New BenQ monitors feature an 'ePaper' mode for easier reading

News
By
published

It could be easier on the eyes

BenQ GL2780
Image Credit: BenQ (Image credit: BenQ)

BenQ has launched new monitors with an "ePaper" mode aimed to make reading text easier for some users, Liliputing reports.

BenQ has been considering the eyes of gamers and general users for years, with Low Blue Light modes in its monitors dating back some time. We saw the BenQ EW2440 offering an almost parchment paper-like mode back in 2015, and now the company is going further with this 'ePaper' mode.

The first new BenQ monitor to include the mode is the affordable BenQ GL2780. It's a 27-inch, Full HD monitor with a 75Hz TN panel. It also boasts a 1ms response time (gray-to-gray), BenQ's Flicker-Free Technology and a Low Blue Light mode.

All of this is to say that the GL2780 is made to be nice to look at, whether for gaming or general use. The new ePaper mode is meant to make it even easier on the eyes when going through large quantities of text.

It's not actual ePaper, though

BenQ says this about the ePaper mode: "The simulated e-book mode provides clear black and white reading layout without distractions and suitable on-screen brightness for a comfortable reading experience with clear texts."

In other words, it is effectively a monochrome setting like that available on some Android smartphones. While this could be helpful when dealing with a lot of text, it's a considerably different technology than actual e-ink.

The BenQ GL2780 is a monitor like almost any other. E-ink monitors don't use back-lights, transparent layers or liquid crystals to display visuals. Instead, they have magnetized 'pixels' with a white and a black side, with the white acting like the paper and the black acting like the ink. They require no light source of their own and very little power.

But, e-ink displays are also expensive. The BenQ GL2780 may not be true e-ink, but it could have a similar effect on our eyes. And, with a price expected below $200 (about £160, AU$290), it's going to be considerably cheaper than something like the Onyx Boox Max 2 Professional, which costs several times more an has only a 13.3-inch e-ink display.

Mark Knapp
Mark Knapp

Over the last several years, Mark has been tasked as a writer, an editor, and a manager, interacting with published content from all angles. He is intimately familiar with the editorial process from the inception of an article idea, through the iterative process, past publishing, and down the road into performance analysis.