1

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

nilse@kth.se

2

3

4

”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!

5

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”

6

Let’s put things into perspective:

• The basis is our need to communicate and exchange information• Media are only technical carriers of this information

7

8

Different forms of media technology enable us to communicate over distances in time and space

9

Carriers of text and images

• Cave walls

10

Carriers of text and images

• Cave walls• Clay slates

11

Carriers of text and images

• Cave walls• Clay slates• Papyrus

12

Carriers of text and images

• Cave walls• Clay slates• Papyrus• Parchment

13

Carriers of text and images

• Cave walls• Clay slates• Papyrus• Parchment• Paper

• A 30000 years longjourney toward increasingMobilityMass productionStorage volumeInformation densityAccessibility

14

But then the TV-set and the PC arrived …

• x

15

And today paper is pitched against screen

16

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

17

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 …

18

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)

19

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

20

Screens and devices develop rapidly

21

As do distribution channels

22

The best of two worlds ?

• Can we combine the best properties of paper and screen?

23

24

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

25

epappersläsare

26

Future paper or future screen ?

• How many different devices are we willing to carry around?

• E-paper reader or portable computer?

27

What about environmental impact ?

Moberg, Johansson, Finnveden, Jonsson: Screening environmental life cycle assessmentof printed, web based, and tablet e-paper newspaper, KTH, 2007.

28

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

29

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!

30

… and then the collecting urge!

• We are all collectors!• Men maybe more than women• Status in owning and showing off• Making an impression!

31

BUT!

• Youth and music ! Movies… Literature…?• A matter of generations ?

32

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 !

33

Thank you !