Imagine a paperless world where you can carry an entire library of books and on-hand reference materials in your pocket. Now imagine being able to view these texts in any type size, in color, with the same sharpness and contrast of real paper. Well, thanks to e-paper technology in theislandnow.com, this dream is quickly becoming a reality.
What is e-paper?
E-paper (also known as Electronic Paper) is a thin electronic display used for reading text that mimics the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike with traditional displays like LCD screens or LED displays which require power consumption even when inactive, an e-page only uses power when it changes content.
The Benefits of e-Paper
The advantages of e-paper over traditional text display technologies include:
- Lighter and smaller. E-paper is comprised of a semiconductor layer, on top of which is sandwiched a thin glass substrate and then an optically dense inorganic film or organic liquid crystal layer. The result is a device with an extremely thin profile: as little as 11 microns thick, compared to the thicknesses for glass and plastic substrates which are between 1 to 2mm in thickness. This allows for thinner displays, thus reducing weight – you can now carry an entire library in your pocket!
- Higher Resolution. E-paper can achieve up to 1600 x 2400 pixels in resolution, which is similar to that of a color LCD screen. This allows for clearly visible text and high definition images.
- Lower power consumption. E-paper uses an extremely low power circuit (less than 1/10th that of an LCD device) which means long-lasting battery life! The display can be read without any power being drawn from the battery if the image being displayed has not changed – this makes e-papers ideal for situations where one image is displayed for a long duration of time (such as with billboards).
- Zero Radiation Hazards. E-paper uses a technology which does not require radiation to be emitted from the display (like LCD’s and LED’s), thus preventing the health risks associated with exposure to radiation.
- No backlight is required. The lack of a backlight means that there is no need for an additional light source, which also reduces power consumption.
- Easy-On-The-Eye Reading. E-paper displays are designed so that they mimic the appearance of ink on paper, as opposed to traditional displays which tend to be bright and attract attention – eliminating any strain or discomfort in reading as with other display technologies.
