HP Innovation Journal Issue 07: Summer 2017 | Page 22
MAKER SPOTLIGHT
A new rewritable printing technology
set to impact multiple industries
by O
mer Gila, Director of Research, Pa3DL, HP Labs, HP;
Napoleon Leoni, Distinguished Technologist, Pa3DL, HP Labs, HP
H
P Labs is piloting a new display tech-
nology that could impact a num-
ber of industries including finance,
hospitality, healthcare, security, retail, and
transportation.
HP IonTouch is a secure, integrated sys-
tem for placing and updating timely, per-
sonalized visual information onto digital
displays embedded in plastic cards of the
size of credit card.
IonTouch removes the electronics from
conventional electronic paper displays in-
cluding the display backplane, battery, and
processor. This enables a high resolution
2.5″ display on each card with a small incre-
mental cost.
The low-cost, energy-free display uses
an external writer (known as an IonTouch
imager). Images written remain permanent
unless re-imaged by an IonTouch imager.
The 2.5″ 300 x 300 dpi resolution dis-
play with 16 level gray scale is large enough
to show a clear photo, a QR code, and text
information all together at the same time.
A barcode on the back of the card uniquely
identifies each card, allowing the imaging de-
vice to retrieve any new information from the
cloud to be written on the card. Alternative
technologies to identify the cards could be
readily integrated with the IonTouch system
including magnetic stripes, contact or con-
tact-less smart card chips, etc. The imager
erases the card’s current display before print-
ing the new information onto its electronic
paper via a floating, non-contact print head
in much the same way an HP Inkjet head
prints ink onto conventional paper — but
without the ink. The entire process takes
only a few seconds.
The image can be rewritten more than
10,000 times. The cards are made to be
flexible, durable, water-washable, and
impact resistant. Crucially, the cards also
cost little to produce. Where competing
solutions with a comparable electronic
screen size cost more than $100 per card
to manufacture, HP IonTouch cards are
projected to cost less than a couple of dol-
lars to make.
Potential uses include gift cards that
display personalized messages,
security badges that are reau-
thorized dai ly, smarter hotel
door keys, medical cards, public
transport passes, and loyalty
cards
that update their value and
HP IonTouch enables a new type of smart cards. Low-cost, high
quality, energy-free, secure, and reusable.
include discounts or offers that are
22 Innovation Journal · Issue 7 · Summer 2017
personalized for the user. The technology
also has potential for other applications like
signage, including low-cost, rewritable shelf
tag labels.
Making cards rewritable makes them re-
usable which is good for the environment
as it eliminates millions of wasted cards
every year. Since the only way to change
information on the IonTouch cards is using
the IonTouch imagers, this also adds an-
other layer of protection, making the cards
very secure. Being able to update or rotate
security codes would boost the security of
credit cards and enable reuse of gift cards,
replacing the scratchable or permanent se-
curity codes in use today.
The HP IonTouch pilot, currently under-
way, deploys an advanced automated dig-
ital badge entry system at HP’s own Palo
Alto headquarters. This pilot will give the
IonTouch concept important visibility and
valuable feedback on the business and the
technology aspects.
IonTouch is in incubation mode at HP and
thus in early release/pilots.
Omer Gila is director of research at HP.
He joined HP Labs in 2001 working on
digital commercial printing technology.
Omer has more than 70 issued patents.
Napoleon Leoni is a distinguished tech-
nologist at HP Labs. He joined HP Labs
in 2003 working on digital commercial
printing technology. Napoleon has
more than 30 issued patents.