Researchers at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute are developing a new kind of electronic paper that's as promising as its name is spectacularly un-catchy. Dubbed "i2R e-Paper" by its developers, it's coated with a compound that can be erased, reproduces different colors, and doesn't need a backlight to print, according to Reuters.
"I think the greatest breakthrough was that traditional display devices usually require electricity to write, but our technology made it closer to how we would use normal paper," John Chen, general director of the institute's Display Technology Center, told the wire agency Monday.
"First, it does not require patterned electrodes—it is very light, soft and rewritable. From this perspective, this is a true e-paper."
The e-paper isn't quite ready for mass production, but could be within two years, according to researchers. A standard A4-sized piece of i2R e-Paper (video below) costs about $2 to manufacture, according to the Reuters report.
The coating, which allows the e-paper to be re-used up to 260 times, is a plastic film that's covered with cholestric liquid crystal, "a type of liquid crystal structured similarly to cholesterol molecules," the report stated.
"In many cases, such as transportation tickets or ID badges, it will save you from printing the same thing 259 times," Chen said. "In terms of environmental production, this is very meaningful."
Developers also envision the product as an "ideal replacement" for paper signs and posters.