DNP and E Ink Announce Partnership to Deploy E Ink Products in Retail Promotion Displays and Smartcards

Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP) and E Ink® Holdings (E Ink), theleading innovator of electronic ink technology in the world, today announceda strategic partnership to co-develop and co-market products using E Ink e-paper.DNP will leverage its strong sales network in Japan to expand business by developingproducts targeted at the marketing and sales promotion segment of the retailmarket, and the security card and smartcard business for the financial and transportationmarket segments. E Ink will provide the e-paper products along with the engineeringsupport. The collaboration will focus on expanding these businesses in the Japaneseand Southeast Asia market.

The partnership will focus specifically on developing two types of products.One product line will focus on incorporating E Ink Prism^TM color changing filminto retail promotion displays used by retailers for new product launches, in-storepromotions and numerous marketing and merchandising activities. These retaildisplays will be more effective by bringing to life displays which today aretypically static. E Ink products create value for customers because of characteristicsof low power, easy visibility or readability, flexibility and ruggedness.

The other product line will focus on incorporating E Ink displays into NFC-enabledsmartcards used by financial institutions for their customers. These productswill take advantage of the ultra-low power, flexible and light weight of displaysto provide the end customer value-added information or services. The low powerconsumption enables additional product functionality without the consumer havingto worry about battery life.

The new retail and sales promotion products will be marketed by DNP and willincorporate E Ink's color changing Prism product to more easily attract consumerattention and purchasing decision. Prism will be incorporated into DNP's originalPOP product. Due to the low power nature of the Prism, and DNP's design, thepromotion products will be battery powered and can be placed anywhere in thestore, just like the original paper product.

The product for financial institutions will incorporate flexible, low poweractive matrix displays into DNP's NFC-based smartcard products. The demandfor e-money and cashless services is increasing. There are increasing marketand business opportunities for smartcard products that provide the consumerwith additional information such as remaining balance, loyalty points, cardstatus, and other possibilities. The low power means customers do not have toworry about battery life and it prolongs shelf life of the display.

The first public demonstration of products from the partnership will be shownin the DNP booth during RETAILTECH JAPAN, the largest and most influential tradeshow in Japan specializing in retail information systems. The products incorporatePrism into DNP's retail displays. The show is at the Tokyo Big Sight (TokyoInternational Exhibition Center), from March 8-11, in booth RT1206.

 

* Product prices, specification and service contents mentioned in this newsrelease are current as of the date of publication. They may be changed at anytime without notice.