A different kind of digital signage may be on the way

When we talk about "digital signage," usually it's in reference to a moving image on a screen or screens placed in out of home environments. But a promising new technology from Fujitsu may energize the static poster and display market by providing low-cost, low-power, full-color electronic paper in the next few years. While companies like E-Ink have been touting such paper for years now, it has still remained too low resolution and low-color to be used for serious graphic display. Should Fujitsu's tech pan out, that could all change, with poster slideshows becoming more prevalent as the stuff takes off. For those of us looking for new and bigger screens to compete against today's LCD and plasma displays, we'll have to wait a bit longer, as Mike Nelson, general manager of sales for Fujitsu Europe noted that:

the technology, which can run on very little power, was not yet in a position to handle moving images and was therefore not a threat for LCD in the short term.

"LCD is much better at the moment for moving images, the update on here is relatively slow - about one second or so. That's OK for flicking through the pages of a book or newspaper but it would not be any good for video in its current state."

He added: "The technology is very similar to LCD screen technology except with a conventional LCD screen as soon as you remove the power the image goes.

"With this once the LCD has set the image it says there forever. With an A5 size screen I could change the image every two seconds for more than a year from the power in a single triple A battery."

Tags: E-ink, Fujitsu, electronic paper, digital signage