Retailtech Japan is from March 5 to 8, 2013 in Tokyo. One product that is bound to make waves is  42″ flexible display. What is interesting about this display is that its claimed to be a prototype of first flexible, reflective, digital signage module over 40″ in size.

The company manufacturing this is Toppan Printing and Plastic Logic.

The elelectrophoretic display (EPD) module consists of 16 10.7″ Plastic Logic monochrome flexible plastic displays. These have been tiled together in a four by four configuration. Basically this is the building block of a 42″ diagonal display with an effective pixel pitch of 0.7 mm. This resolution is approximately six times higher than existing EPD signage. This will ensure that it will work well even with close viewing distances.

Another interesting aspect is the thickness (rather the lack ot it) – It is less than 3mm thick and lightweight.

Developers suggest the unit can be hung on a wall like a poster.

Jin Endo, head of business development Center at Toppan Printing, said: “We are delighted to co-operate with Plastic Logic to open new frontiers with regard to large-area flexible EPD.

“This new signage solution offers all the benefits of current EPD signage, including ultra-low power consumption, which is crucial for disaster-ready applications in the post-earthquake society of Japan, but with the additional advantage of a much higher resolution and a considerably lower module weight.”

The inherent bi-stability of Plastic Logic’s displays (the image is maintained even when there is no power) means that the module has very low power consumption. Because the displays are reflective, they can be read in any lighting condition, like a paper. They can also be read from almost any angle, which makes them ideal for digital signage solutions both outdoors and indoors.