Waveshare ESL Color ePaper Displays with Bluetooth, NFC and Cloud Platform Support

Waveshare has introduced a new series of ESL (Electronic Shelf Labe) color e-paper displays, perfect for various uses like retail price tags, asset tracking, and even conference name tags. These displays are powered by Bluetooth and NFC, making it easy to update them wirelessly. You can manage them remotely using Waveshare’s cloud platform with the help of a dedicated wireless base station. 

The displays use a 1,200mAh coin cell battery that lasts around 5 years, according to Waveshare and supports four colors: red, yellow, black, and white. With a wide 178° viewing angle and a strong ABS plastic case, they're great for applications like price tags, shelf labels, asset tracking, and conference name tags.

The displays connect to a wireless BLE base station, which links to the cloud and lets users control the displays remotely. This base station supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi, has a range of 10-30 meters indoors, and is powered by a 48V PoE supply. It can handle speeds up to 1167 Mbps and measures 180 × 180 × 33mm. The base station works in temperatures between -10°C and 60°C.  

Specifications: 

Display Technology: E-Paper (Electrophoretic)

Colors Supported: Red, Yellow, Black, White

Display Specifications: The series includes four sizes, each with varying resolution and pixel density:

Size	Resolution	Pixel Density	Display Area (mm)	Dimensions (mm)
2.13″	250 × 122	130 DPI	48.55 × 23.7	71 × 34.7
2.66″	296 × 152	125 DPI	60.09 × 30.7	85 × 41
2.9″	296 × 128	112 DPI	66.9 × 29.06	92 × 41.5
3.5″	384 × 184	122 DPI	79.68 × 38.18	101.5 × 50

Connectivity:

• Bluetooth 5.1 BLE for remote updates
• NFC (for local updates)

Power:

• Ultra-low power, (required for content refreshing only )
• 1200mAh battery (Built-in replaceable)
• Battery life: up to 5 years

Operating Temperature: 0°C to 40°C 

Waveshare's ESL displays have a few limitations. They only work up to 40°C, which could be an issue in very hot environments. Also, while most of their displays use Bluetooth 5.1, the 2.9" display uses Bluetooth 5.0 instead. This could be a mistake or something they forgot to mention. Even though Bluetooth 5.4 supports ESLs, these displays don’t use it because of their older Bluetooth version. You can get more information about the product setup and other documentation on wiki page.

We’ve seen various connected e-paper displays like the Inky Frame 7.3" with a 7.3-inch E Ink screen and 7-color support, as well as Waveshare’s 4-inch Spectra 6 full-color display for Raspberry Pi. E-paper displays have also been used in Android phones and smartwatches. However, this is the first e-paper display made specifically for ESL (electronic shelf label) applications.

Waveshare offers a complete ESL kit that includes the base station, four displays, a power supply, and mounting brackets. The kit is priced at $467.99 on Amazon or $459.99 on AliExpress (excluding shipping). You can also buy individual displays or bundles from the Waveshare store.