In this blog, we have discussed the best E Ink display for Raspberry Pi.
What is an E Ink Display and How Does it Work?
Before getting into the list of best E Ink displays, let’s briefly discuss what an E Ink display is and how does it work?
E Ink displays are used to display content for a longer time with less power consumption. Different models of E Ink displays may vary in color scheme and sizes. The display of content is controlled by managing the positive and negative charges. Basically, E Ink displays consist of tiny micro-capsules that hold black and white particles in the form of a liquid. The black color content is displayed by negatively charged particles and for the white display, positively charged particles are used.
Best E Ink Display with Raspberry Pi
There are so many good E Ink displays available to buy for Raspberry Pi but below we have listed the five of them that are highly compatible with Raspberry Pi and are easily available on Amazon. E-Ink displays can vary in size, color compatibility, interfaces, and power consumption.
1: Waveshare 4.2 Inch E Ink Display
On the top of the list is a 4.2-inch E Ink display developed by the Waveshare. It is the best choice E Ink display that consumes low power, thus compatible with the Raspberry Pi model. It has a clear display without electricity and has no backlight. It provides a wide-angle view and a 400×300 resolution. An onboard voltage translator is also present which is compatible with 3.3 V – 5V MCUs. An embedded controller and SPI are also available to connect with control boards like Raspberry Pi and Arduino.
2: Waveshare Three-Color E-Ink Display
For users who prefer colored displays over grayscale, this Waveshare Three-Color E-Ink display is best for them as it provides three colors; red, black, and white. It works great with Raspberry Pi and has a 7.5-inch E-Ink display hat for Raspberry Pi. It provides a great resolution of 800×480. It also provides an embedded controller and an SPI interface for communication. The extension header is a
standard Raspberry Pi 40-pin GPIO.
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3: Waveshare HAT-Compatible E-Ink Display
This Waveshare clear display is an industrial E-Ink display that provides a clear display with an upgraded resolution of 800 x 480. The consumption for this E-Ink display is ultra-low. The power is only consumed while refreshing. It is responsive and provides a great angle view. It is great for accessing the GPIO pin. It has a display that is easy to understand and set up. It has standard Raspberry Pi 40-pin GPIO extension headers that provide compatibility with the Raspberry Pi series. It also has an onboard voltage translator which is compatible with 3.3 V – 5V MCUs.
4: Waveshare 2.13-inch e-Paper Display
This grayscale E Ink display provides 250×122 resolution and is best suited for regular use. It supports partial refresh due to which the power consumption is very low. It has a 2.13 inches screen with a 5-point capacitive touch and has no backlight. It has standard Raspberry Pi 40-pin GPIO extension headers that provide compatibility with all the Raspberry Pi models. These can be used for the regular purpose of displaying e-paper content with Raspberry Pi.
5: Waveshare 2.66-inch e-Paper Display
This is another E Ink display that supports partial refresh and is very good for regular use. The refresh time for the display is 6 seconds whereas for the partial refresh, it is 0.3 seconds. It provides an onboard SPI controller interface for connecting with Raspberry Pi and other controllers like Jetson or Arduino. It has a 2.66-inch e-Paper E Ink display module with a viewing angle greater than 170 degrees. It has no backlight and consumes ultra-low power, which is only consumed at the time of refreshing.
That’s it for this guide.
Conclusion
E Ink displays are a great solution for users who love reading books and for creating task boards that could display content for a longer time without consuming much power. The E Ink display has microcapsules of positive and negative charges; the charges are set accordingly to display content. The best E Ink displays for Raspberry Pi are categorized based on their compatibility, power consumption, display, and other features. The five best E-Ink displays are discussed in the above guidelines.
