OpenPaper L is a new 13.3-inch color E-Ink picture frame from the German team at paperlesspaper. It builds on last year’s smaller Paper 7 model, but this version is much larger and still follows an open-source philosophy.
The device features a 13.3-inch Spectra 6 color E-Ink screen with a 1600×1200 resolution at 150 ppi and a visible area of 200 by 268 mm. The display is set in a real-wood frame with a white border and UV70 museum glass to cut down on reflections. You can choose from natural wood, black, or white finishes.
You can power OpenPaper L with four AA batteries or a USB-C cable. According to the team, the battery can last about six months if you update the display once a day. The frame supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth Low Energy for connectivity.
A key feature for open-source fans is that OpenPaper L does not rely on the vendor’s cloud. You can use optional offline firmware to run the frame entirely on your local network. Images can be sent over Bluetooth or downloaded from a local URL, so you don’t need internet access or a connection to paperlesspaper’s servers.
The offline firmware can handle image scaling and Floyd-Steinberg dithering right on the ESP32-C6 chip. You can set up the frame using Bluetooth or by editing a local settings.json file.
What’s really interesting is that OpenPaper L does more than just show photos. It can also work as a small information dashboard, with integrations for Home Assistant, Google Calendar, RSS feeds, weather updates, websites, and Immich. There’s also an open API if you want to create your own integrations.
Another standout feature is IPP printing. The frame can show up as a printer on your local network, so you can send content straight from apps like your browser or word processor. The content is turned into an image and displayed on the E-Ink screen.
The project is still developed in the open, with public repositories for firmware, hardware, integrations, offline firmware, image-processing tools, and the IPP-based PaperlessPrinter. The hardware repository also includes PCB design files, manufacturing exports, CAD files, and everything you need to inspect or recreate the hardware.
OpenPaper L is currently priced at €339, reduced from €359, and delivery is estimated to take about 14 days.
For additional details, visit the manufacturer’s site.
