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Paper or screen?
How will we read in the future?
Nils EnlundProfessor
Media technology and graphic artsThe School of Computer Science and Communication
KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), Stockholm, Sweden
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”Ceci tuera cela …”
• There have always been doomsday prophecies:
• ”Writing destroys memory” (Plato, Phaedrus)
• ”The book will kill the cathedral, the alphabet will kill the images” (Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
• ”Digital media will replaceprint”
• The horror, the horror!
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Change is scary!
• Three types of fear— and our reactions:Physical: the new medium will affect our eyes,
ears or some other organ …Psychological: the new medium will make us
apathetic, violent, stupid,…Societal: the new medium threatens the social
order, the economy, our culture …
• But change is necessary fordevelopment and growth
”We must take the evil along with the good”
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Let’s put things into perspective:
• The basis is our need to communicate and exchange information• Media are only technical carriers of this information
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Different forms of media technology enable us to communicate over distances in time and space
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Carriers of text and images
• Cave walls
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Carriers of text and images
• Cave walls• Clay slates
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Carriers of text and images
• Cave walls• Clay slates• Papyrus
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Carriers of text and images
• Cave walls• Clay slates• Papyrus• Parchment
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Carriers of text and images
• Cave walls• Clay slates• Papyrus• Parchment• Paper
• A 30000 years longjourney toward increasingMobilityMass productionStorage volumeInformation densityAccessibility
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But then the TV-set and the PC arrived …
• x
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And today paper is pitched against screen
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Paper with print +/-
• Inexpensive• Simple, intuitive user interface• High quality and resolution in text and images• Light reflecting surface
Can be read in bright sunlightNeeds no batteries
• Flexible: bend, fold, roll, cut, tear, glue, bind, …• Writeable• Durable, archive suitable• A number of secondary
forms of use• Recycleable
• Static, non-interactive• Production and distribution
energy expensive and slow
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Print – a habit !
• Printed media have dominated western culture for more than 500 years
• An intellectual is someone who reads a lot• Printed media has
been a carrierof democracy
Debate, information, opinion forming
• We (in the oldergeneration) cannotbe objective whenit comes to printedmedia
We are hooked …
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BUT !• The screen is becoming increasingly important,
especially among young people
EIAA Media Consumption Study(UK, FR, DE, NL, BE, ES, IT, NO, SE, DK)
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The screen +/-
• ”Unlimited” information capacity• Light emitting (+/-)• Interactive• Topical, instantly updateable• Dynamic content; audio, video• Multiple uses and access to diverse services
Fact, games, entertainment, communication, shopping, communities, …
• Volatile content• Expensive, energy consuming, often clumsy devices• Poor resolution, limited readability• Limited surface size• Lack of overview, clumsy user interface• Notetaking is difficult
• Reading from a screen is 20-30% slower than reading from paper, fact retention is also poorer
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Screens and devices develop rapidly
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As do distribution channels
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The best of two worlds ?
• Can we combine the best properties of paper and screen?
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Is the solution e-paper ?
• E-paper is the collective name of a number of different technologies than can be used for constructing computer screens that are:
• Bipolar – every screen element can switch between two stabel states(colors)
• Reflecive, i.e. readable in ambient light, e.g. sunlight• Thin• Flexible• Sturdy• Energy and battery saving – the screen image is stable
without continuous refreshing• Additionally, contrast and color reproduction should be
good• … and ideally, e-paper should be inexpensive in mass
production
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epappersläsare
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Future paper or future screen ?
• How many different devices are we willing to carry around?
• E-paper reader or portable computer?
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What about environmental impact ?
Moberg, Johansson, Finnveden, Jonsson: Screening environmental life cycle assessmentof printed, web based, and tablet e-paper newspaper, KTH, 2007.
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Will the traditional media be crushed under the digital technology steam roller ?
• Almost never has an existing medium disappeared when a new one has emerged
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Physicality !
• In printed media, information is physical and tangible
• We all need physicality !• Of all our senses, touch is what we trust the most
”Seeing is believing — touching is knowing!”
• Media and experiences cannot be only virtual• We need tangible
media artifacts!• Crdibility and trust !
• Physicality gives added valueTouch, sound, weight, positionAn intensified experience!
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… and then the collecting urge!
• We are all collectors!• Men maybe more than women• Status in owning and showing off• Making an impression!
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BUT!
• Youth and music ! Movies… Literature…?• A matter of generations ?
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Printed media will remain !• Changing roles
In a digital world, printed products may have a high status valueSome product types and media genres will surely emigrate away from print — others will remain paper basedDigital media and digital tachnology can also generate printWe will print other substances than ink
• Changing market sharesThrough market fragmentation, niche publishing, and personalization, large print runs will disappear”The death of mass media”Prizing structures and business models must change
• In the long run, media habits among the (very) young determine the future of print !
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Thank you !
