E-Ink Displays for Indoor and Outdoor

E-Ink Displays are digital signs in various sizes that are based on E-Ink technology widely known from e-readers. The efficient displays can show texts, prices and graphics without losing the advantages of paper such as good readability due to viewing angle stability and high contrast.

E-Ink translates as electronic ink and is often referred to as "electronic paper". The term goes back to the E Ink Corporation, who originally developed the technology.

E-Ink is based on electrophoretic ink. This consists of microcapsules with colored particles that come to the surface depending on the electrical charge. The polarity of the electric field can be changed by briefly generating electrical voltage. The particles become visible, and the microcapsule is colored in the desired color. This way, energy in the form of electricity is only required when the color pigments change, i.e. the display changes. In addition to black and white, modern e-ink screens can also show grayscale and full color. This is controlled via the basic colors red, yellow and blue as well as the time profile of the applied voltage.

The electronic shelf labels of the VUSION and Newton series can display the three colors black-white-red (BWR) or black-white-yellow (BWY). These ePaper displays are particularly suitable for digital price labeling or addressing customers and are used in small and large supermarkets, but also in specialist shops or in the industrial sector.

For more variety and freedom of design, S&K Solutions also offers e-ink displays in grayscale or full color. Here, digital content is displayed in 16-bit grayscale or 4096 colors. Color e-ink displays with Advanced Color also have a 32-bit color space that includes 32,000 colors.

Electronic paper has two decisive advantages over TFT, OLED and LCD screens:

• Low power consumption: E-Ink displays are "bistable". This means, the electronic displays do not need a constant power source to display the content. Electricity is only required when the display changes.
• Good legibility: The excellent legibility of the displays in indoor and outdoor use can be attributed to the high contrast of the electronic ink. The e-paper labels are characterized by a viewing angle stability of up to 180 degrees. In addition, the display can easily be read by customers on the shelf or outdoors, even in direct sunlight.

S&K Solutions offers e-ink displays in many shapes and colors. While our electronic price tags and electronic labels only go up to a 12 inch display size, we also offer larger screens for our e-ink displays in grayscale and full color. The bandwidth of these e-ink monitors ranges from 13 to 48 inches. In addition, the larger e-ink screens offer the option of displaying grayscale or color, while the digital labels can only display BWR (black-white-red) or BWY (black-white-yellow). In addition to the reproducible color space, the E-Ink displays differ from digital price tags and labels in that they are permanently powered with optional battery operation.

Depending on the ESL system, the electronic labels can be controlled via an access point in the 868 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. Management software that also serves as a content management software is supplied with the e-ink price tags or labels. Here you can manage the labels and call up their status (e.g. battery status, errors) and play content and information on the displays. This can be done either cloud-based or on-premise.

Yes, that is possible! And there are numerous ways to control the digital labels via your inventory management or your ERP system.

• Middleware solutions: With our SmaSS middleware, we offer an interface between our digital labels and your inventory management system, your SAP ERP system, your calendar or other databases that you work with on a daily basis. Our partner network enables individual solutions that are tailored to your needs.
• SAP ERP E-Ink Label Add-On: Together with our partner 4process, we have created a solution especially for manufacturing to control the electronic shelf labels directly from your SAP ERP system. You don't have to go through an interface or the basic software for the labels.