E-Paper On Cereal Boxes

coastin writes "Wired Mag has an article about electronics maker Siemens, readying a paper-thin electronic-display technology. They say it is so cheap it could replace conventional labels on disposable packaging. Imagine items on grocer's shelves that flash commercials at you as you walk by. From the article: 'When kids see flashing pictures on cereal boxes we don't expect them to just ask for the product, but to say, "I want it", said Axel Gerlt, an engineer at Siemens tasked with helping packaging companies implement the technology.'"

Comments

Yeah, right

[GigsVT]

I work for a retail label printer.

Average prices for labels run about $3-$10 per thousand. The most expensive labels on metallic stock with lots of spot colors might be $30 per thousand.

That's still 3 cents per label for the most expensive ones. I doubt they could even sort out the power supply for these things that cheaply.

Re:Just what the environment needs

[r5t8i6y3]

and prior to recycling there is the impact of resource consumption.

i wonder how many more resources go into the production of e-paper over tree/hemp/etc. paper? anyone feel like doing some back-of-the-envelope calculations?

i feel very concerned when i notice so much focus on recycling and very little focus on consumption. if you are concerned about the earth/your home/"your back yard" ask yourself "how can i consume *less*?" because by consuming less we make the recycling problem smaller.

if this site http://www.weeeman.org/ is at all accurate, we geeks are using quite a bit of our share of the earth's resources with each new computer we purchase. according to this site, if we divide the earth's resources evenly amongst the current population, our individual "earthshare" is equal to ~two football fields. purchasing *one* computer uses ~4.25% of your earthshare. if you purchase six computers you consume 25% of your earthshare. and this doesn't include _any_ of the other things you are consuming (car, house, other electronic devices, etc.).

here's a couple more sites for more information about e-waste:

Basel Action Network - BAN
http://www.ban.org/

Computer TakeBack Campaign
http://www.computertakeback.com/

btw, here's where you can get the most eco-friendly paper i know of: http://www.livingtreepaper.com/products.html

peace

E-paper. E-Ink. E-cheap. NOT

[Animats]

The E-Ink/E-Paper crowd is always talking about how they'll have displays that are really cheap, really big, really soon. Yet they're not trying to break into the laptop or TV markets. What's wrong with this picture?

You can buy an E-Ink Prototyping Kit for $3000. This is a sheet of "E-ink" material, with the little balls that rotate, mounted on top of an 6 inch LCD panel, attached to a little computer. Runs Linux, even. This gets you a little black and white display. Since there's an LCD panel behind it, this can't be cheaper than an LCD panel. It is sunlight-readable, though.

There are some E-Ink point of purchase displays, but they're fixed signs where sections can be turned on and off, much like the special LCD displays that are used in control panels. These are still a few hundred dollars. Along the same line are the various "E-Ink clocks".

If you want a display that holds its image with power off and is sunlight readable, try Kent Displays. It's not "E-Ink", but it actually works.

Re:First things first

[Castar]

Exciting developments on that front, actually!

Two e-ink based readers are supposed to be released soon: The Hanlin V8/V2 and a device from iRex. The iRex reader is supposed to support Linux and be released in "early 2006" in Europe. The Hanlin V8 with a proprietary OS is supposed to be released "by the end of this year" in China for around $300, with the Linux-based V2 being released in May worldwide at about $320.

My money is on iRex, since they're backed by Philips and have a larger screen, but they might be more expensive than the Hanlin device. We'll see!

Engineer?

[WoOS]

said Axel Gerlt, an engineer at Siemens tasked with helping packaging companies implement the technology

I started to wonder once I read that sentence, as it's normally not the engineers who say such things. (They would more probable say "It's sooo cool. Next thing I'll try is to have my name rotating on it in 3D even though it can only do 3 frames/sec"). And lo and behold, a german article on the same topic reveals the guy is the project leader. Uff, engineer honor saved ;-)

Re:Wrong problem

[Anonymous Coward]

they even opposed to using green plastic for the colour-coded PS2 mouse plugs (remember those?) because they can't be made without cadmium.

I was unable to confirm this. Cadmium is used in plastics for color (not green) and condsidered very safe since the dye isn't water (or acid) soluable and it is trapped in the plastic. Most exposure to cadmium is from fertilizer.

Re:interesting development....

[Segway Ninja]

I went to a supermarket a while ago, and was greeted with a digital display for the price of everything on every shelf. Things that were on special had a larger, paper sign in addition to the little display.

Exactly what you're describing can be done even with technology available (and in use) right now.