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

DNP and E Ink will jointly develop new sales promotion and security products incorporating E Ink's eye-friendly, energy-saving electronic paper, which will be offered through DNP's sales network. Furthermore, by combining DNP's display surface treatment technology, backplane technology, and smart card manufacturing technology with E Ink's electronic paper technology and e-paper color control software, the two companies will demonstrate synergistic effects in terms of technological development, promoting product development that takes market needs and the environment into consideration. For example, they will develop and offer in-store POP displays incorporating E Ink's electronic paper for enhanced eye-catching effects, as well as smart card capable of displaying balances. The two companies aim to expand their electronic paper business not only in Japan but also globally, primarily in Southeast Asia.

Among the various information media through which consumers come into contact with product information, the effectiveness of in-store POP, which can provide information directly to consumers at the time of product purchase, is being reassessed, and DNP will develop and provide in-store POP incorporating EInk's electronic paper "PRISM." PRISM excels at soft colors and gradation expression, and by changing the displayed colors and patterns, it enhances eye-catching effects and design, strongly appealing to consumers with product information. PRISM is also energy-efficient and battery-powered, allowing it to be installed anywhere in the store.

In recent years, amid an increase in the use of various membership cards, point cards, electronic money cards, etc., there has been a growing need among companies to display information such as points, balances, tickets, and coupons on cards in order to promote their use. In April 2016, DNP will release a product that incorporates EInk's electronic paper onto an NFC*-compatible contactless smart card, enabling this information to be displayed. The content displayed on the electronic paper is rewritten using power supplied by the reader/writer when smart card communicates with the reader/writer, eliminating the need for a battery in smart card.

DNP also offers a mobile wallet service that centrally manages a variety of services, including payments, points, coupons and campaign information, using a wallet-like app, as well as a service that adds these functions to smartphones via a network. By combining these services with the newly developed e-paper smart card, DNP will help to invigorate communication between companies and their customers.

• NFC (Near Field Communication): International standard for short-range wireless communication

DNP will sell products equipped with E Ink's electronic paper, primarily to companies in the distribution, retail, finance and transportation sectors, and expects to achieve sales of 2 billion yen in fiscal year 2020, five years from now.

The first public demonstration of products from the partnership will be shown in the DNP booth during RETAILTECH JAPAN, the largest and most influential trade show 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.

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