Since E Ink's implementation in the Esquire cover is much more akin to a "segment display," relatively few driven electrodes are needed in either of the two panels. Accordingly, a pair of NXP HEF4094BT 8-bit serial shift registers are sufficient to drive the 14 different graphic regions of the twin panels.
The interior panel uses only three segments, so leftover bits from the second shift register chip serve to manipulate the 11 segments of the more complex outer cover display.
The sixth coin cell runs a Microchip PIC12F629 8-bit flash microcontroller responsible for generating bit patterns shifted into the NXP serial registers. Powered by a 3-volt battery (outputting 3-volt signals for clocking into the NXP parts), the registers' threshold is low enough so that the 15-volt rail is translated to the register outputs from a 3-volt logical "one" input.
Esquire's messages and graphics are hard-coded in the EPD panel design so the only hacking needed is a re-flash of the PIC microcontroller for alternative segment sequences and/or timing.
Carbon-print polyester thick-film flexes were used to join electronics to display panels through zero-insertion-force connectors; everything was wired in a simple two-layer, glass-epoxy circuit card. Three transistors and several dozen resistors completed the scheme.
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| The final step to an electronic magazine cover |
Esquire editors included an explanation in their anniversay issue about how the special edition was put together. Electronics manufacturing and assembly started in Shanghai, China, with the production output then flown to Dallas-based supplier Structural Graphics. Cover materials were then trucked to Negras, Mexico, for hand-assembly and taping of printed stock and electronics. Finished covers were shipped by truck again to Glasgow, Ky., for final magazine binding and U.S distribution.
Interestingly, all truck transport was by refrigerated trailer to help slow the cover timer's 90-day power lifetime.
Stressing the EPD panels to test their paper-like quality was irresistable. The laminated E Ink assembly is indeed waif-like, coming in at just 0.6mm-thick, and the 3-mm-thick PCB assembly was the dominant bulge in the Esquire cover. Still, the E Ink panel takes a tight fold in stride so the paper-like analogy holds up pretty well.
Like all magazines, the $6 cover price is subsidized by advertising, but here the high-tech add-on certainly bumps production costs. EPD electronics are likely under $2, inclusive of batteries and display costs, which probably drove the total magazine production premium. We estimate the entire E Ink insert might add another $5 to the otherwise traditional magazine, but that's a loosely-thrown dart. In any case, it would seem that Ford, as the lone ad beneficiary, was probably a significant underwriter.
Esquire calls the E Ink cover "the future of publishing". At some level, this may be the case, and the current crop of e-book readers are certainly onboard with the concept. But the simple animation here is a far cry from the resolution and addressability used in e-book panels; no solution begins to match the graphics-rich format of Esquire and other magazines.
In sum, Esquire's trial was an intriguing experiment. The best market for this technology may still be text-centric e-books rather than magazines with color, advertising and complex graphics. Esquire editors acknowledged that the experiment may have fallen short, but added: "At least we did something that looks pretty cool." Indeed.
David Carey is president of Portelligent, a TechInsights company.
