E-Ink Screens- The secret of Kindle

Kindle- the gadget-y paper book, brings the ease of reading on an e-book. To be honest, it is nothing but a black and white screen but it does its job pretty well. The screen looks like paper, viewable in sunlight, a wide angle and a big battery life- everything is almost perfect. What else do we want anyway? So how does it work? Why it have an excellent battery life? Here is everything you need to know.

What is E-Ink?

E-Ink aka Electronic Ink is a display technology that aims to replicate the ease of paper without paper, that is. appearance of printed ink. Most of the screens feature black and white displays. There are coloured E-Ink displays but have not entered the mainstream consumer market yet.

How does it work?

It is based on a process known as electrophoresis. The display is made of a clear fluid with millions of black and white capsule floating in it. The black and white ones are oppositely charged and the rearrangement​ of these capsules is what we see on screen. The gray-scale is maintained by the proportion of black and white together.

As already mentioned, the rearrangement of capsules is what it needs, so this is where the power is consumed. Once the arrangement is set, that is, a particular page of your book is opened; the power is shut off. It is unlike its LCD and LED counterparts which need a constant power source to keep the display on. It means E-Inks provide an excellent battery life, perhaps, weeks but it also makes them slower ( not as slow as a snail but takes a bit to refresh than other displays ).

The not-so-good aspect is that this does not work in the dark. It has a reflective nature, so no light means no E-Ink but this does not mean that you cannot enjoy it in the dark. Nowadays, gadgets come with built-in LED lights along the inner side which make the screen legible. In short, you can enjoy the pleasure of a book in the dark as well without straining your eyes which other display usually puts.

We are always trying to make our displays smarter- good battery life, less strain on eyes, better vibrance, save paper etc. This does it all. I would not be surprised if it is the future of displays ahead of all. So go ahead and pick your own E-Ink screen now.