
Ask HN: Anyone here experienced with e-ink monitors? - eezurr
I&#x27;m thinking about switching to e-ink because its better for the eyes (for coding)<i>
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Aliabid94
I have a Dasung Paperlike that I use and it's been pretty great for my eye
strain. For most developer workflows it's good enough. Latency has never been
a problem for coding, I think its around 10-16 fps. There's some residual ink
that gets left on screen, but I don't notice it at all anymore. Obviously you
can't do any color work or watch a video, but other than that I almost never
have to switch to my regular screen. The only annoying part are all the cables
that have to be set up to work (it requires both a USB and a displayport
simultaneously).

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GloriousKoji
About a year ago Technology Connections on youtube tried to use an eink
display and thoroughly described his experiences.

* E-Ink on Android, and other new things! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytpRnRke6I0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytpRnRke6I0)

* E-Ink for Productivity: An Introduction [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfX0vlCa4k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfX0vlCa4k)

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dddw
Such a great youtube channel

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GekkePrutser
If you're on a budget and you don't mind some electronics tinkering, check
this out:
[https://www.waveshare.com/product/displays/e-paper/epaper-1/...](https://www.waveshare.com/product/displays/e-paper/epaper-1/12.48inch-
e-paper-module.htm) Only $170 for 12.5"! This is for Black/White. They also do
a version with Black/White/Red but it takes _very_ long to refresh so probably
isn't suitable for interactive use. However I believe - don't know for sure!!!
- that the B/W/R displays are just as fast as B/W if you don't use the third
colour. But they do have a reddish sheen if that appeals yo you.

Also you'll have to do some coding to get this to work properly as it's
addressed as 2 half displays. A bit like 4K used to work with DL-DVI.

However if you want something that just plugs in to DVI or HDMI, then get the
paperlike. Huge price difference though.

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rShergold
I've been playing with a Waveshare display using this great little library for
rendering with HTML and JS
[https://github.com/samsonmking/epaper.js](https://github.com/samsonmking/epaper.js)

However I suspect the resolution (even for the 12.5") is too low to reasonably
use with a code editor.

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GekkePrutser
Well, it's 1304x984. Basically on-par with a 1280x1024 monitor, which were
used on sizes of 15 and even 17".

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jolmg
That's an interesting idea (using e-ink for coding), but I wonder if the
benefit would be offset by the loss of syntax highlighting. I wonder how
effective it would be to re-implement it by using varying foreground or
background shades of gray, or varying widths of stroke.

EDIT: After thinking about it, I imagine the software using these displays
already convert color to grayscale for images in documents, etc. I imagine
that conversion would work with pre-existing syntax highlighting. Oddly, I
can't find images online of source code being displayed on e-ink.

I've been looking for a reason to get a reMarkable tablet. Maybe this is the
excuse I need. Since root access comes out-of-the-box, it might not be too
hard to set it up as a display for coding.

Then again, maybe a display like those shared in these comments would be more
cost-effective.

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MivLives
I imagine you could use different fonts to accomplish what color does already.

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imhoguy
Fonts and styling: bold, italic, thin, underlines with styles, outlines,
borders. A lot can be achieved with monochromatic medium.

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endori97
Download ColorVeil and knock down the brightness of your current setup, if
that doesn't work then maybe go with OLED instead.

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eezurr
I already use f.lux (even during the day), and I dont keep my screen too
bright or too dark. I even bought a second pair of glasses with a weaker
prescription, and try to remember to look away every 20 minutes (which is
annoying when focusing)

I started a project that I focus on after work, so Im in front of screen for
10-14 hours a day now. I wont mind spending $1,xxx on a e-ink monitor if the
feedback is generally good. I have a kindle and it's noticeably more
comfortable to look at.

I'm also curious of the psychological effects of working from an e-ink
display, since it's a very different medium.

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endori97
Prob you want [http://www.dasungtech.com/](http://www.dasungtech.com/) if
you're going e-ink

"Comparing the Boox Onyx Max 2, Dasung Paperlike Pro and Pixel Qi as external
monitors."
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QQkJGdiI1I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QQkJGdiI1I)

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non-entity
From what I understand there arent any, at least nothing compared to what you
think of when you think of computer monitors. there are a few, nut they're
very small and rather expensive.

Obviously the refresh rate isn't good enough for most media, but i still think
it would be nice for reading docs.

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imranq
It’s easier to write code in a notebook. I frequently look at a screen for a
minute, memorize what’s there, and do the rest on a piece of paper. If you sum
up total screen time during an 8 hour day, it’s around 1 hour of bursts.

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wenc
> because its better for the eyes (for coding)

e-ink is great for static content, but just wondering if the high latency be a
little bothersome for dynamic content like a code text window? I usually jump
around a lot when I code and have to keep an eye on the debug/output window
which refreshes a lot. I feel like a rock-solid image (high refresh rate LED
monitor) and smooth motion would be less tiring to the eyes.

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jobmatchbox
You may be able to talk to the founders of Printless Plans, a Baltimore based
startup that has been working with large e-ink displays.

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andrewf
If I'm sold on trying this, and have a second VESA mount at my desk, does
anyone have a solid purchase recommendation?

