The digital signage landscape never sits still. At ISE 2025, a standout innovation catching industry-wide attention was E-Paper Displays (EPDs). Touted as one of the most energy-efficient display technologies on the market, EPDs are opening up exciting opportunities for businesses to move away from static print, bringing digital flexibility and sustainability to places where posters, paper timetables and shelf labels used to live.
What are E-Paper Displays?
If you’ve ever used an e-reader like a Kindle, you’re already familiar with E-Paper. The technology works by mimicking ink on paper, offering high contrast, ultra-low power consumption and excellent readability, even in direct sunlight. Unlike LED or LCD screens, EPDs only consume power when content is changed. Once the image is set, it stays on screen without draining any energy.
At present, EPDs are available in a range of sizes, some now up to 75”, making them a viable option for commercial environments where digital alternatives to print make sense.
Why E-Paper Is Turning Heads?
Benefits
From a sustainability and cost-efficiency perspective, the benefits of E-Paper are compelling.
- Ultra-low power usage due to the refresh rate and no power consumption for daily use – only when updating content
- Paper-like readability without backlighting
- Sleek, minimalistic designs that blend into modern environments
Limitations
However, like all emerging tech, it’s not without limitations:
- Slow refresh rates (3 to 30+ seconds) make them unsuitable for video or dynamic animations
- Limited colour reproduction, with muted tones compared to vibrant LCD and LED displays
- Ambient light dependency, as there’s no built-in backlight
E-Paper Use Cases: When Print Becomes Digital
The sweet spot for E-Paper isn’t in high-impact digital marketing, it’s in operational and informational signage that was previously printed.
- Retail: Shelf-edge pricing, product info, promotions
- Corporate: External meeting room availability displays, internal messaging, wayfinding
- Transport: Timetables, platform info, travel updates
- Healthcare: Patient boards, nurse station displays, departmental signage
- QSR: text heavy menuboards displaying allergy information and pricing
E-Paper displays are perfect where content changes periodically, not constantly and for predominantly text focused applications, benefitting from enhanced readability.
Content Management
One of the major adoption barriers today is content management. Many EPDs still rely on SD cards or manual file transfers which makes scalability for large businesses challenging.
But progress is being made. Several manufacturers are rolling out connected EPDs that allow for centralized updates via digital signage CMS platforms. Samsung, for example, is entering the market with new 13″, 25″, and 32” models this year. We are actively assessing EPD compatibility with our proprietary Engage Suite, aiming to integrate seamless control in the future.
What to Consider Before Investing
Businesses evaluating E-Paper should keep a few key factors in mind:
- Cost: As with any new tech, early adoption carries a premium, but prices are expected to fall as adoption scales
- Environment: Placement matters. No backlight means you need naturally well-lit areas
- Purpose: Focus on replacing print with displays that are designed to inform, not in locations where the intent is to capture attention, this is still the role of vibrant LED and LCD displays.
The Future Is Smart and Sustainable
As sustainability moves from buzzword to business imperative, E-Paper has a powerful place in a modern signage ecosystem. We are working closely with display manufacturers and monitoring the evolution of the tech with a view to integration into our wider Engage platform.
E-Paper Displays won’t replace your high-impact LED walls, but they just might replace the thousands of printed signs in your business that are costly to produce, a hassle to update and not exactly planet-friendly.
With E-Paper Displays now coming into sharper focus, it’s time to start thinking about how this quiet revolution can complement your visual communications strategy.