# e-ink burn-in



## jazzi (May 4, 2009)

Does anyone know if there is a risk of burn in on e-ink devices like the Kindle?

I got the idea for this custom screen after earlier seeing a similar one done by another user (tashab). This is not the final version, but a first draft. The final includes contact information.

Does the black background create any stress on the e-ink techonology that should concern me?

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo140/mykereid/kindlescreen_test.jpg[/IMG]]


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

As far as I'm aware there's no risk of burn-in with eink.  Amazon even recommends leaving your Kindle in sleep mode over turning it off.  So if the hours you leave a static picture on the device don't hurt it I don't see why high levels of black would make a difference.  It may ghost a bit more when you wake it up, but a simple ALT-G takes care of that.


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## jazzi (May 4, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> As far as I'm aware there's no risk of burn-in with eink.


Great to hear. Thanks.


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## suicidepact (May 17, 2009)

I've also heard there's no chance of burn in as an e-ink pixel is pretty much in either an on-or-off state. After waking the Kindle from screensaver mode you may see residual darkness from the last image, but all you need to do is hit Alt-G to refresh and you'll be fine.


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## tashab (Apr 18, 2009)

aw, I'm glad I inspired you! I don't have a problem at all, and I have a couple dark screens. also, I created my screensaver on wordle. it wouldn't let me save it as an image, but if you take a screen shot and crop it, it works perfectly.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Cool screensaver!


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

jazzi said:


> Does anyone know if there is a risk of burn in on e-ink devices like the Kindle?
> 
> I got the idea for this custom screen after earlier seeing a similar one done by another user (tashab). This is not the final version, but a first draft. The final includes contact information.
> 
> Does the black background create any stress on the e-ink techonology that should concern me?


I don't think it's supposed to be an issue - but if you're concerned you could always do it in reverse - or even do both so that rotates between the "positive" and the "negative" image. Cool screensaver, by the way!


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## jazzi (May 4, 2009)

tashab said:


> aw, I'm glad I inspired you! I don't have a problem at all, and I have a couple dark screens. also, I created my screensaver on wordle[/net]. it wouldn't let me save it as an image, but if you take a screen shot and crop it, it works perfectly.




I was following the thread about the 3acp skin and admiring the gorgeous DecalGirl custom job, and while looking at the pictures of the residue I noticed the dark screen saver. That caught my attention. My first attempt failed, with angled text not appearing on the Kindle the same as it was in Photoshop. My attempt with vertical and horizontal text worked great. I'm not much of an artist or Photoshop wizard, but I'm pretty happy with the result after about 15 minutes of playing around with it. Now for more complicated trials!


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## jazzi (May 4, 2009)

Angela said:


> Cool screensaver!


Thanks Angela.


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## jazzi (May 4, 2009)

Meemo said:


> I don't think it's supposed to be an issue - but if you're concerned you could always do it in reverse - or even do both so that rotates between the "positive" and the "negative" image. Cool screensaver, by the way!


I actually tried it that way first (black on white), but I didn't find it nearly as nice looking.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

No burn-in with e-ink.  Reports of "burn-in" are actually problems with the controller, or possibly physical damage to the screen.


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## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

Technically, with eInk technology, it wouldn't be "burn-in" anyway, as there is no lighted elements involved. I guess you could call it "ghosting," but more accurately it'd simply be a sign of certain pixels being stuck on, I think. I keep my Kindle in Sleep mode all the time, and in over a year of usage, no problems whatsoever.


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## L.Canton (Jan 21, 2009)

To the best of my knowledge, burn-in isn't actually possible with the technology used in the Kindle devices.


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## Tip10 (Apr 16, 2009)

jazzi said:


> I got the idea for this custom screen after earlier seeing a similar one done by another user (tashab).





tashab said:


> aw, I'm glad I inspired you! I don't have a problem at all, and I have a couple dark screens. also, I created my screensaver on wordle[/net]. it wouldn't let me save it as an image, but if you take a screen shot and crop it, it works perfectly.




Extremely Cool idea!! Thanks to both of you. Am working up a similar screen and will probably embed some contact info in amongst the words. Kudos to both of you!!


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

when you have the final copy, post pics. Looks good so far.


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## jazzi (May 4, 2009)

Tip10 said:


> Extremely Cool idea!! Thanks to both of you. Am working up a similar screen and will probably embed some contact info in amongst the words. Kudos to both of you!!


My pleasure! A good reason to dust off Photoshop, which I hardly ever use. Now, if I could learn to do some of the other cool stuff that Tashab has for screen savers.


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## jazzi (May 4, 2009)

Kind said:


> when you have the final copy, post pics. Looks good so far.


Thanks, I will!


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## tashab (Apr 18, 2009)

jazzi said:


> My pleasure! A good reason to dust off Photoshop, which I hardly ever use. Now, if I could learn to do some of the other cool stuff that Tashab has for screen savers.


actually, I snag my brushes from deviantart.com and my fonts from dafont.com. both have tons and tons of free brushes/free fonts. but I have no idea how to use Photoshop, I always use Paint Shop Pro. But you find much better/cuter brushes for PS anyway.


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## parasitius (Jan 28, 2011)

This is one of the first google results for 'kindle screen burnin'... so I hope someone has something useful to tell us instead of a bunch of random guess that a priori it shouldn't be possible for e-ink to burn in... 

Cummon people, don't randomly speculate unless you know.

I do NOT own an e reader but today at Best Buy I carefully inspected a Kindle, Sony ereader, and Nook. And ALL three had some really nasty e-ink burn in. They also had been powered down to a white screen prior to my playing with them. Sooooo... I don't know why, but consider yourselves warned.


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## Me and My Kindle (Oct 20, 2010)

I have noticed a phenomenon they call "ghosting" on the Kindle. When you're playing a game -- Triple Town, for example -- the Kindle's screen can eventually get a residual "ghost" image of something which had been drawn and then erased on some part of the screen.

The good news is, it _isn't_ burn-in. If you leave the screen and come back, the problem goes away altogether. It's apparently got something to do with full screen refreshes vs. partial screen refreshes. I'm actually really impressed by the way the Kindle comes back with a new, clear screen, again and again. Amazon earns nearly $40 billion a year, and apparently they used their money to shop around for the very best possible screen technology.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

parasitius said:


> This is one of the first google results for 'kindle screen burnin'... so I hope someone has something useful to tell us instead of a bunch of random guess that a priori it shouldn't be possible for e-ink to burn in...
> 
> Cummon people, don't randomly speculate unless you know.
> 
> I do NOT own an e reader but today at Best Buy I carefully inspected a Kindle, Sony ereader, and Nook. And ALL three had some really nasty e-ink burn in. They also had been powered down to a white screen prior to my playing with them. Sooooo... I don't know why, but consider yourselves warned.


Well... you can find great information in this forum from thousands of Kindle owners, with tens of thousands of hours of Kindle usage.

As you may have noticed, your Google search picked up a thread that has been dormant for 18 months. Your choice of a first post to make here strikes an odd tone, but if you're really interested in e-ink, browse around a bit in the forums and you'll find a wealth of experience and knowledge here.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Yeah, Harvey, kind of a weird post there, huh?


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## jhall124 (Dec 2, 2010)

jazzi said:


> Does anyone know if there is a risk of burn in on e-ink devices like the Kindle?
> 
> I got the idea for this custom screen after earlier seeing a similar one done by another user (tashab). This is not the final version, but a first draft. The final includes contact information.
> 
> ...


What happened to the pic?


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Me and My Kindle said:


> I have noticed a phenomenon they call "ghosting" on the Kindle. When you're playing a game -- Triple Town, for example -- the Kindle's screen can eventually get a residual "ghost" image of something which had been drawn and then erased on some part of the screen.
> 
> The good news is, it _isn't_ burn-in. If you leave the screen and come back, the problem goes away altogether. It's apparently got something to do with full screen refreshes vs. partial screen refreshes. I'm actually really impressed by the way the Kindle comes back with a new, clear screen, again and again. Amazon earns nearly $40 billion a year, and apparently they used their money to shop around for the very best possible screen technology.


Yep, ghosting definitely happens. It was worst on the K2 than on my K1 which I found odd. On the K3 I seldom notice it.

But as I understand it, e-ink screens can't have actual burn in since it's just moving particles around rather projecting an image on a screen or turning pixels or nor off (pixel can get stuck) etc.


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## Alice Y. Yeh (Jul 14, 2010)

Me and My Kindle said:


> I have noticed a phenomenon they call "ghosting" on the Kindle. When you're playing a game -- Triple Town, for example -- the Kindle's screen can eventually get a residual "ghost" image of something which had been drawn and then erased on some part of the screen.
> 
> The good news is, it _isn't_ burn-in. If you leave the screen and come back, the problem goes away altogether. It's apparently got something to do with full screen refreshes vs. partial screen refreshes. I'm actually really impressed by the way the Kindle comes back with a new, clear screen, again and again. Amazon earns nearly $40 billion a year, and apparently they used their money to shop around for the very best possible screen technology.


I've absolutely experienced this, but when I go to read a book or something, the 'ghost' vanishes. So yes, it's irritating at the time, but it's not a permanent problem. I think.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

jhall124 said:


> What happened to the pic?


The post you quote is from 2009. The poster probably removed the pic from their photobucket account.


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