A powerful, Wi-Fi enabled ESP32 microcontroller makes this six-inch e-paper display – recycled from a Kindle e-reader – incredibly easy to control. Just plug in a USB cable, open Arduino IDE, and change the contents of the screen with few lines of code.
If you’re like us, the first time you saw an e-reader, you thought to yourself, "I could do something with that." Thanks to clean lines, high contrast, daylight readability, and the remarkable level of energy efficiency that comes from drawing power only when changing the contents of the screen, e-paper is uniquely suited to many applications.
After experimenting with the handful of readily available e-paper screens, however, we just couldn’t shake the sense that none of them was really a finished product. We had to wire them up to external microcontrollers, learn device-specific commands to update their screens, locate hard-to-find sample code, cobble together our own power management, and provide whatever interfaces our project ideas might require. It was a mess.
With Inkplate 6, our goal is to make e-paper accessible to hobbyists and DIY product designers by offering a plug-and-play hardware platform that has it all:
Here is a random sampling of things you might want to see hanging from your wall, sitting on your desk, stuck to your refrigerator, tucked away in your bag, or surrounded by a custom frame:
Whatever your e-paper idea might be, as long as it’s compatible with a six inch screen, Inkplate 6 probably represents your quickest path to it. And even if you’re working toward something larger or smaller, Inkplate 6 can still save you some headaches while you’re prototyping.
We’d rather see them in your hands than in a landfill somewhere. And by recycling used Kindle screens, we are able to offer high-end features at an affordable price. You can find more information in the comparison table below, but some of the highlights include:
Inkplate 6 is built around one of today’s most popular microcontrollers. If you already have experience working with ESP32, then you’re in good company. Developing for Inkplate 6 should feel mighty familiar. And if you’re new to ESP32, this is a great way to start learning a set of skills that will serve you well for a long time to come.
The ESP32 WROVER module at the heart of Inkplate 6 features:
Inkplate 6 is open hardware, and the software that powers it is open source. You can find both our design files and our source code on GitHub. That includes:
Our MicroPython module remains a work-in-progress, as does the datasheet for our board, but we will have both online by the time you receive your Inkplate 6.
We have already done a great deal of work to make Inkplate 6 easy to use, but a larger community could accomplish even more. Inkplate’s Arduino and MicroPython ecosystems will only get healthier over time, and we invite you to contribute to the libraries, tools, and frameworks that will help Inkplate 6 (and subsequent models!) mature into the hundreds of different consumer products they want to be when they grow up.
| Inkplate 6 | Waveshare EPD | Adafruit EPD | Pimoroni Inky wHAT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Size | 6" | 7.5" | 2.13" | 4.2" |
| Resolution | 800 x 600 | 640 x 384 | 250 x 122 | 400 x 300 |
| All-in-one Board | Yes | Requires controller & 2 add-ons | Requires controller | Requires controller |
| Low-Power Mode | 25 μA | No | No | No |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | No | No | No |
| Battery Charger | Yes | No | No | No |
| Touch Pads | Three | Zero | Zero | Zero |
| MicroSD slot | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Greyscale | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Partial Update | Yes | No | No | No |
| Refresh Time | 1.26 s | ~6 s | ~2 s | ~10 s |
All hardware and software documentation for Inkplate 6 will be published and openly maintained in our GitHub repositories. We provide free technical support for all products manufactured by Soldered. An English language forum for this purpose is currently under development. Meanwhile, please contact us through the campaign page if you have any questions.
"We got this screen from Crowd Supply...and we can't put it down. It's a fantastic platform for learning to code graphics, using the Adafruit GFX library and beyond!"
Produced by Soldered Electronics in Osijek, Croatia.
Sold and shipped by Crowd Supply.
Fully assembled and ready for use.
Fully assembled in a 3D-printed enclosure and ready for use.
From the Crowd Supply Basics project.
A 100 cm cable with a USB Type-C and a USB Type-A connector.
From the Crowd Supply Basics project.
A wall mount 5 V, 1 A AC adapter with a USB Type-A port and US plug.
From the Crowd Supply Basics project.
A wall mount 5 V, 1 A AC adapter with a USB Type-A port and EU plug.
· solderedcom · solderedelectronics · soldered.com
Our company originated as a high school garage project in 2013. Initially crafting electronic boards for friends and hobbyists, we evolved into a professional entity, engineering and producing a diverse range of products and services for makers worldwide. In 2022, we transitioned to the name Soldered Electronics, marking a new chapter in our growth and product design. To date, we have engineered over 200 electronic products, manufactured a total of 250,000 units, and delivered those units to makers in more than 85 countries. In addition to electronic production, we have curated an extensive library of 320 tutorials and manuals, complete with descriptions and schematics for electronic products. These resources help makers use our products and our sample code more effectively. Finally, we offer 24/7 customer support and technical assistance for each of our products, regardless of the sales channel through which it was obtained.
