# What is "e-ink"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-e-ink/927158 "2020-12-04T00:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-e-ink/927158/21 "2020-12-04T22:24:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I was under the impression this was where they show ads. If you have the ads removed, then they show pictures instead. This is correct. But the earliest Kindles showed pictures; the ads came later. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-e-ink/927158/22 "2020-12-04T22:46:00Z")
Thank you very much, I hadn’t noticed the change since I upgraded my old kindle (the 2nd I’ve owned) to a paperwhite in 2019. So I just missed the changeover and had not realized. Ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-e-ink/927158/23 "2020-12-05T01:36:49Z")
When I was working in the Smokey Mountains, I was away from ‘civilization’ for 5 days at a time. I highly considered getting a e-ink device so I could do my reports. There were ways to attach keyboards and running some sort of basic word processor,. Those devices have insane battery life, something like a month or so. But I ended up just doing them on my smartphone and bringing a battery pack. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-e-ink/927158/24 "2020-12-05T04:17:00Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Think of e-Ink like a digital Etch-A-Sketch. That’s basically how the technology works But the needle thing is much smaller. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-e-ink/927158/25 "2020-12-06T15:42:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In very strong ambient light such as sunlight […] the e-ink is still perfectly clear. That’s why I still have my original Kindle. Nothing beats e-ink for reading in a beach chair. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-e-ink/927158/26 "2020-12-06T16:04:19Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > But there are also genuinely multicolored pixels available—as explained in [this video](https://youtu.be/MsbiO8EAsGw?t=475), the pigment particles have different masses, and cycles of alternating polarizations are used to ‘sort’ them by mass (inertially)—a lower-mass particle will move further during a cycle. Wow, last I checked, only 3-colour screens were available (typically black, white and one other colour such as red or yellow) - I just checked again today and they are up to [7 colours](https://uk.banggood.com/Waveshare-5_65-Inch-ACeP-7-Color-E-Paper-E-Ink-Raw-Display-600448-Pixels-SPI-Paper-like-Module-p-1774090.html?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_organic&gmcCountry=GB&utm_content=minha&utm_campaign=minha-gbg-en-pc¤cy=GBP&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_bgcs&utm_content=lijing&utm_campaign=ssc-gbg-summersale-all&utm_design=152&ad_id=358675083520&cur_warehouse=CN) now [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-e-ink/927158.md?page=1)