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Display Modes

As mentioned on the previous page, Inkplate 4TEMPERA offers two display modes: black and white (1-bit) mode and grayscale (3-bit) mode. This page provides more information about both.

Black and white mode​

1-bit or black and white mode is the simpler and faster display mode. In this mode, pixels are either black or white. You can use the shorthand defines BLACK and WHITE when selecting colors in this mode. For example, to draw and display a single black pixel and a single white pixel:

#include "Inkplate.h"
Inkplate inkplate(INKPLATE_1BIT);
void setup() {
  inkplate.begin();
  // Clear the display
  inkplate.clearDisplay();
  inkplate.display();
  // Draw a black pixel at x=100, y=100
  inkplate.drawPixel(100,100,BLACK);
  // Draw a white pixel at x=200, y=200
  inkplate.drawPixel(200,200,WHITE);
  inkplate.display(); // Show on the display
}
void loop() {
}
ℹ️
The clear e-Paper, the blank canvas, is WHITE in this context. The white pixel in the above code snippet will not be visible when drawn on an already clear screen.

Grayscale mode​

3-bit or grayscale mode allows drawing in eight different levels of brightness, not just black and white. See below for an approximate visualization of the black levels corresponding to their numerical values in the code:

3bit grayscale
Black levels in 3-bit mode
#include "Inkplate.h"
Inkplate inkplate(INKPLATE_3BIT);
void setup() {
  inkplate.begin();
  // Clear the display
  inkplate.clearDisplay();
  inkplate.display();
  // Draw a black pixel at x=100, y=100
  inkplate.drawPixel(100,100,0);
  // Draw a filled rectangle
  inkplate.fillRect(300, 100, 100, 100, 6);
  inkplate.fillRect(300, 300, 100, 100, 4);
  inkplate.fillRect(300, 500, 100, 100, 2);
  inkplate.display(); // Show on the display
}
void loop() {
}

Full example​

Inkplate4TEMPERA_Black_And_White.ino

Full example using black and white display mode on Inkplate 4TEMPERA.

Inkplate4TEMPERA_Grayscale.ino

Full example using grayscale display mode on Inkplate 4TEMPERA.