SunCorp

Bend it, write on it, read it — just don’t try to fold it into a paper plane.
Electronic paper is Japan’s answer to rising raw material costs, depleted resources and booming demand for printed matter from emerging markets such as China and India.
At a high-tech fair in Tokyo this week, Japanese firms showed the latest versions of what is still considered a niche product, ranging from thick, sturdy readers to thin displays that look like plastic sheets and can be bent.
E-Ink, which manufactures Sony’s Reader tablet, says consumers will eventually embrace the energy-saving technology as the cost of paper and fuel goes up. Japan, known for its beautiful hand-made paper as well as its cutting-edge technology, has already been trying to combine the two.
Firms such as Fujitsu and Sony use electrophoretic displays, or EPD, for everything from watches and mobiles to electronic readers. The display sends electronic charges along a grid embedded in the e-paper which cause tiny black and white particles to move, creating text and images.