Japan Display Inc. (JDI) announced that it has developed a 30cm-wide high resolution electronic paper (ePaper) electronic shelf labels (ESL).
The 30cm-wide three-color module is based on the long-term strategic alliance with E Ink Holdings Inc. (E Ink, TW: 8069) for the ePaper business. Through the alliance with E Ink, JDI is now delivering samples of this ePaper and plans to start commercial shipments as early as the third quarter 2018.
JDI’s ePaper is a reflective display with visual qualities equivalent to traditional paper, combined with the advantages of electronic updating. Using E Ink’s electronic ink technology, ePaper has a wide viewing angle, low power consumption, and provides vivid images even in all ambient light. These features are making ePaper widely used for a variety of applications, including eBooks and ESL/POP (point of purchase) displays, with further expansion into other application markets expected.
Primary Product Features
- 30cm-wide high resolution ePaper suitable for ESL
Since most merchandise shelves used in retail stores are 90cm (about 3 feet) or 120cm (about 4 feet) wide, a 30cm-wide ePaper is a practical width. This new product enhances the usefulness of the shelf labels by fully utilizing the spaces in front of the merchandise to increase the display area for prices and other advertising information. The 30cm-wide display can also show information for multiple merchandise items on one display. - High resolution*1 ePaper with 198ppi*2, suitable for complex characters
Currently, most of the existing ESLs used in Europe and the United States, the regions in which alphabetical characters are used, have resolution from 110ppi to 130ppi. Given the penetration of ESLs into Asian countries, there is a growing demand for ESLs that have resolution over 150ppi to display complex characters, such as Chinese and Japanese characters. The newly-developed 198ppi ePaper meets these needs for higher resolution and can more faithfully show complicated characters, as well as provide an increased amount of pixel density to display a greater number of characters or sharpened images.
*1 High resolution electronic paper with three colors, according to JDI research.
*2 ppi is an abbreviation for pixels per inch.
- Enhancing marketing efficiency as a sales promotion tool
JDI’s 30cm-wide high resolution display with the above-mentioned benefits substantially enhances the degrees of freedom for displaying merchandise information. It can serve as an efficient sales promotion tool by showing photographic images of merchandise, food recipes, etc., or, QR codes which be linked to smartphone apps to offer a variety of services.
This product will be demonstrated at some ESL manufacturers’ booths in the 2018 National Retail Federation show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY, USA, from Sunday, January 14, 2018 through Tuesday, January 16, 2018. (https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/)
| LCD mode | E Ink reflective Electronic Paper Display (EPD) |
| Diagonal size | 287.6mm × 43.0mm (11.45-inch) |
| Number of colors | 3 colors (white, black, red) |
| Resolution | 2242 × 335 |
| Pixel density | 198 ppi |
| Reflectance | Typ. 40% |
| Contrast ratio | Typ. 15:1 |
Reference: JDI News Releases
November 09, 2016: Japan Display and E Ink Form Strategic Alliance
May 22, 2017: JDI Announces Development of the World’s Highest Definition Electronic?Paper Backplane
About Japan Display Inc.
Japan Display Inc. (JDI) is a leading global manufacturer of advanced small- and medium-sized LTPS LCD panels. By leveraging its advanced technologies and the world’s largest LTPS production capacity, JDI provides high resolution, low power consumption and thin displays for smartphones, tablets, automotive electronics, digital cameras, medical equipment and other electronic devices. JDI, which commenced operations in April 2012, was formed through the consolidation of the display panel businesses of Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba. The company’s common stock is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with the securities code number 6740. For more information please visit: www.j-display.com/english/.
About E Ink Holdings
E Ink Holdings Inc. (8069.TWO), based on technology from MIT’s Media Lab, has transformed and defined the eReader market and is redefining the signage, architecture and design, mobile, wearable and retail markets with its ePaper technology, enabling a new multi-billion dollar market in less than 10 years. Its corporate philosophy aims to deliver revolutionary products, user experiences and environmental benefits through advanced technology development. This vision has led to its continuous investments the field of ePaper displays as well as expanding the use of its technologies into a number of other markets and applications including smart packaging and fashion. Its Electrophoretic Display products make it the worldwide leader for ePaper. Its Fringe Field Switching (FFS) technologies are a standard for high-end LCD displays and have been licensed to all major liquid crystal display makers in the world. Listed in Taiwan’s Taipei Exchange (TPEx) and the Luxembourg market, E Ink Holdings is now the world’s largest supplier of ePaper displays. For more information please visit www.eink.com.
