Paper or screen? How will we read in the future?

1. Paper or screen?How will we read in the future? Nils Enlund Professor Media technology and graphic arts The School of Computer Science and Communication KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), Stockholm, Sweden nilse@kth.se

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

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 increasing • Mobility • Mass production • Storage volume • Information density • Accessibility

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 sunlight • Needs 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 distributionenergy 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 hasbeen 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?

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 tangiblemedia artifacts! • Crdibility and trust ! • Physicality gives added value • Touch, sound, weight, position • An 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 value • Some product types and media genres will surely emigrate away from print — others will remain paper based • Digital media and digital tachnology can also generate print • We will print other substances than ink • Changing market shares • Through 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 !