One of the biggest drivers of the e-reader revolution, E-Ink, has begun diversifying into other market segments in recent years. One of these new avenues is digital signage, which was valued at $16.880 billion in 2015 and was expected to reach $27.340 billion by 2022.
E-Ink has also been focusing on other types of segments such as agreements with commercial surfaces like Whole Foods, one that has had year-on-year growth of 100% for the last three years and continues on this path without encountering any obstacles.
E-Ink released its figures for the second quarter of 2016, reporting operating profits of $5.437.895, its first profit in some time. In the first quarter of the year, it reported a loss of $8,4 million.
Thirty-five percent of their revenue comes from e-tags used in luggage, digital signage , and LCD panels. Thanks to an agreement with a European company called Visionect, they have been able to provide their panels at bus stops. These panels are a resounding success, displaying dynamic information updated via 3G connection.
Another of its strengths is the new Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP), which won't be introduced in e-readers until 2018. It's a high-quality, full-color panel capable of producing the entire color gamut in each pixel, displaying over 32.000 different colors at a resolution of 1600 x 2500 with 150 ppi.
The drawback of this technology is its incompatibility with Regal, the EPD controller that enables e-readers to turn pages quickly. So, for a few years, we'll be without a new technology that could serve as the main reason to upgrade our e-reader.