Last week E Ink attended Digital Signage Expo (DSE) 2013 – our very first signage show!
Many of you may not realize this, but E Ink actually started off in signage, with our very first product in 2000 – a simple segmented large area sign.
We had these signs placed in a JC Penney in Massachusetts, the Macy’s at 34th Street in NY and at the Arizona Republic newspaper offices in Phoenix. However, as our Company grew and our technology improved, we decided to focus intensively on eReaders, and we put our signage efforts on hold.
Image of Immedia sign from 2000 – sign still working in our Cambridge offices
However, we continued to receive inquires about signage featuring ePaper and E Ink, and we reopened our efforts in the last year.
At DSE, we showed 2 different types of signs: high resolution, active matrix displays, used in electronic shelf labels (ESL), and low resolution, segmented displays, used for tiled information signage.
ePaper Electronic Shelf Labels
ePaper Large Area Signs
Signs using ePaper displays leverage the same benefits as other products using our technology:
As many communities begin to look at the impact of emissive light from LCD / LED billboards on their residents, a reflective display can offer benefits. As with paper billboards, supplemental light would be needed to view the E Ink sign at night. However, during the day, no light is needed and an ePaper sign can be read in the brightest sunlight, from any angle. In addition to the benefits to a night-time community, a reflective display allows for a potentially more esthetically pleasing display in areas where historical or retail zoning dictates sign layouts and lighting.
Both our low resolution and high resolution signage can be tiled, allowing customers to create large, custom sign configurations. Additionally, we offer a range of tiling options, including signs that feature extremely small tile gaps, such as the Cityscape sign, below, which utilizes our ability to wrap our ink film around the edges of the panel.
Cityscape small tile gap signage – showing 4 panels tiled together
We also featured our partner’s demo, the Machikomi large area sign, by Toppan Printing in our booth. The Machikomi sign has been deployed in a number of train and bus stations in Japan, as well as in retail stores.
Machikomi sign, by Toppan Printing
Machikomi sign, by Toppan, in Sendai Subway Station, 2008
Toppan was awarded the Signage Solutions Best of 2012 Award in the area of Network / Delivery for this demo.
We also showcased simple Point-of-Purchase signs, made by our partners, Motion Display and Neolux. These displays are simple segmented displays where the message is pre-selected, and a printed overlay is used to highlight flashing segments. This allows retailers to leverage the power of motion and color at a lower price point.
Ink-In-Motion™ display from MotionDisplay
In addition to the low resolution, segmented signs on display, we also showcased a high resolution panel for signage applications. E Ink plans to release high resolution panels in 2 sizes, 19″ and 32″, which can also be tiled together. These signs are ideal for menu boards, transportation and other informational signage.
High resolution signage – 1 tile arrangement
We’ve launched 2 new pages on our website for these products, and will continue to keep you updated on our future developments for ePaper signs. To learn more about our ESL products, click here; for more information on large area signage, click here.