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Huessen - ePaper Photo Frame
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The next generation of e-ink is here, and it is called Spectra 6.
The original Spectra had only three pigments (red, black, white), but over the years, they evolved to Spectra 6, featuring six colors: red, yellow, blue, white, black, and green… and through those combinations can produce about 60,000 colors.
The technology was introduced in April 2023, but it’s taking a long time for it to make it to market. I’ve seen earlier version of Spectra, but it was limited to two or three colors, like those red with black and white small tags in retail stores. Unfortunately, because of its slow refresh, about 20 seconds per refresh, the technology is limited to fine art, photo frames, or signage.
I’m mostly interested in seeing this tech adopted as a comic book reader. I do not mind the 20-second refresh, just as long as I can read the comic book and it looks just as good as a printed page.
Most of the photo frame is small (8 inches): Bloomin8 ($240) and Reflection Frame ($350).
The larger frame (13 inches), which is what I’m interested in, will launch with Ink Poster and Huessen, but neither have pricing or availability.
Based on the $200+ pricing of the 8-inch frames, I am going to assuming the price will double for the larger displays. The Verge said prices are expected to hit $600 for 13.3-inch and $1,700 for the 31.5-inch displays. Unfortunately, I’ll probably never buy them, as it is a little expensive for me. At that price, you can get a very nice gaming computer or maybe the Nintendo Switch 2 and not worry about their $80 game prices… or maybe a down payment for the new Sony 50-150mm f2 lens.
Anyway, that’s all future-stuff for my future-self to deal with… What you probably want to know is: what is the current state of color e-ink? Well, currently Kaleido 3 is still king. Amazon finally entered the color e-ink market with Kindle Colorsoft, using Kaleido 3, in Oct 2024. The product is a flop, because, as of this writing, the inferior glue they were using causes a yellow tint at the bottom of the screen that readers are complaining about. It is also $280 for a 7-inch product.
The biggest problem with Kaleido 3 is that the screen is dark. You cannot use Kaleido 3 without the usage of a front light. The other problem of Kaleido 3 is the resolution is often 50% of its black and white counterpart. For example, most of these panels have B&W 300ppi, but for colors it is only 150ppi. And if you compare Kaleido 3 colors to Gallery 3 colors - you can clearly see that Gallery has some additional colors - particularly yellow-ish tones.
I’m mostly interested in using these devices for reading comic books, so I need them to be the size of a typical modern comic book, which is about 12 inches (see video below for size comparison). Right now, the only product I have that fits that large 12 size is the Remarkable Paper Pro.
There are a few large 13.3 Kaleido 3 devices coming out (or came out): BOOX Tablet Tab X C ($820) and the Fujitsu Quaderno A4 3rd Gen ($720). Since they’re both using Kaleido 3 and costs more than the RPP, I feel they are dead in the water. The pricing is a little crazy, but considering that they are probably paying 150% tariff, it suddenly makes sense why they’re so expensive.
For now, between all my e-ink readers, my go-to device is the Remarkable Paper Pro, simply because comic book reading is an absolute pleasure to read because it’s using Gallery 3, which has more colors.
On paper, both Gallery 3 and Spectra 6 seems to be using similar tech, but Gallery 3 uses CMYW particles, while Spectra uses RYBW. It’s also noted that all the Spectra colors are reflective (so they look better in light), while Gallery 3 uses some transparent colors. I haven’t seen Spectra 6, but I’m almost sure he’s a better e-ink than Gallery 3. From my usage, Gallery 3 is okay, but I wish it was better and brighter (like bright white paper).
As I’ve previously mentioned in my original review the Remarkable Paper Pro is just very expensive for a limited use device.
If you’re still interested, I have made a little video talking about my favorite comic book reader at the moment.
The original Spectra had only three pigments (red, black, white), but over the years, they evolved to Spectra 6, featuring six colors: red, yellow, blue, white, black, and green… and through those combinations can produce about 60,000 colors.
The technology was introduced in April 2023, but it’s taking a long time for it to make it to market. I’ve seen earlier version of Spectra, but it was limited to two or three colors, like those red with black and white small tags in retail stores. Unfortunately, because of its slow refresh, about 20 seconds per refresh, the technology is limited to fine art, photo frames, or signage.
I’m mostly interested in seeing this tech adopted as a comic book reader. I do not mind the 20-second refresh, just as long as I can read the comic book and it looks just as good as a printed page.
Most of the photo frame is small (8 inches): Bloomin8 ($240) and Reflection Frame ($350).
The larger frame (13 inches), which is what I’m interested in, will launch with Ink Poster and Huessen, but neither have pricing or availability.
Based on the $200+ pricing of the 8-inch frames, I am going to assuming the price will double for the larger displays. The Verge said prices are expected to hit $600 for 13.3-inch and $1,700 for the 31.5-inch displays. Unfortunately, I’ll probably never buy them, as it is a little expensive for me. At that price, you can get a very nice gaming computer or maybe the Nintendo Switch 2 and not worry about their $80 game prices… or maybe a down payment for the new Sony 50-150mm f2 lens.
Anyway, that’s all future-stuff for my future-self to deal with… What you probably want to know is: what is the current state of color e-ink? Well, currently Kaleido 3 is still king. Amazon finally entered the color e-ink market with Kindle Colorsoft, using Kaleido 3, in Oct 2024. The product is a flop, because, as of this writing, the inferior glue they were using causes a yellow tint at the bottom of the screen that readers are complaining about. It is also $280 for a 7-inch product.
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Remarkable Paper Pro vs Boox (note the color differences)
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I’m mostly interested in using these devices for reading comic books, so I need them to be the size of a typical modern comic book, which is about 12 inches (see video below for size comparison). Right now, the only product I have that fits that large 12 size is the Remarkable Paper Pro.
There are a few large 13.3 Kaleido 3 devices coming out (or came out): BOOX Tablet Tab X C ($820) and the Fujitsu Quaderno A4 3rd Gen ($720). Since they’re both using Kaleido 3 and costs more than the RPP, I feel they are dead in the water. The pricing is a little crazy, but considering that they are probably paying 150% tariff, it suddenly makes sense why they’re so expensive.
For now, between all my e-ink readers, my go-to device is the Remarkable Paper Pro, simply because comic book reading is an absolute pleasure to read because it’s using Gallery 3, which has more colors.
On paper, both Gallery 3 and Spectra 6 seems to be using similar tech, but Gallery 3 uses CMYW particles, while Spectra uses RYBW. It’s also noted that all the Spectra colors are reflective (so they look better in light), while Gallery 3 uses some transparent colors. I haven’t seen Spectra 6, but I’m almost sure he’s a better e-ink than Gallery 3. From my usage, Gallery 3 is okay, but I wish it was better and brighter (like bright white paper).
As I’ve previously mentioned in my original review the Remarkable Paper Pro is just very expensive for a limited use device.
If you’re still interested, I have made a little video talking about my favorite comic book reader at the moment.
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My number one choice for reading comic books is on the Remarkable Paper
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