Laibao's US$1.3 billion color e-paper tech passes a key manufacturing test
The Shenzhen company switched on the first panels from its new line on schedule. Mass production is still several steps away.
Laibao Hi-Tech (莱宝高科) gave itself until the end of September to switch on the first panels from its new color e-paper assembly line in eastern China's Zhejiang province. It made it on Sept. 29, LEDinside (LED在线) reported.
The industry calls this "lighting" a line. Laibao told investors in July that it checks whether the full production process works on the installed equipment; it doesn't mean the line is ready to produce. Samples can now go to customers for testing. Capacity and yield ramp-ups and customer certification come before mass production.
The RMB 9 billion (about US$1.3 billion) line is designed for panels from 7.8 to 55 inches, aimed at color e-readers, electronic bus-stop signs and outdoor billboards.
Unlike the microcapsules in e-paper from Taiwan's E Ink Holdings (元太科技), Laibao's microcavity e-paper display (MED) moves charged particles inside tiny cavities. Laibao says it developed the manufacturing process itself but licenses the MED patents and know-how from Wuxi Weifeng Technology (无锡威峰科技) under a 20-year agreement. Weifeng also supplies the fluid that fills the cavities, and Laibao has invested RMB 36 million (about US$5.4 million) in it.
Before the new line was lit, Laibao had shipped only small batches of a few MED models.
Sources: LEDinside (LED在线), Laibao Hi-Tech investor-relations activity record (莱宝高科 投资者关系活动记录表 2026-009)
Editor: Ian Lamont
