E-ink is a relatively new technology that delivers on the promise of an electronic equivalent for paper. E-ink is deployed in high resolution active matrix displays – these are commonly called electronic paper displays or EPDs. The thing that distinguishes e-ink from flat screen technologies that you find in desktop and laptop computers is that e-ink has no requirement for the image to be back lit. This means it consumes much less power and can be read in bright sunlight. For all intents and purposes it really does resemble paper – the only difference is it the page can be refreshed with new data – so it still needs electricity, but only to turn the page.

Early versions of e-ink paper suffered from very slow refresh rates and poor resolutions. Recent evolutions in the technology have vastly improved the time it takes for a page to refresh. I think the refresh rates now are similar to the time it takes to turn a page in a paper book.

The e-ink technology can be used in a range of devices and is produced up to an A4 page size. E-ink, through electronic paper displays is deployed most commonly in e-books. In e-books the EPD is combined with a simple operating system and flash storage to create a device capable of storing many e-book files in a piece of hardware no larger than a mid-size novel weighing no more that 100 grams or so.

The resolution of recent e-ink products means that text appears sharp and crisp on the screen and in certain lighting conditions is almost indistinguishable from normal paper.

For more information on e-ink you can visit the E Ink Corporation who explain it quite well.

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