Educational Technology Innovation and Impact/Multimedia Courseware/Electronic Paper

Electronic paper, e-paper is a technology that let the text on a piece of paper to be re-written. The paper is actually made of organic electronics that use conductive plastic which restrain tiny balls that react to an electric charge, changing the page in much the same way that pixels change on a computer monitor.

Electronic paper was developed in order to overcome some of the limitations of computer monitors. For example, the backlighting of monitors is hard on the human eye, whereas electronic paper reflects light just like normal paper. It is easier to read at an angle than flat screen monitors because it is made of plastic, electronic paper has the potential to be flexible. It is light and potentially inexpensive.

Books with printed pages are unique in that they embody the simultaneous, high-resolution display of hundreds of pages of information. The representation of information on a large number of physical pages, which may be physically turned and written on, constitutes a highly preferred means of information interaction. An obvious disadvantage of the printed page, however, is its immutability once typeset. We are currently developing electronically addressable paper-page displays that use real paper substrates. This effort includes the development of novel electronically addressable Contrast media, microencapsulation chemistry, and desktop printing technologies to print functional circuits, logic, and display elements on paper or paper-like substrates, including interconnecting vias and multi-layer logic.