LG has started mass production of what it claims is the world’s first plastic e-paper display (EPD) and has claimed products using the technology will arrive in Europe as early as next month.
The Korean manufacturer says its plastic EPD has a number of advantages over glass EPD and claims the development will “revolutionise” the e-book market.
The EPD uses e-ink, which shows thousands of pixels which are white when positively charged and black when negatively charged and are controlled by a small voltage, staying in place until the next time a voltage is applied.
E-ink is used in the Amazon Kindle e-reader’s glass EPD display, but LG says that compared to a glass EPD of the same size and resolution, plastic EPD is a third slimmer and more than a half lighter.
Clumsy readers will be reassured to learn it will also offer more protection than glass EPD, with LG claiming that around 10 percent of owners have damaged their screens in accidents. The plastic EPD suffered no damage from durability tests which saw it dropped from 1.5 metres repeatedly, or from being hit with a small hammer.
One problem that LG had to overcome during the development process was that the creation of LCD screens requires exposure to high temperatures, meaning it had to create a plastic EPD that could withstand subjection to 350 degrees.
“With the world’s first plastic EPD, LG Display has once again proven its reputation for leadership and innovation with a product we believe will help greatly popularize the e-book market,” said Sang Duck Yeo, head of operations at LG Display’s Mobile and OLED division. “Based on our success in mass-producing plastic EPD, we are excited as we look toward applying concepts from this experience to future developments like plastic OLED and flexible displays.”
The development could be a significant step forward for e-paper, which is seen to have a number of environmental benefits over traditional paper, and was even used to create a bendable smartphone by Canadian scientists.
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Every now and then I see a technology that really makes me go, "wow!", and this is definitely one of them. If this does come to fruition, it would be a really ironic twist for e-book readers and tablets to go from solid rectangle devices to actually resembling books. LG could really shake up the e-reader and table market with this technology.
Sarah
Mosaic Technology
http://www.mosaictec.com