Seeed ePaper Displays — Product Matrix Overview
Introduction
ePaper (electronic paper) only consumes power when its content changes, which makes it the ideal display technology for always-on information panels — digital signage, smart-home dashboards, electronic shelf labels, meeting-room boards, photo frames, and more.
Seeed Studio offers an end-to-end ePaper portfolio organized around three product lines:
- reTerminal E Series — fully integrated, ready-to-use ePaper terminals (just power them on).
- Driver / Expansion Boards — pair an MCU with universal or large-format ePaper screens to build your own product.
- DIY Kits & Bare Panels — designed for the maker community, optimized for specific platforms such as TRMNL or XIAO.
All three lines share the same software ecosystem: SenseCraft HMI (no-code), Home Assistant / ESPHome, TRMNL, Arduino / ESP-IDF / PlatformIO, plus visual UI tools like SquareLine Vision, EEZ Studio, and Lopaka. Pick a hardware family, and the rest of the toolchain stays the same.
Choose by Form-Factor
If you are not sure where to start, use this decision matrix:
| I want to… | Recommended product line | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Power on an ePaper dashboard out of the box, no soldering, no extra wiring | reTerminal E Series → | Battery, enclosure, T/H sensor, buzzer, buttons, and Wi-Fi all integrated. Ships with SenseCraft HMI firmware. |
| Pair an existing ePaper screen (24-pin, 50-pin, 13.3", 10.3", etc.) with an MCU and battery | Driver / Expansion Board Series → | Driver boards (EE0x for ESP32-S3, EN0x for nRF52840) provide JST battery connector, charging IC, reset button, and user buttons. |
| Build a TRMNL-compatible dashboard with a maker-friendly DIY kit | TRMNL 7.5" (OG) DIY Kit → | Pre-tuned for the TRMNL platform; supports ESPHome and Arduino too. |
| Plug a 7.5" ePaper panel directly into a Seeed Studio XIAO module | XIAO 7.5" ePaper Panel → | Bare panel + breakout that mates with any XIAO board; minimal footprint. |
reTerminal E Series — Integrated ePaper Terminals
Four ESP32-S3 powered terminals, sharing the same enclosure family, software stack, and battery design. Differences are screen size, color vs. monochrome, touch, and battery life.
| reTerminal E1001 | reTerminal E1002 | reTerminal E1003 | reTerminal E1004 |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| 7.5" Monochrome 4-level grayscale ~3-month battery | 7.3" Full Color E Ink Spectra 6 ~3-month battery | 10.3" Monochrome 16-level grayscale + Touch ~6-month battery | 13.3" Full Color E Ink Spectra 6 ~6-month battery |
| E1001 Wiki → | E1002 Wiki → | E1003 Wiki → | E1004 Wiki → |
For a side-by-side specification comparison (resolution, refresh time, partial-refresh support, certifications, MSRP, etc.) and detailed software-support matrix, head to the dedicated reTerminal E Series Overview.
Driver / Expansion Board Series — BYO Screen
If you already have (or want to source separately) a 24-pin, 50-pin, 10.3", or 13.3" ePaper panel, the driver-board family gives you the carrier electronics — battery management, buttons, charging IC, and the MCU.
ESP32-S3 driver boards (Wi-Fi / BLE, SenseCraft HMI)
| Board | Targeted screens | Highlights | Wiki |
|---|---|---|---|
| EE02 | 13.3" Spectra 6 | Dedicated large-format color driver; Wi-Fi + BLE; ideal for digital signage. | EE02 → |
| EE03 | 10.3" Monochrome (high-speed refresh) | Built-in T-CON timing; onboard SHT40 for waveform compensation; XIAO ESP32-S3 Plus. | EE03 → |
| EE04 | 24-pin / 50-pin universal | Jumper-selectable pin layout; works with most off-the-shelf small ePaper screens. | EE04 → |
| EE05 | 24-pin / 50-pin universal (latest) | Refreshed layout of EE04; same XIAO ESP32-S3 base, latest firmware support. | EE05 → |
nRF52840 driver boards (BLE / NFC, ultra-low-power)
| Board | Targeted screens | Highlights | Wiki |
|---|---|---|---|
| EN04 | 24-pin / 50-pin universal | Bluetooth LE + NFC; XIAO nRF52840 Plus; ideal for ESLs and offline tags. | EN04 → |
| EN05 | 24-pin / 50-pin universal (latest) | Refreshed layout of EN04; same nRF52840 base with latest firmware support. | EN05 → |
Boards designed for XIAO modules
| Board | Description | Wiki |
|---|---|---|
| XIAO eInk Expansion Board v2 | Plug-and-play expansion board for any XIAO module; supports popular small ePaper screens. | v2 → |
| XIAO ePaper Breakout Board | The original breakout board for XIAO + ePaper; well documented with OpenEpaperLink (OEPL) support. | Breakout → |
A consolidated ePaper Driver Board Overview is also available, with feature lists for each board side-by-side.
DIY Kits & Bare Panels
For makers who prefer assembling everything themselves, two flexible options:
| Product | What is in the box / what it is | Best for | Wiki |
|---|---|---|---|
TRMNL 7.5" (OG) DIY Kit | 7.5" monochrome ePaper + ESP32 driver board + acrylic stand. Pre-tuned for the TRMNL cloud platform; also runs ESPHome and Arduino. | The fastest path to a TRMNL-style dashboard at the lowest BOM cost. | TRMNL Kit → |
XIAO 7.5" ePaper Panel | Bare 7.5" ePaper panel with an FPC connector that mates directly to a XIAO module footprint. | Compact, low-cost projects where you already have a XIAO and want to add a screen. | XIAO Panel → |
Software Ecosystem at a Glance
Every Seeed ePaper product converges into the same software ecosystem. Pick the workflow that matches your skill level — you can mix and match:
| Tool / Platform | Type | What it does | Compatible with |
|---|---|---|---|
| SenseCraft HMI | No-code (cloud) | AI Generator, Gallery, Canvas, RSS / Web Content, OTA deployment. The default firmware on reTerminal E Series. | reTerminal E1001 / E1002 / E1003 / E1004 · EE02 · EE03 · EE04 · EE05 |
| ESPHome / Home Assistant | YAML-based | Native Home Assistant integration; build dashboards declaratively in YAML. | reTerminal E1001 / E1002 / E1004 · EE04 · TRMNL DIY Kit · XIAO 7.5" Panel |
| TRMNL | Cloud dashboard | Plug-in driven dashboards (calendar, news, weather, finance, custom data). | reTerminal E1001 · E1002 (mono mode) · TRMNL 7.5" DIY Kit · XIAO 7.5" Panel |
| Arduino / PlatformIO / ESP-IDF | Code (C/C++) | Full programmatic control: GPIO, sensors, network, custom rendering. | All ESP32-S3 products (E1001–E1004, EE02–EE05, TRMNL Kit, XIAO Panel) |
| SquareLine Vision | Visual UI design | Drag-and-drop LVGL UI in the browser, then export ready-to-compile code. | reTerminal E1001 / E1002 |
| EEZ Studio | Visual UI design | Design HMI screens visually and deploy through Arduino IDE. | reTerminal E1001 / E1002 · EE04 |
| Lopaka | Visual UI design | Web-based drawing tool that exports code for monochrome and color ePaper layouts. | reTerminal E1001 / E1002 |
| OpenEPaperLink / OpenDisplay | Open-source firmware (BLE) | BLE-driven open-source ePaper firmware. OpenDisplay targets EN04 out of the box; OEPL Config Builder targets the Breakout Board + XIAO nRF52840 DIY path. | EN04 · XIAO ePaper Breakout Board |
Application Tutorials Index
Each tutorial below walks through one platform end-to-end:
Smart-home & dashboard frameworks
- Work with ESPHome — main reference: flashing paths, generic YAML skeleton, Home Assistant integration. Per-product cookbooks: reTerminal E (Basic), reTerminal E (Advanced), EE04, XIAO 7.5" Panel, TRMNL DIY Kit.
- Work with TRMNL — deploy E-Ink dashboards through the TRMNL cloud platform. One single article now covers reTerminal E1001/E1002, the TRMNL DIY Kit, and the XIAO 7.5" ePaper Panel — pick your hardware in the tabs.
No-code / visual UI design tools
- Work with SenseCraft HMI — Seeed's no-code visual interface platform; covers reTerminal E Series and EE0x driver boards.
- Work with SquareLine Vision
- Work with EEZ Studio — combined reTerminal E Series + EE04 LVGL workflow.
- Work with Lopaka
Code-based development
- Work with Arduino — main reference: IDE setup,
Seeed_GFXlibrary,driver.hgeneration. Per-product cookbooks: reTerminal E Series, TRMNL DIY Kit, XIAO 7.5" Panel. - Work with PlatformIO — EE04
Open-source ESL / OEPL
- Work with OpenEPaperLink / OpenDisplay — single article covers the EN04 BLE kit and the ePaper Breakout Board + XIAO nRF52840 DIY path.
Resources
- SenseCraft HMI Documentation
- ESP32-S3 Datasheet
- XIAO Series Overview
- Seeed Studio ePaper Category Store
Tech Support & Product Discussion
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