the plastic sheet. Each hemisphere of a bead has a different color and a different electrical charge. When an electric field is applied by the backplane, the beads rotate, creating a two-colored pattern. This method of creating e-ink was dubbed bichromal frontplane. Originally, bichromal frontplane had a number of limitations, including relatively low brightness and resolution and a lack of color. Although these issues are still being tackled, other forms of e-ink, with improved properties compared to the original Gyricon, have been developed over the years.

One such technology is electrophoretic frontplane, developed by the E Ink Corporation. Electrophoretic frontplane consists of millions of tiny microcapsules, each approximately 100 microns in diameter—about as wide as a human hair. Each microcapsule is filled with a clear fluid containing positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles. When a negative electric field is applied, the white particles move to the top of the microcapsule, causing the area to appear to the viewer as a white dot, while the black particles move to the bottom of the capsule and are thus hidden from view. When a positive electric field is applied, the black particles migrate to the top and the white particles move to the bottom, generating black text or a picture.

How electronic paper works

The brightness and resolution of electrophoretic-based e-ink is better than that of bichromal-based e-ink, but both are monochromatic in nature. To create color, E Ink joined hands with the Japanese company Toppan Printing, which produces color filters.

Another drawback of electrophoretic e-ink is its low refresh rate, making electrophoretic e-ink unsuitable for displaying animation or video. Since it takes time for the particles to move from one side of the microcapsule to the other, drawing a new text or image is too slow and creates a flicker effect.

A colorful illustration of the way
ChLCD technology works (Credit: Fujitsu)

A completely different solution for creating e-paper, known as cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLCD), is being developed by such companies as IBM and Philips, as well as HP and Fujitsu, which have demonstrated actual devices. ChLCD technology is based on the well-known and widespread technology of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which work by applying a current to spiral-shaped liquid-crystal molecules that can change from a vertical to a horizontal position.

Although other potential technologies for developing advanced color electronic paper exist such as photonic crystals (P-ink) recently covered by TFOT, many analysts believe that ChLCD technology could become the dominant e-paper technology of the next decade. This assessment relates to the high level of maturity exemplified by the current LCD industry, as well as to the fact that ChLCD technology currently offers what many analysts see as the ideal list of features for e-paper: flexibility and even bendability; thinness, at approximately 0.8 millimeters; lightness; a bi-stable nature, requiring no power to maintain an image and very little power to change it; good brightness, contrast, and resolution; as well as vivid color and a decent refresh rate capable of displaying animation and possibly even video.

Applications of E-paper and Its Present-Day Technology Status

Fujitsu prototype color e-book
reader (left) and Irex Iliad (right)

Clearly, great progress has been made in the field of e-paper since the invention of Gyricon. Companies such as E Ink, SiPix, and Polymervision, as well as such giants as Sony, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Philips, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Siemens, Epson, and many others, are continuing to develop e-paper technology. Founded in 1997 and based on research begun at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, E Ink developed proprietary e-paper

technology that already has been commercialized by a number of companies, including iRex Technologies and Sony, both of which already have commercial e-paper readers on the market. At this stage, some of the products based on E Ink's technology are little more than expensive gimmicks, such as Seiko's limited-edition e-paper watch (priced at over $2,000). Other products to be marketed have more substantial applications. E-paper thin color displays for packaging, currently under advanced development at Siemens, could display prices on products dynamically, instantly altering a product's price when necessary (using such low-power wireless technology as radio-frequency identification, or RFID, for example). A dynamic expiration date, which would graphically display the amount of time remaining for food and drug consumption, is another potential application.

TFOT asked Till Moor from Siemens to describe Siemens's interest in e-paper technology.

Siemens e-paper (Credit: Siemens)

Moor: developed wafer-thin color displays that can be printed onto paper or foil. They can be manufactured very inexpensively, compared to LCDs. Wafer-thin displays offer great market potential in the area of future advertising and information provision by means of interactive packaging. Displays could provide selective information about a product or operating instructions for a device directly on its packaging. A drug box could, for example, display administration instructions that appear in several languages at the press of a button. Color displays could in the future display information practically everywhere—on cardboard foodstuff containers, drug boxes, or even admission tickets.

Citizen E-ink clock (Credit: Citizen)

Potential applications of e-paper technology is staggering. In addition to a new method for labeling foods and drugs, it could be used to label anything from shelves to office binders. One of the original uses of the Gyricon e-ink was in advertising and billboards; the bi-stable nature of the technology made the Gyricon a useful and cost-effective billboard technology. E-paper displays can also be used as low-power digital screens for a variety of electronic appliances, from microwaves to MP3 players.

Seiko e-watch (Credit: Seiko)

Although many potential applications for e-paper technology exist, one of the more exciting products is the e-paper reader, which may soon replace the age-old newspaper and possibly even certain types of books; some technical literature may be perfectly suited for e-paper. The next generation of e-paper readers will add color, include improved hardware that can refresh pages more quickly, and have more advanced wireless capabilities.

Sony PRS-505 e-reader (Credit: Sony)

Existing readers from Sony, iRex, and a number of other companies are still quite expensive and suffer from some of the problems that plague early technology models. The next generation of readers will also be flexible, making such applications as digital maps an attractive option, especially when connected to GPS hardware and software. Although e-paper readers like iRex's iLiad, are already equipped with wireless Internet communication, they are not well suited as general-purpose Web-surfing devices. Electronic readers of the future will one day become the ultimate handheld devices.

Having mentioned in this article a number of potential applications for e-paper, it is possible that the most important applications of this technology have not yet been invented. In the same way that Theodore H. Maiman did not foresee the DVD player when he invented the first laser in 1960, so might we still be in the dark as to the true potential of e-paper technologies.

The Future of E-paper

TFOT interviewed Nick Hampshire, an analyst at AFAICS Research, which focuses on publishing and media-related technology. Nick has been following the e-paper industry for many years, and his insights can shed light on both the current and future state of the industry.

Q: Why do you think it took almost 30 years for e-paper to enter the market?

Polymer Vision Radius prototype
(Credit: Polymer Vision)

A: The initial Gyricon technology proved expensive and had poor resolution; it was really only usable in the sort of message-board-display systems that were produced by Gyricon Media. The development of true e-paper really only dates from about 1998, when E Ink first demonstrated their electrophoretic frontplane display technology; this gave a higher resolution and was potentially much cheaper.

Plastic Logic e-paper
(Credit: Plastic Logic)

Since then, other companies, such as SiPix, have come out with electrophoretic display technologies. In the last four years, we have also seen companies like HP and Fujitsu bring out flexible displays that use cholesteric LCD technology. (Cholesteric refers to the phase of a liquid crystal in which the molecules are aligned in a specific manner. In Fujitsu's case, for example, up to 50 percent of incident light in specific wavelengths and colors is reflected). E-paper has to be a cheap, reflective, low power, and preferably bendable, or have rollable display technology, and we are only just seeing the development of the technologies that can deliver this, namely an electrophoretic frontplane bonded to a flexible organic electronic backplane. These are the displays currently on the verge of being launched by Plastic Logic and Polymer Vision.

Q: What are the current obstacles facing mass adoption of e-paper technology?

A: The main obstacle is price. Our research shows that the cost of an e-paper-based reader has to fall to under $100 before a significant percentage of the population will buy one. Even then, they will only buy if suitable content is available at a reasonable cost. The second obstacle is availability of content.

Q: How do you see the future of e-paper?

A: The technology of printed electronics will deliver low-cost production; we could be looking at give away e-paper display products by 2015. Content availability is a question of making sure that publishers are aware of the potential offered by e-paper displays, and prepared to make the investment to provide that content.

Q: What do you think will be the "killer application" of e-paper?

A: Color.

Q: When do you predict we will see the real e-paper revolution?

A: It has already started but will become a real mass market in about 2012.

Further discussion of electronic paper see this thread on the TFOT forums.

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Comments & Replies (52)

Killer-Application (10/16/07 - 23:50 - by gorio)

Multi-Touch E-Paper so you can not only read but write as well.

rewriteable paper (10/17/07 - 9:37 - by Tim Daly)

While at IBM Research I worked to create a technology called
rewriteable paper. It used bacteriorhodopsin, a material derived from
pond scum. The Rhodopsin molecule is used by the eye. This material
can be coated onto thin plastic sheeting. It can be written by a
printer but it can also be erased by the printer and rewritten. The
plastic sheet has the properties of paper, has no electronics, and can
be reused millions of times.
It can be manufactured in bulk and be made for pennies a sheet.
IBM dropped the project.

Sounds costly (10/17/07 - 9:39 - by Roy Peleg)

Making a so called "Multi-Touch E-Paper" will increase the
manufacturing cost of the paper (additional components) and will
probably increase the power consumption.

re-writable paper (10/17/07 - 10:51 - by Jenni)

Where is the profit on creating a paper that is rewritable? People in
the paper business might see rewritable paper as a threat. It's a
shame IBM dropped the project. I don't know how much of their
business is in paper, but they could make out really well on the
printer side. Transfer all the costs to the printer away from the
paper? Patent the technology and take on HP?

One more unrecyclable thing (10/18/07 - 7:42 - by Dianne)

We keep inventing things that can't be recycled, will end up creating
poison in landfills, and have no part of the production be the
requirement of how to dispose of it safely. Great idea for the people
selling the newest toys to the instant gratification crowd. Lousy for
the environment. It won't save trees...it will just add pollution to
the earth.

the device (10/18/07 - 15:35 - by Monty_1218)

It seems to me, and I may be wrong, that there isn\\\'t any need for
another device to put in my pocket just to read \\\'paper\\\'
documents. Why isn\\\'t there any mention in this article about the
merging of cellphones/PDAs/Laptop Computers. It seems that creating
\\\'paper\\\' documents will be directly linked to the current
progression of the multifunction Cell phone. Seemingly why so many
companies dropped their production of e-paper - It simply doesn\\\'t
achieve what can already be done digitally.

E paper (10/19/07 - 2:09 - by Marie Turnbull)

A product whose time has come. I think that portablility plus the
readability of text on paper instead of a screen will indeed make a
difference. Downloading to the e paper is another critical factor and
the increased use of wireless networks may be the deciding factor in
the takeup of this technology. Think of having all your school
textbooks available, but only the weight of a sheet of paper.

to Dianne & Monty_121 (10/20/07 - 14:36 - by anit)

hay Dianne the same recycle thought came 2 me too but if u think abt
it in the long run its goan to save paper & that translates in trees
saved..more over 2day new technology has to to be recyclable 2
survive.

& Monty_121 what seems 2 me is this product aims to be very cheap & u
mite end up using as paper clips what i mean is its gone to replace
paper & hence no new extra baggage is introduced in fact since e-paper
has memory it can replace multiple sheet of paper in a single
page...imagine u have a single sheet of paper that while traveling
can carry ur entire novel collection & (i hope u can download new ones
or the newspaper wirelessly.. which in turn saves a lot of paper= gud
4 earth...

i believe this could be start of a revolution

eagerly awaiting its arrival

Book in your pocket!? (10/30/07 - 1:14 - by Johnson Lin)

I don't see any problems with this technology; however, this will
certainly have a significant impact on the printing companies. Not
only that, if we're able to download books onto the e-paper, wouldn't
that mean that there must be some system to prevent massive free
downloads? I don't want to starve myself writing a book that i don't
get anything out of it.

Legal issues, DRM? (11/29/07 - 7:47 - by FSHero)

It would be fantastic if books would be published in electronic form.
You can apply the flexibility of a computer to the text (e.g. search
it), and while away from the computer you could just read it like you
would a regular book.

However, this is where copyright issues come into this. The authors of
books would probably want to enforce the copyright in order to protect
their sales. They wouldn't like their e-book to be shared over
peer-to-peer networks/similar.

So... I think that digital rights management(DRM) , while many people
think is unfair and restrictive, will be a widespread reality in
so-called "e-books". Either that, or a major rethink of the rights of
authors and readers and of copyright law will occur!

If DRM will be applied to e-books, I only hope there will be an open
implementation of it, so it can be used on free/open-source operating
systems, e.g. GNU/Linux. Hence, readers would not have to put up with
expensive and potentially inflexible e-book-reading software.

why (02/05/08 - 10:15 - by hyunjh)

why do we want to change paper

Paper (03/13/08 - 13:08 - by Coyote)

I Never knew this much. I never knew about electronic paper!!!

e-Paper (03/17/08 - 20:14 - by Marko)

e-Paper will rock. I did my final year major project on it during uni
studying Industrial Design. The biggest factor that has slowed its
devlopment is price, and with more companies working on the tech that
will soon be less of an issue as more competition enters the market.
It is such a promising technology I don't understand why people on
this forum can't understand how revolutionary this will be. I do agree
with an earlier comment, that we need to think about the design for
disassembly issues surrounding this tech and what it will mean
environmentally. I suggest that with the current green trend,
companies will set up plants that dispose of the old versions of
readers at the end of their lifecycles, similar to what european car
companies have been doing for some time now.
Can't wait til this is finally released widespread with proper online
infrastructure to back it up. Imagine having a subscription to your
newspaper download through your wireless connection at home every
morniing

Re: Monty (04/15/08 - 23:23 - by shae)

"creating paper documents will be directly linked to the current
progression of the multifunction Cell phone."

Check out the Motorola F3 phone. :)

"It simply doesn't
achieve what can already be done digitally."

The problem with LCD displays is that they use power all the time, and
they're less pleasant to look at (to most people, anyway).

Why bendable? (08/20/08 - 17:10 - by Brian)

yeah, paper is rollable and bendable,even foldable, but hardcover
books are not, leading me to wonder, why all the developers and
marketers seem fixated on the bendable aspect of epaper. not like its
going to matter if we can fold it right away. lots of us would be
thrilled to replace a whole library of books for just one device even
if it weren't bendable. I don-t need it to be a single sheet of paper,
what I am far more interested in is a big, washable, nonglossy page I
can read in the sunlight. And if it is color and can change fast, then
bye bye monitor screens,
even if its an inch thick.

E Paper (11/14/08 - 12:06 - by Pr1XseL)

There are televisions that are 0,3cm thick so make them 0,5cm and we
have multitouch monitors!

E paper usage in daily life is expensive and better is to print
something out!

Why bendable? (12/04/08 - 9:08 - by Dress)

yeah, paper is rollable and bendable,even foldable, but hardcover
books are not, leading me to wonder, why all the developers and
marketers seem fixated on the bendable aspect of epaper. not like its
going to matter if we can fold it right away. lots of us would be
thrilled to replace a whole library of books for just one device even
if it weren't bendable. I don-t need it to be a single sheet of paper,
what I am far more interested in is a big, washable, nonglossy page I
can read in the sunlight. Lingerie Wholesale And if it is color and
can change fast, then bye bye monitor screens,
even if its an inch thick.

reding news paper (12/04/08 - 9:22 - by hajer)

why more people do not read news papers

How Far ? (12/05/08 - 12:09 - by Yannick Meincke )

Does anybody know if I can already buy epaper somewhere ?
I am talking about an epaper that present one or 2 images the whole
time ???
i would be very thankful vor an answer

E Paper (01/01/09 - 9:45 - by Ian Newton)

What would be useful is an A4 times two or times four book for
musicians. We could have all our music books in one place and be able
to see two / four pages at a time. This would also be useful for
schools, churches and local music groups.

RFID and e paper (01/02/09 - 16:56 - by Garry Trail)

Talk about perspective. most of you are missing some of the
potentials. Once it gets going it will conmtinue to drop in price, but
this will save some inductries Millions of Dollars

flexible == teh suck (01/07/09 - 0:10 - by chaddm)

I've always agreed with Brian (8/20/08). Why the fascination with
bendable displays? Like, I can't wait until somebody pushes a book
into the edge of my little paper screen and then it gets a crease
forever after that. Or how about having to keep bending this roll-up
stuff back so the end isn't always curling up while you try to read
it? And speaking of bending and creasing, these things will always be
coated with a mildly to very specular protective surface. Trying to
push down the bent parts to read where the glare is obfuscating the
text is going to be totally maddening.

Take the flexible thing, stick it between two hard plastic or glass
plates, and I'm in.

Flexible e-paper? because paper is (01/07/09 - 3:46 - by Bryan)

Hardcovers are just that...hard COVERS.

Killer app will be video. A rollaway display will enable small form
factor when carrying and larger viewable form factor when viewing

eBook Publishing (01/25/09 - 21:48 - by Marc D)

If you go to the Baen website, you will find that some publishers have
already started moving towards eBooks. If anything they have found
that they sell even more books now, then they did before.

E-paper (02/12/09 - 1:50 - by Faderkinta)

Why e-paper? Are you kidding anyone whose had to move there personal
library should be able to tell you why. Try moving to another country.
I would love it if I could have all my art books in one small compact
thing. I also would love not to have to carry a ton of books just to
teach either. I am betting the flexible is for doctors and signs. How
about not having to go through a ton of reference books. Thank you
e-paper please hurry the hell up.

Themperature sensor vs.E-Paper (02/17/09 - 3:34 - by TeTsoung)

Is it necessary to use a themperature sensor for E-Paper? how to
mapping vs. themperature ?

Monitors? (03/04/09 - 3:41 - by Donna)

I'd love it if someone could please invent a laptop with an e-paper
display. I don't mind if I couldn't see video on it, and if it was
just greyscale. I don't enjoy staring at a computer screen, it's like
looking into the light from a flashlight! Please develop an e-paper
monitor for computers!

Monitor pleeease! (03/09/09 - 0:07 - by Tim)

I second Donna's point. Why is still no epaper monitor? Do you guys
have any idea how painful it is to write a sixty page thesis on a
backlit screen? I would pay exhorbitant amounts of money to buy
something that doesn't kill my eyes!

e-paper (03/16/09 - 20:42 - by Maxine)

Tim, you are aware that your monitor's brightness can be adjusted, are
you not? Re: e-paper, this stuff could save the news industry. I've
worked for a newspaper for 30 years...we are going the way of the
horse & carriage unless we get on board with this stuff NOW. It will
be messy and painful because people will lose their jobs, but in the
long run, the publishing industry as a whole will benefit. We can
develop ways to deal with the environmental impact. Go for it!!

Waste Paper costs (03/17/09 - 18:07 - by Phill)

I'm sure epaper on the underground would be a massive cost saver. All
that free newspaper left on carriages has to currently be retrieved.
E-paper may become a personal item that updates on a daily basis.

You are really not getting the gist of t (03/20/09 - 9:35 - by Mickey Perlstein)

Stop thinking in such a miniscule state of mind.

Think what you could do.

Huge Billboards that change data electronically and not by hand.

A laptop with a HUGE computer screen that rolls up next to the
battery, or folds, and uses a much lower percentage of your battery
power.

A computer screen that is actually the width of paper.

a TV set that is as thin as paper and doesn't waste so much energy as
LCD screens.

A Cellphone that has a sliding screen that is COMPLETELY retractable.

A monitor to show you the news headlines, that is wireless and
recieves data from your wireless computer/network that you can put ON
your fridge.

A think sheet of material they can put in the cockpit of F-18 instead
of the EXTREMELY expensive and EXTERMELY problematic lcd headup
displays they use nowadays.

This is NOT JUST FROM REPLACING BOOKS. It will revolutionize the way
we display information.

All thats missing is MASS production and color.

The oportunities are endless.

Altering Laws of Physics? (03/24/09 - 5:44 - by George)

Looking at the animation (not the text) it seems that ePaper has found
a way to make like charges attract and unlike charges repel. This is a
huge deal people. This flips the known laws of electromagnetism and is
worth a Nobel Prize if it is true.

appreciation (05/16/09 - 3:05 - by godfrey)

that`s nice

blah (05/27/09 - 9:06 - by dave)

new thing same stuff

business partner (06/02/09 - 2:35 - by Fei Caosong)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Perhaps this message comes to the wrong person, in that case please
forward it to the person in your company who is responsible for
purchasing of printed circuit boards.

Startrack Circuits Ltd is one professional PCB manufacturer, till now,
we have already passed ISO9001,2000 certification and other relative
certification. Our quality control system was accept by more and more
customer. We mainly supply single side, double side and multilayer
rigid printed circuit board.

Normally, we can finish the PCBs within 7 working days for a 6 layers
board or below.Within Eight working days for boards with layers above
6. For 2 layer pcb with normal size, we can achieve the competitive
price to USD 0.074 per cm2. for mass production boards, we can provide
free protyping. If any other infomation you needed, please feel free
to contact me or take an audit in our plant. We welcome customers
around the world to audit in plant.

business partner (06/02/09 - 2:35 - by Fei Caosong)

Loan payday (06/12/09 - 4:22 - by Hibah)

Badly need your help. Your world is made of your memories, and your
memories are given to you by your world. The whispering voice of
happenstance is always in our ears. 'This is the world. This is the
way things are. Look. Pay attention. Remember.'
I am from Fiji and now teach English, tell me right I wrote the
following sentence: "Chinese gay lesbian movies chinese movie database
gay lesbian."

With love :P, Hibah.

WOAH!!! (09/24/09 - 3:36 - by Mark)

This looks amazing!
If this does work, then that means less trees will be needed to cut
down to make old-fashioned paper, meaning we'll be helping out the
world in a whole new way!
OMFG!!!

less trees - less water (11/02/09 - 12:25 - by lisa)

It is realy amazing to think in the future. How great if this
invention is a possibility not just to minimize the cutting of
forests, the wastage of energy and the invaluable element water, which
is needed so much to produce paper. i am all on edge - the next years
are thrilling forsure.
I am looking forward to an e paper siding for the shower - changing
color, music.
More relevant: immense content with an affordable medium. Great!
Lisa from Leipzig

future of epaper (01/06/10 - 0:42 - by vulani)

Makhubele, please have look at this article

paper (02/25/10 - 16:45 - by diana)

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tkyre[gkptopkh\[trkotrihypotttropgk;tfokh;'dfkhgpsdkf[pfkoerpkgwp;ykjo
lkykouriotypjr6iioryerwpthiojuorijhijyuhiotyjuuohiojuyjhtolpglplp[loki
jgt7gyufedswy56ueruhrfuhhnfj

ddddddddddaey (02/25/10 - 16:47 - by angel)

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
sssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhffffffffff
ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
ssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

epaperdesktop (03/17/10 - 6:21 - by jemmy)

Why not create a desktop in white screen. You can make a desktop tall
as a wall. No cinema only epaper. Or a simple userdesktop, the eyes
would be happy. Lots of people read the hole day the sceen.

ink paper (03/28/10 - 1:56 - by dee)

Please note

E-Paper (05/23/10 - 3:25 - by Harley)

hey, think E-wallpaper

AC MACHINE (07/18/10 - 5:26 - by ahsan ullah khan)

CAN U GAVE ME PAPERS

respond (09/26/10 - 21:46 - by CollierAmy25)

Some specialists state that loan help a lot of people to live the way
they want, just because they are able to feel free to buy necessary
goods. Moreover, a lot of banks offer credit loan for all people.

Electronic paper (10/06/10 - 14:49 - by martin smith)

Keep the e paper simple in design, why because , thats all paper is,
simple
https://spapaperlessproject.wordpress.com

e-paper (10/19/10 - 13:13 - by blahblahblah)

i love this. now i want the bracelet

What will be the cost of e-paper? (10/22/10 - 16:24 - by Alyssa)

What will e-paper cost in the near future?Say maybe 2012.

e paper (11/24/10 - 4:51 - by paul)

make the e paper exactly like a newspaper, the only difference being
you plug the paper into the internet and download the days news.You
can then use the epaper over and over again without having to buy a
new one, and thus stopping the need to cut down trees ,waste lots of
money on printing and paper disposal into landfill. It could be
brilliant!!

where to buy rewritable plastic sheet? (12/04/10 - 2:03 - by joe)

Hi guys! I once saw a plastic sheet with milky color. When covered
against a dark background plate, one can write on it with a ink-less
"pen". But when taken off the background plate, the handwriting
disappears. Do you know what it is and where I can buy it?

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