e-ink burn in? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2024, 02:25:14 pm
content: Hi!I was researching how fast I can refresh a e-ink display. My idea is to just do partial updates, and I don't care about a little bit of ghosting if it's not permanent. To my surprise, the document  says that e-ink display can be damaged by extended continuous operation, or by long partial refresh. I tried to search on the internet, but found very little. Like, on  I can see that eink display may get damaged. Can someone share their experience?So far I only found this on manufacturers website (), and it doesn't say it's dangerous:>Note: When using Fast update and Partial update, it is recommended to perform a Full-Screen Refresh after every five consecutive operations. This helps reduce the accumulation of screen ghostingThe display in question is , the original manufacturer seems to be .References:1.https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/1.54inch_e-Paper_Module_Manual#Precautions2.3.https://www.good-display.com/product/388.html

author: I wanted a rude username
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2024, 05:12:06 pm
content: Yes, there are many ways to damage e-ink. It's just not a very good technology unless you have the support of a huge company with the R&D resources to optimise and long-term test the drive characteristics, refresh algorithms, etc.

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2024, 08:06:57 pm
content: Quote from: exe on October 27, 2024, 02:25:14 pmA collection of "top end" displays refreshing every second tuned into a milky blur within months. No obvious way to recover them as multiple refreshes or writing the same pattern over and over wouldn't improve it. At least you read the datasheet unlike those people!

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2024, 08:32:18 pm
content: Quote from: Someone on October 27, 2024, 08:06:57 pmOuch... What were those displays?PS I'm trying to make my own research on the screen I have, but I'm struggling to make it work :/. May be it arrived dead already

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2024, 11:54:24 pm
content: I suspect it's because the charged particles lose their charge after being subjected too long to the electric field that moves them.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2024, 01:02:09 am
content: I think e-ink is very atypical, in that even after many years of development (going back to the 1970s), it's still basically a pretty rubbish display technology.The refresh rate is appallingly slow; the "whites" are muddy to the extent that most e-ink displays require an auxilliary LED front lamp to render them readable; and the colour versions look awful - like the drab photos from the earliest colour films.I've owned several Kindles and Kobos and still struggle to come to terms with their crudity - especially the ugly screen refreshes.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2024, 03:54:06 am
content: it reduces eye strain for some people making the technology worth while compared to staring into a emitter all day

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2024, 04:12:26 am
content: I seem to recall that Sharp made a competing technology based on LCD, tweaked for better viewing without a backlight. As well as Pixel Qi which could function as a monochrome display with no backlight or color by cycling a RGB backlight.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 28, 2024, 10:13:05 am
content: jfyi I ordered a replacement screen, as I couldn't get the one I have to work. May be it's broken because there is a dark spot in the corner.PS I'm open to other display technologies. If you guys can suggest a good screen module (or a panel that is not hard to drive), I'm happy to hear suggestions. Particularly monochrome and low power. I'm looking for good contrast and wide viewing angles for my hobby projects.There are interesting offerings from NVD (like bi-stablehttps://www.newvisiondisplay.com/new-zbd-driver/), and sharp (memory in pixel) that I'd like to try, but I didn't find them in modules that are easy-to-use.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 31, 2024, 09:37:29 am
content: Argh, I've got the display to work, but only once... So, the problem was that there are V1 and V2 versions of the display. And they use different drivers. After replacing the driver, I was able to blink the screen, but then it stopped working... I mean, it accepts commands, it seems to do something, the BUSY pin is doing something, but, at the end, there is no image on the screen. So frustrating.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2024, 09:52:12 pm
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on October 28, 2024, 04:12:26 amYou probably mean the Sharp memory LCD. I have used a couple references. They are great. (Swiss Micros uses one in their DM42 calculator.) C ontrary to the e-ink displays, they do require some power to maintain the current image, but it's surprisingly low (a few µA).They never released really large displays though, so nothing to use to make something like a eBook. Also, they are not as comfortable to read on.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 05, 2024, 08:29:35 pm
content: I finally managed to get my display working. I spent two full days before I succeededSo I did an experiment. For two days I did constant partial partial update on my eink display. At first glance, there was a burn-in that full refresh couldn't remove. That's on the photo (sorry for quality and reflection of my phone, the "TEST XX" is ghosting, the round things are reflections of cameras) .However, after a few full refreshes the ghosting disappeared. I'll continue torturing it.The partial refresh works weird. But it could be a library issue.In case you are curious what the test looks like:https://youtu.be/Y59WepWi7ig.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 05, 2024, 08:39:02 pm
content: Quote from: SiliconWizard on October 31, 2024, 09:52:12 pmI think there are different types of memory LCD. The best one, I think (based on images on the internet), is this one:https://www.adafruit.com/product/1393. If I understand correctly, its part numbe is LS013B4DN04 . Here is what it looked like:---It's still available on aliexpress for 20euro. Imo a bit too much for such a small display. Probably, the high price because it's obsolete.The replacement is LS013B7DH05, and it looks like this:-. Actually it looks too good to be true, not sure about this, will buy and check.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2024, 01:13:44 am
content: Quote from: Someone on October 27, 2024, 08:06:57 pmI have long suspected something like this. Partial updates of E-papers are quick enough to be used in equipment such as DMM's, but yet I have never seen this out in the wild. Another possible show stopper would be the current consumption during a lot of refresh cycles.I have one E-paper screen that was cracked a bunch of years ago, and without the battery the screen still has the same contents as back then. so it sure does hold it's data, but I also just had a look at it, and it looks like the screen is very slowly getting darker.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2024, 02:17:36 am
content: Apart possibly from the looks (that one may or may not like for a particular application, it works rather well for ebook readers), I see no reason to use e-ink displays for frequent updates. While they can draw zero power and maintain an image, they draw a low of power compared to other kinds of displays when updating them.