Zerowriter Ink is an e-paper word processor with a low-profile mechanical keyboard, brilliant readability, and marathon-ready battery life. This is a new collaboration between Zerowriter and Soldered Electronics, makers of the Inkplate series of e-paper displays. We aim to build an active, robust community around Zerowriter Ink, and we hope you’ll be a part of it!

An Open Typewriter for Writers

We designed Zerowriter Ink as a dependable and expandable alternative to some of our favorite products, the Alphasmart Neo and the Pomera DM30. It’s for writers first and device hackers second. It’s for anyone who wants a simple, dedicated writing tool. It’s for working at home, on the road, in the park, or by the sea. It ships with easy-to-use software and it just works, right out of the box.

If you like to tinker, you can dive right in and make it yours. If you don’t, it’ll help you get those words out and then it will stay out of your way.

No Compromises

I launched the Zerowriter Project about a year ago with a Raspberry Pi Zero, a cheap e-paper panel, and a mission: to build an open source alternative to commercial distraction-free writing tools. Hundreds of people have gotten involved by contributing code, sharing designs, learning, making, and hammering out words.

It was a good start, but it wasn’t quite the device I was looking for. What I wanted was a minimal e-paper typewriter I could throw in my backpack and use anywhere. All it had to do was produce text files, but I needed it to fit comfortably in my bag, wake up instantly, and be ready whenever creativity hits. So I went back to the drawing board and rebuilt my dream device on the remarkable Inkplate 5 – my absolute favorite e-paper display. No compromises, this time.

I finally had the product I was looking for. I learned other people wanted one, but most weren’t interested in building their own. That’s how we ended up here: crowdfunding a fully assembled, open source Zerowriter Ink. Together, we can write the next chapter of Zerowriter. I think you’re going to love it and I’d be thrilled to have you along for the ride.

Features & Specifications

Display

Second-edition Inkplate 5.2" display with an upgraded 1280 x 720 widescreen resolution for crisp, clean text.

Refresh Rate

Best-in-class e-paper refresh rate produces almost no lag while you’re typing.

Keyboard

Hot-swappable, 60% mechanical keyboard with Kailh Choc low-profile switches and keycaps. US English layout with printed legends. Swap and customize as you like.

Dimensions

Powerfully portable at 295 mm x 180 mm x 15 mm (11.61" x 7.08" x 0.59", exact measurements may change). Slide it into your backpack and go. Fits in most 13" laptop sleeves.

Software

Instant-on, distraction-free writing software. No fiddling with accounts or logins.

Connectivity

Manage your files on the included microSD card. Connect via USB cable to transfer text files with companion app (via UART).

Battery

Weeks of daily use or a month of standby on a single charge. Built-in, user-replaceable 5000 mAh LiPo battery with USB Type-C charging.

Session Tools

Optional session tools to count words, track total writing time, set goals, hit milestones, and more.

Hackability

Easy-to-hack, Arduino-based software with full access so you can make it do whatever you want.

Transparency

No gimmicks, no marketing babble, no renders, and no mockups. What you see is a working prototype, and what we ship to you will be even better.

Software & Experience

• A high-contrast, high-resolution e-paper screen.
• Readable in sunlight and easy on the eyes.
• Configure the size, spacing, and font to your liking.
• Change the screen refresh rate to fit your needs.
• Make it yours.

• Navigate and manage files on-device in the menu.
• Save, Save-As, Delete, and Rename files.
• View current battery life.
• View word counts for the current file.
• Easily access configuration and settings.
• Extend with other plugins and options.

• Work on longer documents or projects with ease.
• Review previous pages of text quickly by scrolling through the open file.
• Press any key to continue writing where you left off.
• Supports 3,000 lines of text per document: aproximately 24,000 words.
• Recommended to break up longer pieces into multiple files for ease of use.

You’ve used a word processor before. This is more like a word generator.

Zerowriter Ink’s software is built for drafting – fast. The idea here is to keep you moving forward on your piece instead of backtracking through the document to edit and revise before it’s time. This simple word processing experience is a great fit for the confines of e-paper.

Sometimes, less is more. Zerowriter Ink’s writing software is focused on getting that first draft done. The canvas is minimal and clean. It supports configurable text sizes, line spacing, and custom fonts. You can adjust the screen refresh rate to suit your needs and balance your power usage. You can manage your writing files on-device, with a menu to save, rename, or delete your work. There are optional motivational tools that will give you word counts, session times, and writing milestones to keep you on track and making progress.

When you are done drafting, your .txt files are waiting for you to take to a word processor for further editing and revision.

Want something else? Open software means it can do whatever you want it to do, or whatever someone in the community dreams up.

Software Roadmap

Here are additional software features in development that should be ready when Zerowriter Ink ships:

• A no-code WYSIWYG keyboard layout editor. Re-map the keyboard to whatever characters you need, which means support for non-English layouts and styles
• Editing shortcuts (CTRL + Backspace to delete a word, for example)
• Persistent reference pop-up notepad between drafts (for tracking names, locations, places, etc)
• Password protect your device with an optional lock/keycode
• Optional simple editing tools

Join the Zerowriter discord server to discuss more software ideas. We’ll be sharing software developments and features in our campaign updates.

Private by Default. Open for More.

Your words stay on your microSD card. Zerowriter Ink has no "subscription model," no software-as-a-service, and no cloud-by-default. Shipping offline means less red-tape for certifications, less development time, and less cost to you. However, the hardware supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so you can add any cloud service you choose if you enable it in code or with community updates/extensions.

This is a small project with a very small team. We are constructing a foundation for others to build upon, but that doesn’t mean you have to be the one laying bricks. The Zerowriter community is already a scrappy group of writers and geeks and we only expect it to grow. We are excited to see what new features our community implements.

Want to try something out? Installing a new build will be as easy as plugging in a USB cable, downloading a file, and flashing your Zerowriter Ink. Since your writing is stored seperately on the microSD card, there’s minimal risk of data loss and you can always revert to the default build.

Comparisons

Support & Documentation

Each Zerowriter Ink will include a getting started guide. When you open the box and power it up, you will be straight in to a document and ready to go. This means Zerowriter Ink is the perfect gift for anyone who writes, even those who don’t get along too well with modern technology.

Open source makes sense for projects like this. We can’t support every language, keyboard layout, cloud service, or software request out of the box. Instead, we will provide a basic tool with all of the core functionality you expect. Other developers can extend our software (and our hardware!) to add features.

Zerowriter Ink is built around the ubiquitous ESP32 module, and our software is written entirely in Arduino, which is one of the easiest languages to learn if you want to work with hardware. Our goal is to keep everything approachable and transparent. By the time Zerowriter Ink ships to backers, our hardware design files and source code will all be published on GitHub.

You can get help or contribute to the project on the Zerowriter discord server.

Manufacturing Plan

The good news: Zerowriter Ink is almost ready for production. Most of the work left is finalizing the enclosure design details for our initial production run. Then we’ll be finalizing the details of our custom Inkplate, and giving the other internals a final pass. Prototype units are already in the hands of a few writers and developers.

The even better news: Soldered Electronics is on board in a big way. They are preparing some special hardware for this project, including an upgraded charging IC for better power management. Soldered has delivered tons of great hardware, including the Inkplate line of e-paper display boards, to customers all over the world. They have a long-standing relationship with Crowd Supply and will be assembling production units before shipping them to Mouser for fulfillment. Soldered Electronics has a proven track record with hardware, and we’re thrilled we get to lean on their experience.

In addition, we’ve consulted with the good people at Capital Integration regarding Zerowriter Ink’s embedded design to make sure production goes smoothly.

Fulfillment & Logistics

We want to deliver a great product, and that takes time. We intend to begin production in October, shortly after this campaign ends, and continue throughout November. We expect to be sending units for fulfillment at some point in December. Such plans have a tendency to go astray, however, and the holidays can be brutal for shipping schedules. So, you should anticipate receiving your Zerowriter Ink before the end of February. If we can deliver before then, we will.

We’ll be posting updates along the way and you can stay informed through Crowd Supply, on Reddit, or by following Zerowriter on YouTube.

Crowd Supply is the premier crowdfunding platform for open source hardware projects like Zerowriter Ink. Unlike most platforms, they work closely with creators to provide guidance and support. After our production run is complete, we will package everything up and send it along to Crowd Supply’s fulfillment partner, Mouser Electronics, who will handle distribution to backers worldwide. You can learn more from the Ordering, Paying, and Shipping section of their guide.

Risks & Challenges and What To Expect

Zerowriter Ink is a product that involves many different suppliers and a relatively complicated supply chain. It requires circuit boards, enclosures, keycaps, displays, switches, and others bits and bobs. It’s also a global product being designed in Canada, manufactured in Croatia, and fulfilled from the United States. There are a lot of moving parts in there, but we think we’ve got it covered. (Thanks again, Soldered Electronics!)

Depending on how the campaign goes, challenges may arise when it comes time to source things like device enclosures and keycaps. In other words, this campaign might require us to produce quantities that justify more time-consuming design and manufacturing techniques. (Injection molding, for example, rather than 3D printing.)

You can expect a delivered unit that looks like what you see in the photos and videos on this page but with more detailed finishes and a more polished design.