Customizing a touch screen for an E Ink display involves several considerations, including the type of E Ink display, touch technology, and integration requirements. Here's a step-by-step approach to guide you through the process:

1. Choose the Appropriate E Ink Display

• Size and Resolution: Determine the size and resolution of the E Ink display based on your specific needs. E Ink displays vary in size, from small tags to larger screens for signage.
• Type of E Ink Display:  We recommend using a monochrome e-paper display with faster refresh rate.
   

2. Select the Touch Technology

• Resistive Touch: Suitable for low-cost or rugged environments, resistive touch screens work by pressing down two layers to register touch. It can be used for basic interactions but may reduce display clarity.
• Capacitive Touch: Provides a modern, responsive touch experience (like on smartphones). It detects touch through the electrical properties of the human body and is preferred for high-end applications. It requires additional controllers but provides multi-touch capability and better sensitivity.
• Infrared (IR) or Optical Touch: Ideal for larger E Ink displays, infrared technology uses sensors around the screen’s edges. It doesn’t require contact with the surface and is durable for industrial or public use.
   

3. Touch Controller Integration

• A touch screen needs a controller to translate touch inputs into data that can be interpreted by the device. The choice of controller will depend on your touch technology (capacitive, resistive, etc.) and must be compatible with your display controller.
• If you're using an ESP32-based driver board (such as ESP32-T01), you can look for compatible touch controllers that support Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity for easier integration.
   

4. Overlay Considerations

• Transparency: Ensure that the touch overlay does not reduce the E Ink display’s visibility. E Ink displays rely on ambient light, so any overlay that obstructs light will reduce screen clarity.
• Reflectiveness and Glare: Choose anti-reflective coatings or materials that minimize glare to preserve the readability of the E Ink display, especially in bright environments.
   

5. Power Consumption

• E Ink displays are known for low power consumption. It’s important to choose a touch technology that complements this feature. Capacitive touch technology consumes more power than resistive touch, so careful design is needed to balance power consumption, especially in battery-powered applications like NFC-powered e-paper tags.
   

6. Customization and Integration

• Housing Design: Design the touch screen housing to match your E Ink display dimensions. The touch panel needs to fit the display snugly to prevent dust and moisture from interfering with the touch functionality.
• Firmware Development: Customizing firmware to handle touch inputs smoothly is essential, especially for responsive applications. You may need to modify the code to support the touch functionality if you’re working with platforms like ESP32 or similar.
   

7. Testing and Calibration

• Once the touch screen is installed, it’s important to test its sensitivity and accuracy. Touch calibration tools are often needed to ensure the touch points align with the display.
   

Even small design tweaks, features and requirements that diverge from a standard setup would best be handled via a custom process. Every add-on and suggestion is feasible — but is best suited for a custom design, so it’s imperative that the goals of the design are clear before concepting begins.

Here are some points you need to know

1. Dimension

Slightly smaller than the outer dimensions of the e-paper display screen by default.

2. Thickness

Typical thickness: 0.25mm (single layer), 0.35mm (double layer).

3. Anti-Glare Film

With Cover Glass, No anti-glare film required.

Without Cover Glass, it is usually recommended to add an anti-glare film.

4. Driver

Below 4.2 inches: FT6336

5.83 inches and above：FT5436  or  GT911

Customer specified: Evaluate according to customer requirements.

5. Gesture Touchscreen

Not supported by default (customizable).

6. Length of FPC

FPC PIN Definition: 

Default 6 pins 1-GND、2-INT、3-RST、4-VCC、5-SCL、6-SDA

Customer specified: Design according to customer requirements.

FPC length and orientation：

Customer unspecified: Defaults to match standard specifications.

Customer specified: Design according to customer requirements.

7. Bonding Type

OCA bonding: Optical OCA adhesive is used for bonding, with a minimum OCA thickness of 0.175mm.

Tape bonding: Not recommended.

The 5-step development process

1. Definition

To start, all stakeholders need to agree on the what, where, why and how. Good Display likes to begin with a preliminary questionnaire that covers items like:

• What problem are you trying to solve?
• How does this product solve that problem?
• What is the product, application and timeline you're working from?
• Why are certain requirements (size, shape, etc.) needed?

2. Concept

At this stage, we build samples based on tooling orders to justify proof of concept.

3. Design

Once a preliminary quote and proof of concept are approved, we offer a final, formal quote for the project and make a production order for materials required. The custom touchscreen and/or display components are now ready to be fully designed and engineered.

4. Validation

You as the customer validate the efficacy of the custom design, and all parties agree to move into the larger production phase.

5. Production

Beginning with a short-run production of the part(s) and culminating in the final mass-produced version, Good Display prepares the quantities necessary for a product launch.

Our Standard Touchscreen