eNotebooks

E Ink announced a new collaboration with Hitachi to achieve digital transformation and paperless operations in Hitachi's manufacturing sites at Omika Works. Hitachi deployed eNote devices, developed by E Ink's subsidiary, Linfiny Japan Inc., on Hitachi's IoT platform.  The eNote devices use 13.3" E Ink Kaleido 3 flexible and durable color ePaper displays.

One of Hitachi's most difficult challenges was to reudce paper media. Hitachi says that E Ink's ePaper solutions are very suitable for on-site work and would enable a smooth transition to digitalization without conventional work methods needing to be changed. 

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.

In 2019 Sony released the DPT-CP1 color Digital Paper A5 device, and now the company is set to release a new version, called (at least for now) the DPT-CP1 Version 2.

The main new feature uses E Ink's upgraded color display (Kaleido 2.5), which features a thinner gap between the display and the color filters which enables the improved performance. The new display features a 1404x1872 resolution and faster refresh.

E Ink Holdings announced new Digital Paper solutions, developed in collaboration with pen tablet solution provider Wacom and Linfiny, E Ink's own JV with Sony Semiconductor Solutions.

These new solutions feature Wacom's EMR technology and are based on E Ink's 10.3" and 13.3" E Ink Carta 1250 panels. EIH says that the new platform offers faster pen speed and faster page turns compared to its previous platforms. The new devices will be commercialized in the summer of 2021, and EIH and Linfiny are looking for OEM partners.

E Ink Holdings says that it expects revenues in Q4 2020 to be somewhat stronger than its revenues in Q3 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to increase demand for e-readers, e-notebooks and electronic shelf labels.

EIH's Chairman Johnson Lee says that the company expects next year to be strong as well, and the company increased its capacity expansion plans for 2021 as it needs to be ready for stronger demand in the future.

EPD solution provider Netronix announced that it has received major orders for E Ink name badges from a medical testing equipment company in the US, with shipments to start in Q3 2020.

Netronix also reports that interest in its e-Notebook products have increased, while demand for electronic baggage tags is much lower due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is also active with electronic shelf labels, large-area ePaper signage and e-readers (the company will ramp up its 6-inch color E Ink e-readers and name tags in Q3 2020).

Most people when they think about ePaper displays immediate think about E Ink. E Ink Holdings (EIH) has been very successful in bringing its ePaper displays to the market - and today these are prevalent in e-readers, electronic shelf labels, e-notebooks and many other applications. While EIH indeed has a clear leadership in the ePaper market, it is not alone.

But first of all, it is important to note that there are many display technologies that could be called ePaper displays. Most people would only consider truly bi-stable displays able to show dot-matrix images as ePaper displays, but some other technologies that are not truly bi-stable also exist and some consider these as ePaper displays as well - for example Memory LCDs. In addition some simpler displays technologies that are similar to ePaper in properties also exist. We will discuss both these technologies in this article.

E Ink Holdings say that demand for e-readers and electronic shelf labels improved in the last quarter, and the company expects a small growth in revenues. EIH says that Coronavirus outbreak is having only a minor impact on its operations.

In fact, EIH already said earlier this month that remote work and school projects are increasing demand for e-notebooks, and now the company says that the outbreak also increases demand for e-readers, ESLs and medical devices, especially in China. The company does see a slowdown in actual installations of ESLs projects in Europe and US where cities are in lockdown.

E Ink Holdings (EIH) says it sees high demand for e-notebook displays, as these devices are increasing in popularity for smart online teaching applications - especially as the coronavirus outbreak spreads.

Digitimes reports that companies in China are launching new e-notebook solutions, as China's education ministry is promoting smart remote teaching as on-site classes are being suspended.

E Ink Holdings is positive about the company's sales and earnings in 2019, and expects to return to profitability in Q2 2019 following a $3.4 million operational loss in Q1 2019. In the second quarter EIH saw increased shipments of e-paper displays for electronic shelf label (ESL),e-readers and e-notebooks.

In 2019 EIH managed to sign up more than 20 new customers in the education sector and is expecting to increase its e-reader and e-notebook sales to expand in H2 2019 and 2020 as well.