Electronic ink and smart packaging A perfect match E Ink

Palladio Group and E Ink Introduce PhutureMed™, an Advanced Packaging Solution for Pharmaceutical Products

As the world’s leading developer and producer of electronic paper displays, E Ink Corporation provides the technology for a wide range of consumer and industrial applications, including E-Book Reader (such as Amazon Kindle), smart phone and watches, electronic shelf labels, and information and promotional signs. Elisabeth Skoda spoke to Hui Lee, the company’s Senior Director of Business Development, to find out more about E Ink, the operating principles behind electronic paper, and exciting new applications for the packaging industry.

ELECTRONIC INK AND SMART PACKAGING: A PERFECT MATCH

Using YoTa phone as an example, Hui Lee, Sr. Director at E Ink demonstrated how to turn a ordinary space into a smart surface

EInk is proud to be the market leader in the field of e-paper displays. Best known for revolutionizing the way people read books, further advances in electronic ink technology allow it to be used on a range of different surfaces, opening up a range of exciting application opportunities for the packaging industry.

A technology with vast potential

Ms. Lee explains the working principle that lies behind the varied types of electronic ink displays: “Electronic ink consists of small charged color particles in a transparent fluid on a flexible substrate. The color particles are charged with opposite polarities. When a positive or negative electric field is applied, the corresponding charged particles rise to the top of the compartment, where they become visible to the viewer. The particles remain in place when the electric field removed - so the displays do not need power to maintain the image.”

Electronic ink has several key advantages compared to other display technologies. The displays are reflective, which means they reflect ambient light just like traditional paper versus LCD or LED displays which shine a bright light towards the viewer. Hence, E Ink displays are clearly visible under direct sunlight. E Ink displays are ultra-low power. Electronic ink is bistable, requiring no power to maintain an image. Just like paper, the image will not change until a new image is displayed without requiring any power at all. This opens up electronic ink displays to a wide range of low power applications. Thirdly, E Ink material is flexible making for an interesting value proposition in packaging applications. Ideal for smart packaging

According to a recent report from IDTechEx1, the global demand for electronic smart packaging devices will grow rapidly to $1.45 billion by 2023. Electronic smart packaging addresses the need for brands to reconnect with the customer, the IDTechEx report notes. It identifies the main factors driving this rapid growth as aging population, more demanding and wealthier consumers, changing lifestyles, stricter legislation as well as concern over crime and terrorism.

Today more than ever, products that stand out on the shelf, efficiently deliver a brand’s story and engage customer loyalty are of key importance. Brands face stiff competition, so it is important to stay ahead of evolving packaging design standards to quickly match evolving consumer demands and technologies. E Ink is ideally positioned to deliver the goods to make this possible.

E Ink’s display technology can provide an intuitive interface that consumers can easily interact with. Product information and advertising content can be seamlessly integrated into one smart surface that enhances consumer experience and contains person-

1IDTechEx.com, Smart Packaging Comes To Market: Brand Enhancement With Electronics 2014-2024 (Raghu Das, Dr Guillaume Chansin)

E Ink temperature monitoring solution – folding carton designed by YFYJupiter Limited

alized content. This has the potential to become a new advertising medium that can revolutionize how CPG companies advertise to their customers.

Smart packaging is a fast growing market that has the potential to alter the role of packaging in the marketplace. It can facilitate better business by enabling premium pricing, more efficient supply chain management, improved security and brand protection as well as waste reduction. Brand owners are keen to use smart packaging, as long as it can provide a useful function, not just a gimmick, that adds real value to their brand.

“E Ink’s low power, paper-like display technology is well suited for this exciting market which allows packaging to have a higher function and provide a richer experience to consumers,” says Ms. Lee.

An exciting application is the ability to change a battery-less E Ink display via a mobile phone. A NFC-enabled phone is able to generate RF signals carrying both the information and the energy necessary to update the display. NFC serves both as a means to change the display content and as a power source, hence avoiding the need for a battery. The image on the display can be changed using an app and simply holding an NFC enabled phone over the display. This opens up exciting possibilities for packaging manufacturers and brand owners.

Making pharmaceuticals interactive

In the pharmaceutical industry, traceability, authentication and compliance issues are major topics, with major regulations, such as the US “Drug Supply Chain Security Act” and the EU’s Falsified Medicines Directive to become fully operational in 2017 and 2016, respectively. A more proactive approach is needed, and E Ink is playing an important part in securing adherence to regulations.

In the autumn of 2015, E Ink announced a collaboration with the Palladio Group, a world leading packaging solutions provider for pharmaceuticals. The result of this cooperation was PhutureMed™, an advanced packaging solution which supports a number of features to monitor the quality of medicines shipped to patients and improve medication adherence of patients to prescribed drug therapies. The E Ink display module is integrated within the paperboard carton for secondary packaging.

“PhutureMed™’s integrated E Ink display and sensors constantly monitor ambient conditions and show patients or customers if the medication was handled correctly or if it was kept in too hot or too cold conditions, something that is critical for biopharmaceuticals and medication with active ingredients,” Ms Lee explains.

The E Ink display module incorporated into the package has built-in temperature sensors and RTC timers. The module records a temperature log of all events the package is exposed to during storage and usage. The unique properties of the E Ink display ensure that relevant information will continue to be displayed even in the event of complete loss of battery power. This provides confidence to the supplier and the patient that the medication has not been compromised.

“Temperature monitoring is key for properly shipping certain products. We added a temperature sensor which can be programmed with different temperature ranges. If the temperature is ever above or below the range defined, a warning message will be displayed. Previous packs of this kind just had an indicator or a red light, but with the E Ink display it is possible to have more descriptive text or graphic on the display, such as ‘warning’ or ‘void’, making the message very clear and thereby saving the need to educate a partner or distributor on what an indicator light may mean,” Ms. Lee points out.

PhutureMed™ can also be programmed to provide a time log to register when the medication was taken by the patient. This vital information can be recalled, analyzed and shared with doctors or health practitioners. This can remove any uncertainty by the patient about whether they have taken their medication at the required times.

“Often it can be difficult, especially for older patients, to remember if they took their medicine or not, with potentially dangerous consequences, if they miss a dose, or, even worse, take a dose twice. With PhutureMed™, the patient can press a button on the pack whenever he or she takes the medicine, and the pack will show the date and time on which the last medicine was taken,” Ms. Lee adds.

At present, PhutureMed™ is at the prototype stage and is available for engagements with pharmaceutical companies.

It’s all about timing

An integrated timer can be used within a pack to record the last opening event and for counting. For example, a timer can be programmed to calculate the expiration date after a specific action. This is a key feature for example in pharma and cosmetics products.

“In the case of a cosmetic bottle the storage lifetime can be three years. But after initial opening, the product will expire in six months.

E Ink temper evidence design with conductive ink – folding carton designed by YFYJupiter Limited

E Ink display used for shipping label E Ink headquarter office, Hsinchu Taiwan

The manufacturer cannot predict when the customer opens their product so the manufacturer cannot provide adequate help or guidance. Plus, in most cases, the customer doesn’t remember when the bottle was opened, so the timer tracking feature adds considerable value. ” Ms. Lee explains.

The timer can also be programmed to provide a personal message every 24 hours. The message can be used for promotional purposes in a retail environment, where customers see different messages displayed on the same product at different times of day.

Working with conductive ink

Ms. Lee also demonstrates a concept design of a carton that uses conductive ink as an activation trigger inside the box. This is the result of a collaboration with the global packaging company YFY Jupiter.

“Instead of pressing a button, we can use conductive ink as trigger. Conductive ink is printed at two different places on the inside of the box. When the box is closed, the two conductive ink materials connect, and when the pack is opened, the disconnection of the conductive ink material sends a signal to the MCU. The signal can be programmed as tamper evidence for anti-counterfeiting designs. The E Ink display will display a warning on the pack, showing clearly that it has been opened. This sample is open for a range of different designs,” she explains.

The sky is the limit

As the leading electronic paper supplier in the world, E Ink puts a lot of effort in R&D, and Ms. Lee sees endless possibilities.

“We see great potential for the technology, and the possibilities are endless, whether it is in smart packaging, or in architecture, to create customizable wallpaper and flooring to make ordinary space more interesting, or in travel, with electronic luggage tags. When we started, our focus was on consumer electronics, but as Dr. Frank Ko, Chairman & CEO of E Ink highlighted in the company meeting, we see E Ink on every smart surface, offering an unique and interactive experience. We are working together with eco system partners to make E Ink technology more efficient and adaptable and more easy to use,” she concludes. n

Visit: www.eink.com or for business inquiry, please contact Hui Lee at hlee@eink.com

About the company

E Ink Corporation was founded in 1997. As the world’s leading innovator of digital signage and electronic paper display technology (EPD), it delivers its advanced display products to the world’s most influential brands and manufactures such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Casio, Citizen, Kobo, Motorola, Samsung and Sony, enabling them to install extremely durable, low power displays in previously impossible or unimaginable applications and environments. Under the name of E Ink Holdings, the company is now a subsidiary of YFY Group, a major Taiwanese corporation.