Digital Signage by E Ink and Sharp Revolutionizes Information Distribution in Carbon-Neutral Era

Digital signage is becoming increasingly popular as a communication tool in public spaces and facilities for transmitting information in a timely manner. Digital screens offer dynamic, entertaining content that is relevant to the audience, the time of day, and about certain events. For example, a restaurant can advertise its current specials on its front patio to entice passersby.

There is no question that this type of solution is perfect for companies that want to display multiple messages at once, such as promotional offers or product information, in a variety of locations. However, it is still common to see paper posters used in areas where it is difficult to install digital signage, whether it is due to an electrical supply not being available, or the surface on which the signage would be installed does not have the necessary load-bearing capacity.

E Ink and Sharp are collaborating with the goal of combining their strengths to bring digital signage to those hard-to-reach areas.

Here’s a little background on the two companies when it comes to digital signage and digital paper technology:

Sharp (News - Alert) is known to push for digital signage and has done so since entering the business in 2005 with their “Changing City Scenery, Changing Office Scenery” theme. They offer a one-stop solution for digital displays — from planning, production, consulting, and system construction to installation and maintenance — that can fit any given installation location.

E Ink has a track record of revolutionizing various markets (such as e-books, digital notepads and electronic shelf labels) with their proprietary digital paper technology that features the visibility and portability of paper in a digital display format (and requires no power to display an image).

As the first step in the collaboration, Sharp is set to release the 42-inch monochrome “e-poster” digital paper display in the Japanese market in early April. Sharp, with expertise in installing and operating digital signage, along with their extensive service network across Japan, will offer digital poster options to replace paper posters in locations where digital signage has been previously difficult to install.

The thin and lightweight digital paper display, with a power consumption of zero watts during display, uses light reflected from outside sources to display its image, providing optimal visibility even in bright environments. 

“When it comes to digital signage, the achievement of digital posters with a power consumption of zero watts during use is a ground-breaking step in working toward creating a new market suitable for the carbon-neutral era,” said Tetsuji Kawamura, Sharp’s Executive Officer and BU President of Smart Business Solutions.

This is just the start, too; both companies plan to strengthen their collaboration by expanding their efforts worldwide and developing a market for e-paper posters to serve as a new tool to disseminate information in the carbon-neutral era.