By Milt Vine
Last month I noted the advent of electronic catalogs and provided what I hoped to be convincing data suggesting that the Internet is quickly becoming a viable commercial channel. And I called for the printing industry to therefore be prepared for changes in consumer practices and printing needs. Well, no sooner had I finished writing that piece than I found an article in The New York Times about 'the last book,' a project of the MIT Media Lab. Then I heard about an electronic book called the Rocket eBook discussed at a recent trade show. And more research on my own turned up something called the SoftBook.
Now what each of these devices proposes to do, in one way or another, is provide an alternative to printed books. Let¹s think about that for a moment. Fewer books running through the presses. Fewer books being bound. Instead, we¹d have handheld readers that contain possibly several books at a time: enough for extended trips, enough for a particular research project. Right there. In your hand. And not a single page has run through a press. Tablet Computers. The Rocket eBook, produced by NuvoMedia, should be available by Christmas and sell for under $500. The size of a paperback and weighing approximately twenty ounces, this device contains a built-in monochrome screen and its memory can store the equivalent of ten standard size novels.
It will come with a 'Cradle' that automatically charges the battery in ninety minutes (twenty to twenty-five hours of average usage per recharge). You will also be able to connect your Rocket eBook to your PC through a serial cable. (It will not connect to Macs.) The software that comes with your Rocket eBook will integrate with your Web browser, making it possible for you to download books that are in the public domain, as well as books that can be purchased from such online vendors as barnesandnoble.com. In the future, NuvoMedia plans to develop a chain of kiosks in public places where readers who hunger for the physical 'brick-and-mortar' bookstore will be able to download their books.
A reader of the Rocket eBook will use simple controls for page turning, highlighting, annotating, searching, sorting and bookmarking. You will be able to select fonts and print size, plus flip to reference works to augment your reading.
The SoftBook is another example of a tablet computer (no keyboard, limited input and mostly screen). It will come with a nifty leather binding when it hits the market this fall and cost $299 per unit plus a commitment to buy $19.95 worth of books and/or periodicals a month. Open the leather cover and the page of text you were previously reading will appear on the nine and a half-inch display. The SoftBook will weigh almost three pounds and connect to the SoftBook Network through a built-in 33.6 kps modem and any standard phone jack.
The Network will include a virtual bookstore for SoftBook users. Once a book is downloaded, readers will have research capabilities and be able to choose font sizes, make annotations, highlight, bookmark and link to related information.
Computer as Folio. But many are already complaining about certain aspects of tablet computers: few readers prefer to read an electronic screen, which is usually a slower process than reading a printed book, and most readers want to flip back and forth between pages and see how close they are to the beginning or end. Plus, I think we¹ll all agree that books can bring joy not only through their content but as physical objects. (Think of all those book collectors out there).
MIT's Media Lab is addressing some of those complaints with its 'last book,' which will look like an actual book, complete with a binding and pages. But instead of the words being applied to the page with ink, the words are applied from within the page with the use of E-ink, or microscopic spheres that are half black and half white. These can be applied by the millions to the page and flipped individually to their black or white sides to make words.
On the spine of the 'last book' will be a list of titles. Choose one, and the text of that book will appear on the pages, thanks to the e-ink flipping into place automatically. Eventually, as memory capabilities expand, the spine might offer you the contents of an entire library. Or you might be able to meld multiple sources to fit your individual needs. Or newspapers might appear daily.
Books on Demand. The 'last book' is several years from viability, but there's little doubt that it will become an option, considering that seventy-five companies are backing MIT's research. So, we might as well envision the future it represents right now. It¹s not that I want to sound like Chicken Little or go around assuming the worst. After all, I think those of us in the printing industry have proven to be a wonderfully adaptable breed. But I do feel compelled to reiterate the words I ended with last month: we need to prepare.
At least one printer is doing so. Lightning Print Inc., a subsidiary of Ingram Industries, is now offering on-demand book printing, printing one book at a time as it's requested. Such a concept raises many issues in my mind, but I immediately appreciate the customer response inherent in the program and the concept of books never being out of print. Now, what is each of us going to offer? Are we ready?
Milt Vine is president of Seattle Bindery, a postpress house specializing in custom
tabs and presentation folders; folding and stitching; foil stamping, embossing and
diecutting; plastic spiral, Wire-O® and perfect binding. You can reach Milt at
206/682-2558. ©1998, Seattle Bindery.
© 1998, Seattle Bindery. Reprinted from Northwest Trader, November 1998.