Is the Era of Paper over?
Rising raw material costs, depleted resources and a booming and constant demand for printed material means that in a few or so years, we’ll see less and less of our centuries old medium to curb said difficulties. What’s to happen to printed media? Go E-Ink. 
Yep. Bend it, write on it, read it, just don’t use it for origami (art of paper folding ) , E-Ink is set to replace our favorite medium. At the moment, there’s still a few products in the market that is under the E-Ink belt but that may soon change. According to VP of the E-Ink corporation for the Asia pacific region, Ryosuke Kuwada:
The BRIC nations like India and China are consuming so much paper as their economies expand that the cost of A4 size paper is up 20 to 30 percent.” “As people try to wean themselves off pulp paper, the push for electronic paper is going to intensify.”
During one of the numerous high-tech fairs in Tokyo (and believe me, there are many of these), several Japanese firms showed the latest versions of we can still consider a niche product, since demand for E-Ink products still seem tightly focused into large companies like Fujitsu and Sony that uses an adaptation of the E-Ink technology, electrophoretic displays, or EPD.
You can see these displays from watches and mobile phones (the slim MotoFone is one example) to electronic readers (Kindle and the Sony Reader). The display sends electronic charges along a grid embedded in the e-paper which cause tiny black and white particles to move, creating text and images. Sort of like a magnet underneath paper with metal filings on top.
A quick visit to the E-Ink site reveals that not only is the technology applicable on small scale devices but on large ones as well like Billboards and signages. Think of the savings companies will get for having reusable advertising space. At the moment, Fujitsu is at the head of the pack, developing a flexible e-paper that can display different colors, not just the usual black which is a step towards publishing to e-magazines and newspapers.
Exciting isn’t it? The only problem adaptation. I personally would still prefer touching paper when reading my book collection but if the technology is able to pull it off, I’ll gladly trade them for space and convenience. The only problem now is how long the wait for E-Ink to go mainstream will be. Thoughts anyone?
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One Response to “Is the Era of Paper over?”
By Mark on Apr 23, 2008 | Reply
I would wager this will happen by 2012.
The print industry is in for a huge “change”
in the US due to the reasons you mention.
This will be an avalanche and the little snowball is just now taking shape. The stakes are too high for this not to happen very soon.
I work in the newspaper business and only about 5% of our revenue comes from online advertising,
but that is starting to double every year.
I’m projecting by the end of next year will be 10%, 2010 20%, etc. until it is no longer logical to publish on newsprint, which is getting pricier by the day!
Mark’s last blog post: No Bright Spots in First-Quarter Earnings