This blog is dedicated to the discussion of the emerging technology of Electronic Paper, or e-paper and the change it will have on display technology within an organization.

What is Electronic Paper?

Just like the name suggests, e-paper is a new technology that aims to replace ordinary printing paper with an electronic screen. Companies like Sony, LG, and Samsung have been further developing this electronic version of paper after it was first introduced in 1970 at the Palo Alto Research Center by Xerox. (1)

What makes E-paper more advanced than previous digital display technology is its versatility. E-paper is flexible, bendable and somewhat smash-proof just like real paper. Also, the e-paper reflects light off its surface to illuminate text and pictures, unlike the computer screen you are using right now which uses a backlight to illuminate the pixels on the screen. This means the screens use less energy and can be made paper thin and gives the e-paper a wider viewing angle than other digital display screens. (2)

Several companies have come up with different solutions to making e-paper a reality. One solution is electrophoretic frontplane. This technology may seem complicated but the concept is easy enough to comprehend with an example. To visualize what electrophoretic frontplane is, imagine millions and millions of tiny balls trapped between two planes of glass. There are two types of balls; one half is white and is positively charged and the other is black and has a negative charge. To make characters materialize on the screen electric currents are applied and depending on how the charge is applied either a white or black ball will appear in that space (1). This visualization is seen in figure 1

Figure 1: Electrophoretic Frontplane Diagram

1) http://thefutureofthings.com)/articles/1000/the-future-of-electronic-paper.html
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epaper
3) http://www.howstuffworks.com/e-ink.htm