14 DAY TRIAL // Epson is one of the largest manufacture of computer electronics, with a main focus on dot matrix, inkjet and laser printers. Although the Japanese company is better known for its printing devices, it also deals with products such as electronic paper. And it's exactly this field where they have just released a new prototype. Showcased at the Society for Information Display gathering, held this year in Los Angeles, the new 13.4-inch electronic paper is sure to make some heads turn.
Up to this moment, the company's largest electronic paper product was a 7.1-inch type released in mid 2006. Back then, the product was developed using the SUFTLA Technology (Surface-free technology by laser annealing) and could provide users with a maximum QXGA resolution of 1536 by 204 pixels. The introduction of this new 13.4-inch version is clearly meant to revitalize the company's electronic paper lineup.
The 13.4-inch form factor brings Epson's largest electronic paper to exactly an A4-size sheet of paper. The product will be capable of delivering a pixel count of 3104 ? 4128 and definition as high as 385ppi. Unlike its previous version, this product has been developed combining electrophoretic electronic ink of E Ink Corp and a low-temperature polycrystal Si-TFT of Seiko Epson. Other technical specifications include a contrast ratio of 10:1 and reflectance of 40%. It appears that along with the release of this prototype, Epson marks the final stage of replacing traditional papers with electronic ones.
At this point, there's no price and availability for the product, but the Japanese company is expected to conduct a market research to find out what the success rate of this product will be. Epson also plans to extend its product lineup with electronic papers.