E Ink Colouring Display - Handicapped Because Of A Primal Colouring Mistake?

E Ink Inc. whose Pearl greyscale displays are used inward all the major e-reader devices own got introduced a color e-paper display. If successful it may likewise compete against the novel degree of tablet computers such every bit Apple's iPad.

But is the color display handicapped because its engineers made a key fault inward color technology?

eastward Ink's novel Triton display volition come upwards inward 5-, 7-, in addition to 10-inch varieties, in addition to eastward Ink seems to intend that it volition survive instrumental inward establishing digital newspapers in addition to periodicals.It is claimed to survive able to display “thousands of colors,” specifically 4096. However the color is extremely desaturated fifty-fifty inward their carefully presented marketing materials. The display's lack of color saturation may genuinely give away the movement of the problem.

How the display works

eastward Ink is brusk for “electrophoretic ink”. Technically speaking, charged pigments suspended inward a clear liquid micro-capsule response to a voltage that moves dark or white pigments to the screen’s foreground.The engineering scientific discipline differs from traditional displays because electrophoretic displays reverberate light, rather than emitting it. Whereas estimator displays in addition to cellular telephone screens rely on a backlight to illuminate pixels of unlike colors, E Ink engineering scientific discipline leverages ambient calorie-free simply similar ink on paper.

With the eastward Ink Triton color configuration, a sparse transparent colored filter array (CFA) is added inward front end of the dark in addition to white display. Now the display tin likewise reverberate color.The CFA consists iv sub-pixels – red, green, blue, in addition to
white – that are combined to exercise a full-color pixel. The result? H5N1 low-power, direct-sunlight, readable color ePaper display.

So what's the problem?

Emissive color displays similar those used inward LCD estimator displays in addition to televisions are based on the additive color model in addition to purpose red, green, in addition to blueish calorie-free to create the other colors. Combining 1 of these additive brain colors amongst simply about other inward equal amounts produces the additive secondary colors cyan, magenta, in addition to yellow. Combining all iii brain lights (colors) inward equal intensities produces white. Varying the luminosity of each calorie-free (color) eventually reveals the total gamut of those iii lights (colors).The additive color model used past times emissive color displays uses combinations of red, green, in addition to blueish primaries.
On the other hand, reflective color displays similar newspapers in addition to magazines purpose the subtractive color model which starts amongst light, presumably white light. Colored inks, or filters, betwixt the viewer in addition to the reflective surface subtract wavelengths from the light, giving it color. In nearly color printing, the brain ink colors used are cyan, magenta, in addition to yellow.The subtractive color model used past times reflective color displays uses combinations of cyan, magenta, in addition to yellowish primaries.
eastward Ink's Triton color display, although a reflective device, uses the brain colors of emissive devices - red, green, in addition to blueish rather than cyan, magenta, in addition to yellow. The upshot is rattling pitiful color saturation in addition to rattling much reduced color gamut.Triton color display enshroud captures - banknote the absence of Yellow - a color that cannot survive achieved amongst combinations of red, green, in addition to blueish filters inward a reflective, subtractive color-based display system.


An eastward Ink video explaining the RGB(!) display technology.
Did the engineers made a key fault inward their choice of color technology?