paperd.ink is an e-ink / e-paper development board to showcase calendar, weather, to-do lists, notifications, images, and much more.

The beautiful display allows you to get rid of all distractions and work peacefully. Since it’s open-source and fully hackable, you can play around and customize it for yourself!

“e-ink is as if the computer is speaking in an inside voice as opposed to shouting” – this is how one of our early reviewers described e-paper and we couldn’t agree more! We decided to develop something based on e-paper because we were tired of having displays that emit or rather blast backlight on you. This gets irritating to the eye and is quite intrusive. Thus, we fell in love with the e-paper display given its elegance, low power consumption and there’s the je ne sais quoi about the monochrome which has its appeal.

OK. What can I do with it?

• Want to customize it tailored for your use case? You got it, paperd.ink is open source & hackable!
• Wanna play around and integrate with custom APIs? Go for it, paperd.ink is customizable and you can program it in Arduino, Micropython, or ESP-IDF.
• Want to tweak the enclosure and 3D print a rad design? Time to get the creative hat on, try out different designs with the STEP files we’ve kept open for everyone!
• Sync it with your to-do list, calendar or set it up to show the weather – that’s all you need to have a productive day!
• Display your best piece of art or pictures of your beloved ones, or have a quote for inspiration – now wouldn’t that be fulfilling!
• Broadcast important notices wirelessly for everyone to see or use as your home automation dashboard – that would make your life easier!

The possibilities are endless, limited only by your imagination! You see, paperd.ink e-ink is designed based on the feedback and suggestions received from our early respondents who were part of our user research. We kept a minimalist design to help you be more productive and make it versatile.

Hmmm… How does it work?

What are its tech specs?

• ESP32-WROOM-32 module
• FCC/CE certified WiFi & Bluetooth for connectivity
• <20uA current consumption in sleep mode
• CP2104 USB-UART converter onboard for programming
• MicroSD card slot for storing images, files, etc
• Piezo buzzer for notifications and alerts
• 4x tactile buttons for user input
• Battery charger circuit to keep it truly wireless
• Extension header for interfacing and expanding capabilities

ESP32-WROOM-32

• ESP32 is one of the most popular microcontrollers, and the heart of paperd.ink. You can program it using the micro USB connection and is well supported by Arduino, Micropython, and ESP-IDF.
• FCC/CE Certified
• Dual-core microprocessor @240MHz
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth v4.2 BR/EDR & BLE
• 520 KB of on-chip SRAM
• Integrated 4 MB SPI flash

E-paper Display

• 4.2” e-paper
• Resolution: 400 x 300 (DPI: 120)
• Color: Black & White, Monochrome
• SPI Interface
• Full refresh: 3s
• Has support for partial refresh

External Interface 

 

• UART, SPI, and I2C so you can add external sensors and modules. This makes the board extendable.
• 8 I/O for controlling any output and receiving any input.
• Disable ESP32 module using ESP_EN pin to reduce power consumption.
• Disable the entire board using LDO_EN pin and have virtually no current consumed by the board.

Physical Specs

The PCB is 92.1 x 78.1 mm
The enclosure is 98 x 82 x 16 mm

What’s the offer?

• We’re selling two versions of our paperd.ink e-ink roduct – with enclosure and without enclosure. You can download the STEP files from our Github repository to 3D print your own if you decide to go with the latter. Or even design your own!
• The enclosure would be 3D printed using SLA process in ABS white material.
• We’re offering a 47% early bird discount for the first 25 orders, go grab it till it lasts!

Who is who?

Hi, we’re Rohit & Prasad – the duo behind paperd.ink!

We’re two young engineers from India. We’re makers, hackers, tinkerers at heart with a love for open source technologies. paperd.ink is our passion project which we’ve been working on for more than 1.5 years. We have been working hard through thick and thin to make this product a reality ever since the pandemic started right after our soft launch last year. We had a host of issues ranging from problems importing components to test our redesigns, industry shut down due to lockdowns in our country, or finding a way to finance the orders.

But amidst all this, we were motivated by our early supporters’ love and support, which gave us the confidence to keep moving. We have made paperd.ink with craft and dedication focusing on making life easier for our users. With this early trust we receive, we have come this far. We want to thank each one of you, we’re two ambitious nerds without much social or financial capital looking to share our work with the world which would not have been possible without the internet and all of you. Thank you!

https://youtu.be/MQmexGrWQOo