Electronic Shelf Labels

Earlier this month E Ink Holdings said that the first quarter of 2024 will be its lowest point in the year, and indeed now the company formally reported its earnings, saying that there was a 25% decline in profits (to about $40.9 million) in Q1, as its customers struggled with an excessive inventory which resulted in decline in orders.

E Ink says that this decline is due to the transition to color ESL solutions, and it expects its IoT business to return to normal growth by Q3 2024. Its e-Reader business segment is seeing robust growth, better than expected, signalling a smooth switch to color ePaper solutions.  The company retains its positive outlook for this year, expecting revenue to grow every quarter going forward.

E Ink Holdings says business is recovering gradually from an inventory correction cycle. Demand for E Ink displays has risen, mainly due to the adoption of new color EPD displays for e-readers and electronic shelf labels (ESLs). The company believes that the first quarter of 2024 will be its lowest point in the year, and revenues will start rising in Q2 and onwards.

E Ink further says that many ESL customers are expected to increase orders in the third quarter of 2024, and a large retailer in North America has started replacing paper labels with ESLs. This could be Walmart as we published last year. 

Himax Technologies and E Ink Holdings announced a new collaboration to a revolutionary ultralow power battery-operated smart retail solution. The solution incorporates Himax's leading-edge WiseEye ultralow power AI sensing technology with E Ink’s signage EPD, featuring industry-leading E Ink’s Kaleido displays.

Leveraging WiseEye, the smart retail solution deploys context-aware AI in human presence and shopper insight detection while also significantly enhancing the already impressive battery life of an ePaper display and enabling real-time personalized marketing. Himax WiseEye ultralow power AI sensing technology incorporates Himax proprietary ultralow power AI processor, always-on CMOS image sensor, and CNN-based AI algorithm, offering state-of-the-art ultralow power, always-on sensing, on-device context-aware AI and has been widely deployed in consumer electronics and AIoT related applications. 

E Ink announced it is collaborating with Realtek Semiconductor, Integrated Solutions Technology (IST), and Chipbond Technology to develop the System on Panel (SoP) architecture, to be integrated into the next-generation electronic shelf label (ESL) jointly developed with the system integrator, SOLUM. 

SOLUM is the number one US ESL solution provider, and the project's aim is to simplify the material structure of ESL and bring a sustainable solution via reduced material usage, lower power consumption and simplified production processes.

E Ink Holdings says that Walmart has decdied to deploy electronic shelf labels at 500 stores in the US. The first stage will call for the installation of 60 million panels, in the next 12-18 months, and will be handled by E Ink's partner, SES-imagotag.

E Ink sees growing demand for its displays, and is planning a multi-year capacity expansion plan. The company expects its revenues next year to increase sharply following Walmart's orders, and it also expects a modest increase in 2023. 

E Ink Holdings says that it expects its revenue to increase slightly in this quarter as demand for electronic shelf labels is on the rise, but it raises concerns about a recession in the near future which could decrease demand for e-readers and e-notebooks.

EIH is targeting to enter the US ESL market via partners next year, and it estimates that it the market in the US is 10 times bigger compared to the EU market. The company is currently not changing its capital expenditure plans for 2022 and 2023, and it plans to increase production in its production lines in Hschincu, Taiwan (and build new lines) in 2022-2025. It has decided to delay its planned new line in Guanyin. 

Printed e-paper displays from Ynvisible is an enabling technology for digital signage and the retail sector. Join the webinar on April 28 (4.30 PM CET) and hear directly from the company's lead customers the reasons why.

What you will learn:

• Why Ynvisible and why right now? We believe that the market for ultra-low-power, cost-effective, thin & flexible digital signs and smart labels are booming. We will tell you why.
• Insights and use-cases from lead customers: listen to our lead clients speak about their display needs and why they chose Ynvisible's technology over incumbent display solutions.
• Ynvisible's e-paper products and solutions: learn more about our products and services and how you can collaborate with us to develop your future signage solutions.

Poland-based perovskite solar developer Sulate Technologies launched a new technology that integrates perovskite solar panels with ePaper Electronic Shelf Labels. The company says that these are the first ESLs of its kind, and they use either 2-color or 3-color E Ink panels.

Perovskite solar panels are highly efficient, and can maintain their high efficiency in artificial light, and also in indirect indoor lighting, which makes this solution viable in many installation environments, unlike conventional solar-based solar panels. The perovskite panels are also highly flexible, light and thin.

E Ink Holdings launched a new display called E Ink Spectra 3100, which is a next-generation four-color ePaper display aimed to support Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) and retail signage.

Thew new Spectra 3100 features four-particle electronic ink, in black, white, red and yellow. It features an improved update time, and an expanded temperature range for red and yellow states. Spectra 3100 displays will be offered in panels with an updated all-in-one driver IC that supports premium ESLs with higher resolution across various sizes.

E Ink Holdings says it plans to double its capital expenditure this year (to $56.5 million) in order to expand its capacity and meet its customer demand. EIH is now building four new production lines in Taiwan.

EIH says its capacity is now fully booked for the year, and it is quite sure it will be able to find customers for its new capacity as demand is strong. The company's revenues in the first two months of the year rose by 77% compared to last year. The main growth driver seems to electronic shelf label displays, but EIH also sees higher sales for e-readers and e-notebooks.