Aging of e-ink screens
Probably, many people remember the days when TV sets and computer displays were used only with cathode-ray tube. One of them was to reduce the disadvantages of contrast due to loss of properties of phosphor coating the screen tube.
TFT - screens which replaced them are very durable. The main element of wear and tear in their first models was backlight, but using LED backlight TFT-technology has become the longest-lived.
Can E-ink screens age? Let's think.
Basic types of e-ink screens, are dark and light microcapsules which rise on the screen's surface with the appearance of an electric field. Very long and ( or) intensive using of such displays are actually observed by aging of screen. Part of the microcapsules is no longer subject to electrical impulses and " freezes " at one point. Moreover, in different parts of the screen , this phenomenon looks differently.
First, there is a slight loss of contrast over the entire usable area of the display , the screen becomes grayer . The process is not very noticeable , and judge it can be compared only with the new screen .
Second, in those screen areas where there is constantly the same image (e.g., image strips battery status indicating low battery condition , the points separating the hour and minute time display in the status bar , etc.) , dark microcapsules stuck at the screen surface , forming a dark stain . (See top photo ) The output of this place looks dull and washed out. These spots do not disappear after a full refresh .
Third , the edges of the screen image becomes grey noticeably harder than at the other area, and almost doesn't update. (See bottom photo ) Probably, this process is related to the diffusion of molecules of the adhesive layer, which are attached at the edges of the upper plate and the substrate is transparent screen. The image on these sites also looks fuzzy and non-contrast .
All of these processes occur very slowly . The photos shows the screen E-ink Vizplex diagonal of 5 inches, the production of PVI (E-ink), model ED050SC3, age 4.5 years and hours of operation of the order of 3 - 4 million of screen updates . ( 3,5 - 4,5 thousand reading the book ) . Read up on it is still possible, but not comfortable .
Different manufacturers provide different paper-like display life of those products . E-ink Corporation declares lifetime Screen E-ink Pearl equal to 10 million screen updates , or 5 years of service and OED Technologies CO., LTD. - 1000000 updates .
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