Inkplate 6/10 3-bit greyscale limitation and larger panel support

TECHNICAL SUPPORT Inkplate
1

Customer:

I’m interested in samples of the 9.7" Inkplate in November. My products currently use ED097TC2 panels, but I can switch if needed.

I have a few questions about the design:

  1. Why does Inkplate only support 3-bit greyscale? My software stack uses 4-bit, and I couldn’t find any fundamental limitation in the code. Is the 3-bit limit related to the planned STM32 chip addition, or is it purely about refresh rate?

  2. Refresh rate isn’t critical for my application, but panel size is. Are you planning to support 13.3" panels like the ED133UT2?

I’m waiting for the quote to help decide how to proceed.

Originally submitted via email support on 27 October 2020. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.

2

Customer:

Just following up on my previous questions, as I haven’t heard back yet.

3

Soldered Support:

ED097TC2 and ED097OC1 are the same displays, just manufactured for different clients of EINK.

3-bit greyscale was selected for memory savings. There was no major visible difference between 3-bit and 4-bit images on the Inkplate. When the screen driving algorithm is improved, we could switch to 4-bit.

Right now we don’t have plans to implement screens larger than 10 inches. ED133UT2 is almost impossible to get in quantity. If you have other suggestions for larger panels, feel free to let us know.

Attachment omitted in migration: Inkplate 6 quote.pdf