The display market can be categorized in many different ways. We will use the following categorization:

Static - such as paper and Vynil

Mechanical - such as Tri-visions and scrollers

Digital - remote change of visuals

The digital display industry uses the following sub categories:

Emissive – Displays that emit light such as LED’s

Transflective – Those that modulate the light from a back light such as backlit LCD’s

Reflective – Those that reflect light such reflective nematic LCD’s and cholesteric LCD’s.

Magink has recognised the need for display technology that can combine the best of all worlds: have the "look and feel" and quality of paper with all the advantages of digital content management. For this reason Magink chose to focus on the reflective, Cholesteric LCD technology and provide a complete solution that will open up to new and exciting possibilities for media companies, advertisers, architects and desginers alike.


About Cholesteric Liquid Crystals
Cholesteric liquid crystals were first identified in 1888. They were initially used in displays in the 1970s (a simple light scattering to clear display mode), but became more popular in the 1990s when, with the improvement in materials, colored images could be made. In the late 1990s, Magink advanced this technology and developed a patent portfolio of methods to use in creating full color displays in large outdoor areas.
Several reflective digital display modes are known. Magink chooses to use a cholesteric liquid crystal-based display because it is inherently stable to visible light; the display’s reflected image is generated purely by reflection of light with no absorption of visible light in the active components. This enhances the inherent color stability and thus provides a long-lasting product in outdoor environments.