• Mediaweek, Wednesday, February 11, 2009 9:30 AM

Lamar Advertising is testing a new digital billboard technology that uses solar power and light-reflecting digital ink instead of light-emitting diodes. For the past few months, Lamar has operated a poster-size billboard equipped with this magink technology in Pensacola, Fla. By April, Lamar plans to move the sign to New York to ensure it works under different weather conditions.

Lamar hopes to use the technology for its Vista Media inventory in New York and Los Angeles. Looking more like paper than a lighted sign, the technology offers higher resolution than LED boards, providing more creative options for advertising. The sign uses less power than LED billboards and reflects light rather than projecting it.

It is hoped the technology might help outdoor media companies that face municipal and legislative opposition to building digital boards. "Within denser areas, there is a lot of resentment toward installed LED boards," said Gadi Tirosh, chairman of magink. Both JCDecaux and Clear Channel Outdoor have tested earlier versions of the boards in London.

Read the whole story at Mediaweek »