Cloud Canvas: A Cordless Digital Photo Display

As E Ink and E-paper technologies grow in number and quality, Calm Tech Institute is especially interested in new methods and products that highlight what's possible in this medium. Electronic paper now includes a growing family of reflective, low-power displays, including E Ink's electrophoretic screens, color e-paper, reflective LCDs, ChLCD and microfluidic displays, all of which show images by reflecting ambient light instead of emitting their own.

Today, we're announcing the certification of Cloud Canvas: a new, print-like canvas that renders photos with the depth and color of a fine print.

Cloud Canvas™ is a 10-inch cordless photo display made by Kent Displays of Kent, Ohio. The company grew out of research at Kent State University's Liquid Crystal Institute, which licensed its reflective liquid crystal technology to Kent Displays in the early 1990s. Over three decades the company has built displays that use the light already in a room, and its writing surfaces and signage have shipped to millions of homes.

Kent Displays officially unveiled their Cloud Canvas Digital Art Frame at this year's CES in Las Vegas, NV. It marks the company's expansion into home photo and art displays, leveraging their full-color e-paper and optical film technologies.

Cloud Canvas photographs on its display by reflecting ambient light, much like a printed photograph, and Kent reports that the display renders 16 million colors. Once a photo is on the canvas, it stays visible without power or a WiFi connection.

Cloud's power comes from a removable battery that lasts up to one year (one image change per day, longer for less changes). If the app can no longer be used, the same image will stay on the frame persistently without wifi. Owners can charge the pack separately over USB-C while the frame stays on the wall, or keep a second pack charged and swap it in.

Picture changes are managed through a free iOS and Android app (no subscription required) which uploads images over 2.4 GHz WiFi, sets a rotation schedule, or keeps a photo in place for a day, a season, or a year. The company recommends one to three changes per day and the frame supports JPEG, PNG, and HEIC files. Customers giving the canvas as a gift can load photos in advance and hand over the account to the recipient.

The frame measures 10.75 by 12.75 by 1.1 inches and weighs 2.4 pounds. It is sized for nightstands, shelves, desks, and kitchen counters as well as walls. The box includes a detachable kickstand, a wall cleat with a built-in level, hanging nails, and a USB-C cable. The packaging has a slot on the front for a printed photo, so it can stand as a frame on its own.

The canvas has no backlight. Because the display depends on room light, Cloud Canvas looks best in daylight and well-lit spaces. Kent Displays recommends source images of at least 1080p. Higher-resolution photos show finer detail and smoother color gradation.

Cloud Canvas comes in black, white, and a wood-look finish. It sells for $399, with two-canvas bundles at $699 and three-canvas bundles at $999. Orders include free US shipping, a 30-day return window, and a one-year warranty. Learn more at the Cloud Canvas Website.