It’s hard to remember when the talk about digital paper, or
electronic paper, or e-paper or whatever the vendor has chosen to call it, was
first heard. Perhaps it was about the same time the sages predicted the
paperless office – the one we’re still waiting for!
But regardless of when it started, it seems that the talk
has been more of a whisper, just occasionally interrupted by a shout. Now,
however, it may be time to pay attention. A new study entitled, E-Paper
Technology and Opportunities in Publishing, Communications, and the Graphic
Arts, has just been published by Strategies for Management (that’s a consulting
partnership headed by Dr. Joe Webb). And, when Dr. Joe (known to many from his
regular commentary and webinars for WhatTheyThink.com) speaks, it’s probably
worth listening.
So what exactly is e-paper? The simplest definition, as used
by the authors of the study, is "a flexible electronic display." But for the
inventors, the goal has been a little more complicated than that. They’ve tried
to duplicate, as closely as possible, all of the desirable characteristics of
ink on paper – a flexible substrate with a non-glare surface, producing
sharp, high-contrast images that are readable from a wide range of angles.
They also want to make it an electronic display that can be
renewed on demand, that eliminates the need to be refreshed, that isn’t
backlit, and that has a very low power consumption.
A successful product could be used in the reader for
electronic books and magazines or for signage and POP displays, to list just a
few. In fact, many of the products that you may print in your shop today could
be ‘output’ to an e-paper product instead. But not to worry, it’s all still an
inventor’s dream…or is it?
Unfortunately, if you haven’t been listening to those
whispers, you won’t know that some e-paper products have indeed been invented
and are already available commercially. Arguably, the most successful product
is actually called E Ink from E Ink Corp. (because it’s about the "electronic"
ink, not the substrate). This technology employs an ink, composed of
microscopic capsules that each contain both negatively charged black particles
and positively charged white particles, (just think of the good guys in the
white hats in the old westerns!) coated on a substrate and then laminated to a
layer of circuitry.
The capsules are suspended in a liquid so the ink can be
screenprinted onto glass, plastic, fabric or even paper. In use, the circuitry
is charged, pixel by pixel, to attract either the white or black particles and
thus creates the desired image. Once the particles are oriented, the display
requires no further energy until the image is changed, so power consumption is
extremely low and battery life is very long.
Reports from users say that the resulting product is almost
as comfortable to read from as ink on paper! While current versions of the
product are only black and white, 12-bit colour displays have been developed
and are used in new applications, expected to be released this year.
The E Ink technology has been licensed by a number of
companies and incorporated as the display in their products such as; Ambient’s
‘5 Day Weather Receiver’, Seiko for watch faces, and Ink-in-Motion POP displays
from Neolux, Midori Mark or Teraoka.
But perhaps the application with the greatest potential to
effect printers is the new Sony Reader for displaying e-books, scheduled to be
released in mid 2006. If this new electronic gadget comes anywhere close to the
‘must have’ status of the iPod, then the impact on printed book sales may be
significant. At launch, Sony will offer at least 10,000 titles formatted for
the Reader and available through their on-line bookstore. More are promised to
follow quickly.
But that’s a big if. A few years ago, at a CPIA conference,
the keynote speaker talked about e-books and said that he always applied his 3B
test to new portable electronic devices. The test has three questions: 1) Is it
better than what it’s replacing? 2) Would I take it into the bath? 3) Would I
be upset if I left it on the bus? The answer to the first question depends on
whether it’s being compared to a paperback or to some other type of digital
display, so maybe yes, maybe no.
To the second, water and electronics don’t mix very well, so
that’s probably a no. And to the third, at an expected cost of $300 to $400
U.S., you definitely don’t want to leave it on the bus, or anywhere else. Based
on the 3B test then, perhaps e-book readers won’t be joining cellphones, PDAs,
and iPods any time soon.
So maybe you don’t have to worry about loosing any book,
magazine or sign business just yet, but other products are coming to market and
other applications are being developed. Once again, you’re faced with the ‘pay
me now or pay me later’ dilemma. You can choose to do your research now and
explore what opportunities this new media may provide, or wait until it becomes
well established and try to react to the problems it may present.
Oh, and if you are thinking about Dr. Joe’s e-Paper Study,
it probably provides lots of information and insightful analysis to help you
discover those new opportunities. Just one simple business decision you need to
make first – what will be the return on the $4,875.00 U.S. investment
needed to buy it?
Jim Dutton is an industry Consultant and serves on the Board
of Directors of the Digital Imaging Association. He can be reached at j.dutton@sympatico.com.
