Building a simple e-ink display from scratch

Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by vivekd on Sunday April 16, 2017 @04:03AM (#14124889)

I think the real issue is there is an IP moat - Eink corporation was pretty much a monopoly which kept prices high and research and innovation spending low - but the patent has been partially annulled in Germany so there might be more innovation in that field coming soon

http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2015/03/02/german-court-fin...

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by echelon on Sunday April 16, 2017 @06:05AM (#14125160)

I hope the IP ownership loosens sooner than later. The cost of e-ink is ridiculous. A few months ago I wanted to design a picture frame-sized dashboard suitable for wall mounting, but the prices are exorbitant. I can't feasibly afford to build such a display.

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by wuschel on Sunday April 16, 2017 @05:09AM (#14125034)

Very interesting, indeed. I thought that patent issues were a roadblock. Kudos to Trekstor to stand up for a fight, and thanks for the link.

On the other hand, taken from the article: "overall quality of the screen wasn’t quite as good as E Ink, but it wasn’t very far off either".

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by linuxkerneldev on Sunday April 16, 2017 @06:26AM (#14125217)

> Kudos to Trekstor to stand up for a fight, and thanks for the link.

I fear you may have misinterpreted that result. Trekstor doesn't make panels. They buy panels from OED Tech based in Shenzhen. OED Tech is actually a company started by former E Ink engineers who left Boston and moved to China. They were sued by E Ink because those guys just stole the chemical formulas and production processes. OED Tech even approached us (we buy E Ink panels) and promised to undercut their price.

Competition is good but I kind of prefer genuine competition. I had high hopes for interferometric but Qualcomm shut that down.

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by shiven on Sunday April 16, 2017 @09:57AM (#14125806)

Competition is good but I kind of prefer genuine competition.

Except in the industries and product areas where IP is being used for land-grabs, rent-collection, little-to-none innovation and roadblocking any and all competition. In those cases (as E-Ink), I am glad there are still places in this world where people can continue to push the envelope and innovate to create better products for our species. IP be damned.

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by userbinator on Sunday April 16, 2017 @12:10PM (#14126248)

There are apparently already a bunch of small companies in China making EPDs (electrophoretic display, the "generic name" and associated components; E-Ink is just one company/trademark) so the end of the monopoly may be near, and prices may drop enough to make them as commonly available as LCDs.

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by xeemzorz on Sunday April 16, 2017 @12:27PM (#14126317)

I wouldn't count on it. There are still many manufacturing difficulties to overcome before making large format electrophoretics cheaper.

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by wuschel on Sunday April 16, 2017 @02:29PM (#14126810)

Interesting. Could you perhaps elaborate further, or point towards any sources re manufacturering difficulties?

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by bluejekyll on Sunday April 16, 2017 @12:07PM (#14126240)

Shouldn't the original patents be expiring soon anyway?

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Re:Building a simple e-ink display from scratch by xeemzorz on Sunday April 16, 2017 @12:22PM (#14126293)

Patents are only a very small portion of IP value. A huge portion of knowledge is kept as trade secrets. It's not easy to manufacture epaper.

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