Inkplate 10 grayscale and 1-bit mode color issues

TECHNICAL SUPPORT Inkplate
1

Customer:

I’m experimenting with my new Inkplate 10 and can’t get grayscale samples (example sketches) to work. I get this error:

1:13:59.778 -> ets Jul 29 2019 12:21:46
21:13:59.817 ->
21:13:59.817 -> rst:0xc (SW_CPU_RESET),boot:0x12 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
21:13:59.817 -> configsip: 0, SPIWP:0xee
21:13:59.817 -> clk_drv:0x00,q_drv:0x00,d_drv:0x00,cs0_drv:0x00,hd_drv:0x00,wp_drv:0x00
21:13:59.817 -> mode:DIO, clock div:1
21:13:59.817 -> load:0x3fff0030,len:1344
21:13:59.817 -> load: ,len:13964
21:13:59.817 -> load: ,len:3600
21:13:59.817 -> entry 0x400805f0
21:14:00.636 -> Wavefrom load failed! Upload new waveform in EEPROM. Using default waveform.

Black and white samples all seem to work well. I have selected the Soldered Inkplate 10 board in Arduino IDE. What can I do to fix this?

Originally submitted via email support on 11 December 2025. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.

2

Soldered Support:

Since black and white examples work, the issue is with the waveform. Use the waveform setting example to set the waveform. Read the header comment in this example and follow the instructions to set the waveform:

https://github.com/SolderedElectronics/Inkplate-Arduino-library/tree/master/examples/Inkplate10/Diagnostics/Inkplate10_Wavefrom_EEPROM_Programming

You will also be able to select the optimal waveform for your panel this way.

3

Customer:

Running the Inkplate10_Wavefrom_EEPROM_Programming sample worked. Waveform 4 looked the best.

I have another question related to this. After running the sample, everything looked good in 3-bit mode. But I have not been able to make 1-bit mode look as good—it’s washed out, with a dark gray rather than black color. Changing the waveform to 1 seems to improve things but it’s still not as black as color 0 in 3-bit mode. What can I do to fix this?

4

Soldered Support:

There are a few things you could try:

  1. On your computer, go to the following file: Documents->Arduino->libraries->InkplateLibrary->src->boards->Inkplate10.cpp

Go to line 284 (same one as in this link: Inkplate-Arduino-library/src/boards/Inkplate10.cpp at 26e72c3fba5a3e7f3c9e920a17ad127dec3017ee · SolderedElectronics/Inkplate-Arduino-library · GitHub) and change the _repeat variable to a higher value, such as 7 or 8. This should make the black color darker.

  1. Set the VCOM to the level defined on the ribbon cable of the panel on the back of the PCB. You can use the Set_VCOM example (available in examples->InkplateLibrary->Inkplate10->Diagnostics->Inkplate10_Set_VCOM). It shows the current VCOM value. If that value differs from the one on the ribbon cable, change it by writing the VCOM value into the Serial monitor.

Attachment omitted in migration: 20251216_114408.jpg