Surface treatment,reflectance, and age effects on electronic‐paper reading performance

Abstract— This study is intended to explore the legibility and visual fatigue of different age users under various surface treatments and reflectance of electronic paper. Through the method of character‐search task, the results indicated that compared with single types of treatment [anti‐reflection (AR) 0.8%, anti‐glare, 43% haze), the compound treatment of anti‐reflection and anti‐glare (ARC) exhibited the same legibility, and it showed superior properties to effectively reduce visual fatigue. Hence, it is suggested that electronic‐paper manufacturers should choose the compound surface treatment for better visual performance. On the other hand, the findings also validated that enhancing the reflectance of electronic paper to the same level as regular paper (about 80%) is worthy to be practically implemented. Based on the results of this study, electronic‐paper manufacturers can take useful information to fulfill ergonomic requirements on product design.