E Ink

Chances are you already own a screen from E Ink, or at least have held one before. They are the inventors of the award-winning invention called ePaper. That eReader you have is nearly guaranteed to have their screen, as they are market leader in the technology with a capital L. The digitalised pricing tags in the supermarket? Theirs. reMarkable? Check. They also work with renowned brands like Lenovo, Phillips and many more to create a wide variety of ePaper products.

“We’re very proud to work with E ink as they truly are pioneers in the field. Their ePaper technology and our partnership are some of the most important drivers behind electronic baggage tags” – Jasper Quak, Managing Director BAGTAG.

How does it work?

Whereas you might expect an extensive technical story here, electronic ink is actually a straightforward fusion of chemistry,

physics and electronics. It is so similar to regular paper, that it uses the same pigments used in the printing industry today.

The layer of ePaper is filled with millions of microcapsules that contain black and white ink particles floating in a clear fluid. Whenever a positive or negative field is created, the ink particles react by moving up or down, depending on their charge, showing either a black or white spot to the viewer.

Flying paperless

BAGTAG began introducing its electronic bag tags as a replacement for the outdated paper luggage label in 2014, and the first airline to adopt the technology was Lufthansa in 2017. Back then, there were plenty of questions about the sturdiness of the screen, and the first generation was battery-powered. Fast-forward 5 years and there are 11 carriers connected to the BAGTAG platform and multiple airlines introducing their own hardware with the ePaper technology, completely batteryless.

“BAGTAG’s luggage tag revolutionises airline travelling – not only it is more convenient for travellers but it also reduces paper waste. How fantastic is that?” – Johnson Lee, CEO E Ink Corporation.

E Ink x BAGTAG

The two companies will further strengthen their relationship in their ongoing mission to replace every

paper baggage label with an ePaper tag. This is reflected by more and more airlines aligning with the efforts to introduce electronic bag tags into their operations. With the current rate of adoption, you will see increasing numbers of BAGTAGs at airports, with more airline-branded tags in the pipeline as well.