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Media: Washington Post features the Plastic Paper we've all been Waiting for


Source: Washington Post, 23 February 2004
Submitted by Ann Light

"Flexible Display Screens Readied for Production" by Rick Weiss of the Washington Post tells the story we've been long awaiting.

Even today's thinnest display screens for laptops and digital assistants are topped with a layer of glass or plastic 'that cannot be folded, bent or mutilated - much less rolled up into a handy little tube.'

Anyway, the interesting news is that finally after all this talk of flexible screens some really do seem to be on their way. 'Among the uses that manufacturers foresee are electronic newspapers that can be folded or rolled when not in use and then opened to display the latest news; flexible strips for store shelves that display constantly updated price and product information; and watch bands or bracelets that offer streaming news or other information.'

Philips is making a device consisting of a rectangular screen just three times the thickness of a sheet of paper and measuring five inches diagonally. It curls into a tube less than two inches in diameter and may soon coil to the diameter of a fountain pen.

The Washington Post says that with the exception of some invisibly fine gold wires, the circuitry that's inlaid into this flexible page is completely plastic. An internal layer of "electronic ink drops" creates black text on a white background, giving the plastic sheet the look of a paperback page.

The whole thing weighs just 3.5 grams.

 


External link to another web site Associated Link:
Washington Post: Flexible Display Screens Readied for Production


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