Recent technological advances in nanotechnology have made electronic paper – or e-paper – a reality. E-paper technology originated in the 1970s at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in the United States. However, it was never fully developed and relegated to obscurity until 1997 when Joseph Jacobson co-founded the E Ink Corporation hoping to develop and market the technology. Since its inception, several technologies associated with e-paper have failed to make any kind of long-lasting impact or been as affordable as printer paper products. For example, in 2004, Sony launched the LIBRIe only to replace in early 2006 with the Reader.

Despite innovations with e-paper, it has failed to challenge the stranglehold on the market of the printer word. Paper books offer a tactile experience that customers still want and which e-book readers cannot deliver. However, e-paper has a paper-like thin appearance, very low power consumption, a light form, and the ability to display updatable information while print remains static. Cambridge-based Plastic Logic uses E Ink technology and has attracted more than 50 million pounds in venture capital funding to build a plant in Dresden, Germany in order to manufacture electronic reader products with an estimate of four million units by 2010.

Tags: electronic paper

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