E Ink, the originator, pioneer, and global commercial leader in digital paper technology, announces that ITOCHU Corporation, a leading global trading company, has joined the E Ink ePaper ecosystem for the expansion of applications using electronic paper in Japan and worldwide.
With 400 million Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) and 130 million eReaders in the market, and ePaper bus stop signs installed in more than 50 cities globally, E Ink’s electronic paper, with its extremely low power consumption, can help cities improve the environment and to achieve their carbon neutral goals. ITOCHU has a corporate strategy to conduct business under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) mandates, and believes that E Ink’s ePaper technology aligns closely with this corporate direction.
Through their alliance, ITOCHU’s first ePaper project is their own branded eNote device, based off the product developed by Linfiny, a joint development between E Ink and Sony Semiconductor Solutions. ITOCHU will leverage their domestic and overseas networks, and plan to sell the eNote device through their sales channels. Linfiny has created a powerful eNote device for use in schools, governments and corporations and enable select partners to whitebox and rebrand the device as needed.
“We are excited for our partnership with ITOCHU,” stated Naoki Sumita, President, E Ink Japan. “This relationship will allow products featuring E Ink’s ePaper to reach a larger audience in Japan, and worldwide. We are particularly excited to see our ePaper technology bring benefits to both offices and schools and to many new applications in the future.”
“The market of ePaper will rapidly grow in the coming years,” said Hiroshi Kajiwara, ICT Division COO, ITOCHU. “We hope to see a future filled with ePaper in stores and in our daily lives.”
Electronic notebooks, or eNotes, with E Ink’s display technology, offer customers a similar writing experience as that of writing on paper, in addition to being lightweight and easy to carry. In addition, the reflective technology works off the same premise as paper, reducing eye-strain to the device user. In November, E Ink was awarded the “Paper-Like Certification” from TÜV Rheinland, certifying that ePaper products offer a high level or reading and visual comfort.
eNotes using E Ink have a battery life measured in weeks, versus the hours of an LCD-based tablet, and allow organizations using these devices to manage and digitize handwritten documents in the cloud, and to enable new opportunities in the education market. Using the technology can help organizations reach their net-zero goals by saving electricity, and by reducing their paper usage in note taking and paper printing within an office and school.
About E Ink Holdings
E Ink Holdings Inc. (8069.TWO), based on technology from MIT’s Media Lab, has transformed and defined the eReader market, enabling a new multi-billion dollar market in less than 10 years. E Ink’s low power products are ideal for IoT applications ranging from retail, home, hospital, transportation and more, enabling customers to put displays in locations previously impossible. The Company’s corporate philosophy aims to deliver revolutionary products, user experiences and environmental benefits through advanced technology development. This vision has led to its continuous investments in the field of ePaper displays as well as expanding the use of its technologies into a number of other markets and applications including smart packaging and fashion. Its Electrophoretic Display products make it the worldwide leader for ePaper. Its Fringe Field Switching (FFS) technologies are a standard for high-end LCD displays and have been licensed to all major liquid crystal display makers in the world. Listed in Taiwan’s Taipei Exchange (TPEx) and the Luxembourg market, E Ink Holdings is now the world’s largest supplier of ePaper displays.
About ITOCHU Corporation
ITOCHU Corporation (8011.TSE), one of the leading sogo shosha, engaged in domestic trading, import/export, and overseas trading of various products such as textile, machinery, metals, minerals, energy, chemicals, foods, general products, realty, information and communications technology, and finance, as well as business investment in Japan and overseas. The company was founded by Chubei Itoh in 1858 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan.
