Inkplate 6 MicroPython - Printing text

Inkplate 6 allows you to print text on a 800 x 600 px canvas.

Displaying basic information

Here is the shortest way to get text onto the display.

from inkplate6 import Inkplate  # Include the Inkplate module

inkplate = Inkplate(Inkplate.INKPLATE_2BIT)  # Create a display instance (8-level grayscale)

inkplate.begin()  # Initialize the display

inkplate.set_text_size(2)  # Scale up the font size

inkplate.set_cursor(250, 250)  # Set the cursor from where the text will be written

inkplate.print("Hello world!")  # Print to the display buffer

inkplate.display()  # Display what is drawn to the buffer

inkplate.print()

Puts the text in display buffer at the current position on display

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
String	text	String to render.

Displaying basic information

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Displaying text in grayscale and more text parameters

Inkplate 6 also lets you render grayscale graphics on its canvas, using 8 shades from 0 to 7. You can also modify different text parameters, such as: text color, text size and text wrapping. Below is a simple example demonstrating different text colors using grayscale and different text styles:

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The grayscale mode enum is still named INKPLATE_2BIT for backwards compatibility, but the panel is driven with the full 8-level (3-bit) waveform.

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Color parameter in 'set_text_color()' changes text color as per table below:

VALUE	COLOR
0	Black
1-3	Dark greys
4-6	Light greys
7	White

from inkplate6 import Inkplate
import time

# Create Inkplate object in grayscale mode (8 shades, 0-7)
inkplate = Inkplate(Inkplate.INKPLATE_2BIT)

# Initialize the display, needs to be called only once
inkplate.begin()

# Clear the frame buffer
inkplate.clear_display()
inkplate.display()


inkplate.set_cursor(50, 50)       
inkplate.set_text_size(1)          
inkplate.set_text_color(0)         # black
inkplate.print("Size 1")

inkplate.set_cursor(50, 100)
inkplate.set_text_size(2)          
inkplate.set_text_color(1)         # dark gray
inkplate.print("Size 2")

inkplate.set_cursor(50, 180)
inkplate.set_text_size(3)          
inkplate.set_text_color(5)         # light gray
inkplate.print("Size 3")

inkplate.set_text_color(0)         # black
long_text = (
    "This is a very long line of text intended to demonstrate how wrapping works. "
    "When wrap mode is enabled, the text will continue onto the next line once it "
    "reaches the edge of the display. This makes it possible to write paragraphs "
    "or larger blocks of text without worrying about manually inserting line breaks. "
    "It is especially useful for rendering user interfaces, menus, or e-books."
)
inkplate.set_cursor(50, 340)
inkplate.set_text_size(1)
inkplate.set_text_wrapping(True)       
inkplate.print(long_text)

inkplate.set_cursor(50, 480)
inkplate.set_text_size(1)
inkplate.set_text_wrapping(False)      
inkplate.print(long_text)

inkplate.display()

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inkplate.set_cursor()

Set the cursor position for the next text to be rendered.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
Number	x	X coordinate for the text start.
Number	y	Y coordinate for the text baseline.

inkplate.set_text_size()

Set the text size scaling factor.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
Number	size	Scale factor (1 = normal, 2 = double, 3 = triple, …).

inkplate.set_text_color

Set the text color (grayscale level) used for text rendering.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
Number	color	Grayscale value for text (0 = black to 7 = white in grayscale mode).

inkplate.set_text_wrapping()

Enable or disable automatic text wrapping when reaching the display edge.

Returns type: none

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
Boolean	wrap	True to wrap text, False to let it continue off-screen.

Simple grayscale example with different text styles.

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Full examples

hello_world.py

Sets the text size and cursor position, then prints text to the display.

custom_font.py

Swaps the default font for one of the typefaces shipped under fonts/ in the library.