E Ink, innovator of electronic ink technology, announced its Advanced Colour ePaper (ACeP) has been used by TOPPAN Printing Co. Ltd. and Isetan Mitsukoshi to develop the world’s first digital point-of-purchase (POP) sign using a full-colour Electronic Paper Display (EPD).
E Ink’s first generation ACeP display is capable of displaying more than 32,000 colours, making the solution an attractive and sustainable alternative to paper POP.
E Ink’s ACeP display achieves a full colour gamut, including all eight primary colours, using a proprietary four pigment microencapsulated electronic ink containing cyan, magenta, yellow and white. Rich colour is achieved by having all the coloured pigments in every pixel as opposed to the side-by-side pixel colours achieved with a colour filter array (CFA). Like other E Ink ePaper technology, ACeP is low-power with paper-like readability under virtually all lighting conditions.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd., which has been promoting initiatives for the reform of working practices and from ESG, or Environment, Social, and Governance, perspectives, worked with TOPPAN to develop POP signage to reduce paper waste from in-store promotions, and to enhance worker efficiencies. Isetan Mitsukoshi will install a prototype in the Isetan Shinjuku store for their “HANABANASAI” campaign that launches on February 20, 2019.
The POP product developed by TOPPAN and Isetan Mitsukoshi enables a simple content update process through a PC or smartphone for greater operating efficiency and reduced environmental waste. The signage does not require any power at the location of installation for easy mobility around stores when layout changes are needed. The addition of E Ink’s ACeP display brings an enhanced visual appeal to the in-store promotions, with the ability to update information wirelessly.
“E Ink appreciates TOPPAN’s initiative to drive the ACeP POP business at a top tier Japanese department store. As technology guides our world in becoming increasingly connected, it’s imperative that we find sustainable solutions that help our workers and the environment,” says Naoki Sumita, GM of E Ink Japan. “We look forward to working together with TOPPAN to continue efforts to expand ACeP in the POP market and in other potential markets.”
“We are pleased to jointly test the potential of full-colour ACeP from E Ink, and look forward to the collaboration toward a digital POP product that contributes to solving the efficiency & waste challenges in the retail sector,” says Heeday Danjo, GM, TOPPAN Printing Co., Ltd.
A pilot of the solution is scheduled to be on display at the Front Entrance of Isetan Shinjuku Main Store in Tokyo, Japan, from Wednesday, February 20 to Tuesday, March 26.
