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The past year has been exciting for electronic reading devices. One of the leading suppliers - Gemstar has come out with its new REB line of
e-book readers, major bookstore chains like Barnes & Noble now sell e-books and Steven King sparked serious interest in electronic resources at a popular level. The result is that portable e-book readers have
made terrific inroads in terms of mass acceptance. E-books have a long way to go but they have certainly done well so far.
E-book designers have striven to make the reader emulate the paper reading experience - a sensible
market strategy. The paper book has thrived for a long time and has a very loyal following. People, organizations and societies love paper and are, it would seem not ready to move away from the paper paradigm. People love paper - they need to be able to "curl up" with their books, take them into the bathtub, and they need paper copies of their favourite web article. This is a “comfort zone” response. People have mastered the paper technology and are reluctant to have to introduce and thus learn a new reading platform.
So, enticing people over to the electronic reading experience, with e-book devices that “read like a paper book” is probably a shrewd
move. Eventually, we will get beyond this paper clinging mindset to embrace an electronic world where the possibilities for information providers and consumers can be fully realised.  Electronic books will help move us through
this transition phase to a paperless society, but they may, themselves, need help in the shape of another product - Electronic Ink.
‘Electronic ink’ generates an image of a piece of paper that glows with letters like a neon
sign. That is not far off. This technology is the ability to put electronic charge to particles on flexible sheets about the thickness of paper and thus have these particles form words.
Instead of using computer screens, these flexible sheets emulate paper and as such are portable and reusable. Imagine having a road map that could change depending on what city
you were in or a newspaper that didn't have to be discarded, it would be updated each day.
There are two major players working on electronic ink technology. E Ink Corporation (http://www.eink.com) of Cambridge Massachusetts and Xerox in Palo Alto, California (http://www.parc.xerox.com). Both work using the same basic principles, but approach the
product in a slightly different manner.
E ink partnered with Lucent Technologies (http://www.lucent.com) in June of 2000. Lucent's research arm, Bell Labs has developed a proprietary flexible ink display. Lucent has
licensed this display technology to E Ink and invested multiple millions of dollars in the company. In exchange Lucent received a minority equity share in E Ink. One year after
their development project was announced, the two companies demonstrated prototypes of the new technology.
"True electronic paper has, in many ways, seemed like a futuristic technology," said Jim
Iuliano, president and CEO of E Ink. "Today we have brought that concept closer to reality by demonstrating that electronic ink works with Lucent's flexible plastic transistors. With
this combination of technologies we believe that we have found a very promising means for achieving paper-like electronic displays."
E Ink has received funding from other interested parties including Motorola Incorporate and
Hearst Corporation interested in electronic newspapers applications.
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How E-Ink’s product works
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E Ink’s product is comprised of tiny spheres called microcapsules. Millions of these spheres ha ve a clear outer shell and are filled with blue dye. Within each sphere there are
microscopic chip of white pigment. These chips are positively charges. When a negative charge passes along either the top of the capsule or the bottom of the capsule, the chips move to the top or
bottom making the sphere blue or white. Put these combinations together and symbols can be formed.
Lucent worked on the plastic circuitry that charges the particles. The transistors that
make up this circuitry are made of low cost plastic.
The
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Paul Drzaic, director of technology for E Ink demonstrates E Ink’s flexible display prototype.
Reprinted with permission.
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display is also very bright and easily read in both bright light as well as dim light. According to E Ink because the ink is bistable,
meaning it only needs to be powered when the paper is “charged”. It is also reflective and can be read in a variety of lighting conditions. It does not require power to hold the display.
(http://www.eink.com/company/hotnews.shtml) A commercial product now available from E Ink called Immedia used for large area signs only uses 0.1 watts of power. |
A roll of Glyricon