E Ink display recommendation for Pi or Pico

Support Product Questions
1

Hi Core.

I’m after a mono E Ink display ~6" or bigger that I can drive from a Pi or Pico, Python or MicroPython.

Unframed so I can fit it to a frame I’ll make.

The project is a weather station display. The WS itself is currently Pico.

Please recommend a product.

Cheers.

Mark

2

Hey there, @Mark285907,

The Waveshare 5.79inch e-Paper display Module, e-ink display, 792x272, Black/White, SPI Interface (SKU: WS-26892) is my bet. Its a nice sturdy screen, can easily work with the Pico, and you can mount it directly into the photo frame.

Its one of several epaper displays I have at home.

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3

Thanks Jane.

That’d work but I was thinking of something more along the lines of 6:4 ratio.

Something like Simple e-ink dashboard - Tutorial Australia but the product link doesn’t work.

Cheers.

4

You could do something like the Waveshare 7.3inch 6-Color E-Paper Display HAT. It’s 800×480, so much closer to the dashboard layout than the very wide.

It’s not monochrome and I will warn you that if you’re after fast refresh time, it’s probably not the best idea unless you only need an update every 10mins or longer. It works great as a photo frame (mine at home updates every hour) but maybe not as good as a weather station.

If you go smaller, you have a few more options like the 4.2 inch 3-Colour E-Ink display module (400x300 Pixels) (SKU: WS-13454). Pimironi have a similar option: [Pimoroni Yellow/Black/White – Inky wHAT (ePaper/eInk/EPD) (SKU: PIM433)](Pimoroni Yellow/Black/White – Inky wHAT (ePaper/eInk/EPD) (SKU: PIM433)), which is the one I use at home.

But yeah, that 6inch 2:3 ratio is a little hard with the eink screens.

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5

Thanks Jane.

Yes, I saw some comments and descriptions for the larger screens marketed specifically as photo frames and wondered what the issue was. Refresh times would be an issue.

I suppose there’s no reason I can’t use two WS-26892 on the one SPI bus, in the one frame with a centre spline covering the edges.

That said, 20s+ refresh on the 7.3inch 6-Color E-Paper Display, E-Ink Display HAT | Buy in Australia | WS-27875 | Core Electronics would be no drama. Its a weather station so 5 minutes + would be fine.

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6

For the largest largest display area two monochrome 7.5" panels side-by-side. This gives you something roughly equivalent to a 15" weather dashboard, which starts to look like a commercial information display.

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