New 'Ink' Veers Displays Toward The Good Old LookNew 'Ink' Veers Displays Toward The Good Old Look

E Ink and Toppan Printing of Tokyo signed on the dotted line last week for display components-maker Toppan to put $25 million in fourth-round venture funding behind E Ink's "electronic ink," a new flat-panel display technology.

The Cambridge, Mass., company's "ink," a new way to form characters, could be part of paper-thin screens for monitors and handhelds, and could give the screens a more paperlike appearance. The screens would be five times brighter than existing displays and use 90% less energy, says E Ink VP and general manager Russ Wilcox. The new ink has black dye with white chips that rise and fall depending on an electric charge.

It could be four years before consumers see the screens, says International Data Corp. analyst Kevin Burden. Now that handhelds are wireless and starting to offer personalized content, "screen technology has to improve, and the content had better be delivered on a screen you don't have to squint at."