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Comment by jgrahamc | Hacker News Reader

I've built a few things with eink displays and I strongly recommend NOT using simple picture frames (unless they fit perfectly). One way to get a really good looking result is a custom frame. There are tons of custom framing company that will cheaply make you a frame that fits the display with the appropriate cut out.

https://blog.jgc.org/2023/05/a-better-case-for-my-inkplate-1...

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I did that for my Rust/LLM-based e-ink AI newspaper: https://imgur.com/a/NoTr8XX

Custom frame by Halbe Rahmen, who I think make the most magnificent frames in the world, with the most loving team behind them. Not a shill; whenever I interact with the Halbe staff for anything I feel it.

I saw in the summary that you planned to open source it, do you still think you'll do it? I was thinking to build one for self (e-ink + battery powered so can move it around), and trying to avoid reinventing the wheel

Thanks for the pointer! I'm from Germany too, and been considering a similar project (using an old tablet) for a while now. This is another company however that would have been better off if the founder wouldn't have used their own name for it. My first thought was "why buy half a frame from these guys when I can get a whole frame elsewhere?"

Nice project BTW! However the coffee stain doesn't look very realistic in black-and-white...

I definitely need a 3-color e-ink display black/white/brown ... :-)

> Custom frame by Halbe Rahmen, who I think make the most magnificent frames in the world, with the most loving team behind them. Not a shill; whenever I interact with the Halbe staff for anything I feel it.

Bold statement, what are they offering that's better than going into your typical framing store?

I really like their magnet lock thing :-)

Wow I absolutely love that. The cost of the larger ones has been prohibitively expensive for all the stuff I want to do. I did make a small weather display with one of Waveshare's 6 inch screens, then I 3D printed a stand that gives it a nice frameless look.

This is an incredible project. I love every bit of it. Well done!

Super cool! What kind of battery life do you get in practice?

March/April to October or November or so in my first run :-)

cool project and writeup!

Have you considered MIP displays?(1) Memory-in-pixel displays are commonly used on watches, wearables and they can display up to 64 colors in theory. They have high-contrast even in bright ambient conditions.

Example of a color MIP display is the Garmin handhelds: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/553168

The largest one I can find in production is only 4 inches,(2) but a tablet-sized one could be great as a display. They don't use much power (just like e-ink) as a MIP watch can last 11+ months without a charge.

(1)https://www.sharpsde.com/technologies-for/memory-in-pixels/m...

(2)https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sharp-microelectr...

AKA transflective, AKA Memory LCD. It neither looks as good as the ipad, nor does it use no power (at idle) or read as easily as the kindle. It still has to use a little power, but it has the advantage of the fast refresh of an LCD, and a million times better than the ipad in the sun

For a reader/ note taking pad, or even a tablet, that sounds perfect.

As long as you only want to use it in bright light. I almost always need to use my Garmin watch's backlight indoors since it's just not bright enough to see otherwise.

And while the display is great outdoors, the colors are muted compared to what you'd see with an OLED or traditional LCD display.

I use my tablet indoors much more than outdoors (and it cranks up the display brightness to be usable in pretty much any light other than full direct sunlight, and I rarely sit in the direct while using it), so I don't think I'd want an MIP display on a tablet.

A £3 custom mount board really makes a difference. I've built beautiful looking e-paper pictures using a basic IKEA frame and an custom cut mount from best4frames.

The matte could be cut for any sized frame for another alternatively cost effective option.

It’s relatively easy to cut your own frame from Michael’s or haven’t hem cut it too.

Got any names of good quality and reasonably priced custom framing shops?

They will all be local, or call your local Michael's, or else try Framebridge.com

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