Ultimate Color E Ink Comparison: Kaleido vs. New Kaleido vs. ACeP

E Ink Kaleido vs. New Kaleido Plus vs. ACeP: Color E Ink Comparison

Why is Kaleido Plus the best technology for color E Ink tablets for now?

March 22, 2021
One Comment
6min Read

Since E Ink’s color ePaper technology Kaleido hit the market last summer, iterations from Kaleido2, Kaleido2.5 to Kaleido3 have sprung up. Although the names are pretty confusing, one thing can be assured is the new Kaleido, Kaleido Plus, is the latest iteration officially announced by E Ink.

From most consumers’ perspectives, the features and the differences of Kaleido iterations matter more than their names.

This article is breaking down the myths of Kaleido. Besides showing you the differences between Kaleido and the new Kaleido Plus, we also add E Ink Gallery, the Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP), into the comparison to give you a complete look into the color E Ink world.

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What is Kaleido?

E Ink Kaleido™ is a print color ePaper using Color Filter Array (CFA) technology. It doesn’t contain any color microcapsules. Instead, it uses a color filter consisting of Red, Green and Blue (RGB) patterns on the top to reflect light in different colors.

What is the new Kaleido Plus?

Kaleido Plus is the latest iteration of Kaleido.

Before Kaleido Plus was released, people had heard of some experimental and transitional versions. Compared to Kaleido Plus, they are ready for neither consumer electronics nor mass production.

Currently, Kaleido Plus is only applied in 7.8inch E Ink devices like BOOX Nova3 Color.

Kaleido vs. New Kaleido Plus

As the latest third generation of Kaleido screen, Kaleido Plus changes in two aspects.

Kaleido Plus uses a different printing pattern in its color filter.
Kaleido Plus makes its color filter layer closer to the ink-receiving layer.

Three significant improvements come from the above modifications.

#1 Kaleido Plus enhances color saturation and fidelity, reducing color shift.

Overall, Kaleido Plus can show 3 times better color rendering than Kaleido.

#2 Kaleido Plus alleviates screen grayness and the grid pattern on the screen.

Kaleido Plus improves the screen base color and brightness.

Although the color resolution on a 7.8inch screen remains at 100dpi and monochrome content at 300dpi, Kaleido Plus can make the content more readable and recognizable.

#3 Kaleido Plus increases the viewing angle to make the display more visible horizontally.

In conclusion, the new Kaleido Plus with an improved screen viewing angle and color performance can help people get a better view of colorful content, such as ebooks, comics and manga.

Kaleido vs. Gallery (ACeP)

E Ink Gallery, also named Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP), is a technology that uses color electronic ink microcapsules to show colorful images.

Compared to Kaleido, the Gallery can show a full-color gamut and is more vibrant and saturated. It’s often used in bus stops, outdoor signages, and other outdoor digital devices.

However, it doesn’t support an acceptable refresh rate for reading books and taking notes. It can’t be applied to ebook readers and ePaper notepads.

Conclusion

As the latest color ePaper technology for E Ink readers, tablets, and cellphones, New Kaleido can show more saturated colors with less disrupting grids. It renders a display like a watercolor painting with pastel colors.

Although its ghosting characteristic is severer than the monochrome E Ink screen, we try to offer more systematic solutions to alleviate it. And we hope you can enjoy the color screen with our original algorithm and exclusive improvements.

If you like such an eye-friendly, colorful ePaper screen, Kaleido Plus, you can check out how it looks on BOOX Nova3 Color and order it at BOOX Shop and Amazon.

If you’re new to BOOX products, you’re welcome to join our Facebook fans group to learn the tips&skills of using BOOX tablets and what the experienced users love about BOOX🧡.