Printing Text

Printing text on Inkplate is simple and requires only a few functions. The library also supports custom fonts.

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For complete examples of text printing, most Arduino projects in the library include some form of text output.

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Simple Text Printing

To print text, use setCursor followed by print. If you're using the default font, you may want to use setTextSize to increase the font size:

// Set the printing cursor to x=100, y=100
inkplate.setCursor(100, 100);
// Increase text size by a factor of 3 for better visibility
inkplate.setTextSize(3);
// Print the text
inkplate.print("Hi Inkplate!");

inkplate.display(); // As always, call display to render the text on the e-Paper

inkplate.setCursor()

Sets the cursor position for text printing.

Returns: None

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
int16_t	_x	X-coordinate where text printing starts.
int16_t	_y	Y-coordinate where text printing starts.

inkplate.setTextSize()

Increases the text size by a given factor.

Returns: None

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint8_t	s	Size factor. 1 is default size, 2 is twice as large, 3 is three times larger, etc.

inkplate.print()

Prints text at the previously set cursor position. This is the standard Arduino print function used in many native Arduino objects and libraries.

Returns: size_t, number of bytes printed.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
const char *	_c	The C-style string to print on the display.

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Text Background Color

To change the text color, use setTextColor. This function can also optionally set a background color, which prints a rectangle in that color behind the text. This can improve visibility in some cases.

inkplate.setTextColor()

Sets the color of the text. Must be called before printing.

Returns: None

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint16_t	c	Text color.
uint16_t	bg	Optional background color. Default is transparent.

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Custom Fonts

The default font appears blocky as it is optimized for minimal memory usage. You can use custom fonts by downloading them from the Adafruit GFX official repository. Adafruit provides well-documented examples on using custom fonts here.

After downloading a font, place it in your sketch folder, include it, and use setFont:

// Include the Inkplate Motion Arduino Library
#include <InkplateMotion.h>
#include "FreeSerif9pt7b.h" // Include the custom font
Inkplate inkplate; // Create an Inkplate object

void setup() 
{
  // Initialize Inkplate
  inkplate.begin(INKPLATE_BLACKWHITE);
  // Set the font
  inkplate.setFont(&FreeSerif9pt7b);
  // Print a message
  inkplate.setCursor(100, 100);
  inkplate.print("Hello world!");
  // Update the display
  inkplate.display();
}

void loop() 
{
  // Do nothing
}

inkplate.setFont()

Sets a custom font for text printing. Must be called before printing.

Returns: None

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
const GFXfont *	f	Pointer to the GFXfont structure of the font to be set.

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Additional Text Printing Options

Use setTextWrap to enable or disable automatic text wrapping when reaching the edge of the e-Paper display:

inkplate.setTextWrap()

Enables or disables automatic text wrapping.

Returns: None

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
bool	w	True enables text wrapping, false disables it.