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Adafruit

· MPN: ADA6381

$61.35 |
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E-Ink and ePaper panels are ideal for low-power projects where the image needs to stay visible without continuous power. This bare 4.2 inch display has a pap...

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E-Ink and ePaper panels are ideal for low-power projects where the image needs to stay visible without continuous power. This bare 4.2 inch display has a paper-like, high-contrast look that remains readable in daylight and keeps its image even when power is disconnected.

This is the display element only, with a standard 24-pin FPC e-paper connector. It is designed to be used with a suitable driver board such as the Feather RP2040 ThinkInk, eInk Feather Friend, eInk Breakout Friend, or a 24-pin eInk/ePaper extension cable and FPC adapter.

The panel uses the SSD1683 chipset and provides 400 x 300 black ink pixels on a white-ish background. Adafruit’s Arduino library handles the display driving and lets you use it like an Adafruit_GFX compatible display. The Feather RP2040 ThinkInk option also supports Arduino or CircuitPython.

A 4-grey mode can provide two extra monochromatic shades, although it is not officially supported by the display and may need dithering for best results.

Specifications:

  • Display size: 4.2" diagonal
  • Display type: Monochrome or 4-level Grayscale eInk / ePaper Bare Display
  • Resolution: 400 x 300 pixels
  • Connector: Standard 24-pin FPC e-paper connector
  • Pixel colour: Black ink pixels
  • Background: White-ish background
  • Chipset: SSD1683
  • Technical Details: Datasheet

Choose this panel when you want to build a custom ePaper project and already have, or plan to add, a compatible 24-pin eInk driver board.

Jargon buster

Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.

breakout
A breakout board carries a small or fine-pitched component and brings its connections out to standard, breadboard- and header-friendly pins. Describing a part as a breakout means it can be wired into a project without soldering directly to the component's tiny contacts.
CircuitPython
A beginner-friendly version of Python designed to run directly on microcontroller boards. If a product supports CircuitPython, you can often program it by copying code files onto the board rather than setting up a more complex toolchain.
ePaper
A display technology that looks more like printed paper than a glowing screen and usually keeps its image visible with very little power. It matters for projects such as labels, badges, and status screens where readability and low power use are more important than fast animation.
FPC
FPC stands for flexible printed circuit, a thin flat flexible cable or connector style often used where space is tight or some movement is needed, commonly for displays, cameras and other high-density connections. Connecting to an FPC connector generally needs a matching cable with the correct pin count, pitch and contact orientation.
RP2040
The RP2040 is a dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller chip from Raspberry Pi, used on many maker boards and offering programmable I/O, multiple GPIO pins and reasonable processing speed. Code and accessories built for that chip should work where RP2040 compatibility is listed, though demanding tasks such as reading a camera can require careful pin allocation and timing.

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Displays & Screens

4.2" eInk Display Datasheet

Datasheet · 6.3 MB · Click any page to view full size

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Supplier page — adafruit.com

Supplier Description · 707.4 KB · Click any page to view full size

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