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January 2005 The Future of BooksContinued from page 2 By Jason Epstein
Getting beyond Gutenberg At Marsh's workshop we watched a machine, about two-and-a-half meters long and half as high, receive a digital file, adjust itself to the dimensions of the desired book, and transmit the file to a duplex printer. The printed pages were then gathered and bound within a cover produced by a separate, four-color printer. The entire automatic process took about two minutes. The bound, 256-page book was next conveyed to a trimmer and finished, all without an operator. It was a transcendent moment. In the electronic future, everything ever published will be recoverable by searching on Google or sites like it (see "What's Next for Google?"). Enthusiasts for any activity under the sun, booksellers, publishers, and eventually authors themselves will post digital files of texts on their sites. At their computers, readers will select books from an infinite library of many languages and transmit them to the nearest book machines, where they will collect the printed books at their convenience. A post-Gutenberg system could be assembled now from existing technologies. But while the technologies exist, the commercial infrastructure to support them does not. Music publishers sell directly over the Internet to consumers who play tunes on devices like the iPod. But before book publishers can sell titles directly to readers, they will need to build thousands of book machines. Unfortunately, the new system cannot be implemented without a viable market: none exists at the moment. One possible solution lies in the unprecedented ability of these new technologies to reach previously inaccessible markets: for example, the 47 million Americans for whom English is a second language but who have no convenient way to buy books. Gutenberg was a Catholic entrepreneur who sold religious trinkets and printed indulgences before creating his famous Bible. He thought he could cure the schisms of the 15th century by distributing a uniform missal to all the churches of Europe. Instead, he helped create the Protestant Reformation. The impact of today's more powerful technologies can scarcely be imagined. What seems to me certain is that these technologies will soon overwhelm the obsolescent Gutenberg system and confront us once again with unprecedented risks and opportunities. |
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Comments
Guest (Jason Bourne) on 01/08/2006 at 6:28 PM
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Guest (Dan LeMaire-Bauch) on 05/09/2006 at 12:00 AM
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stevedefeo on 10/28/2006 at 8:29 AM
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morris.ward on 12/09/2006 at 7:32 PM
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using files of digitized books ever mentions or questions how those digital files will be digitally preserved, error-free, retrievable, interpretable, and repurposeable, for 100 years or more.
sebakunstpaul on 10/23/2007 at 2:08 PM
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Colin Walsh on 08/28/2007 at 10:27 AM
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sebakunstpaul on 10/23/2007 at 2:17 PM
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pstream on 12/29/2006 at 3:35 PM
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In the '80-2000 years I worked for the state government geological program in the infomation/publishing section.
I remember that a print on demand was available, but I was not able to convience anyone that it was the publishing future. No more warehouse of slow moving inventory. Geology being popular, but by no means profitable.
I was able to scan/digitize their sizable map collection, (almost 2 years non-stop to complete),
that is now available in full color as print on demand. I just could not convience them that book publishing had to change.
I am glad to hear that someone is moving forward with this, and I hope to be able to have access to the publishing industry of the future.
steve81 on 07/17/2007 at 6:43 PM
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sebakunstpaul on 10/23/2007 at 2:37 PM
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First readers will not have to wait for new editions to be published, this particularly will be a benefit for readers to reach good titles, which are not so often published for example. There are many titles with not so broad audience, what I mean culture isn't mainstream yet...
Then authors will have an easy way to publish their works to promote and sell on demand, being affordable to publish few... bringing "user generated content" into the traditional printed media.
Also I would like to remind about corporate market, that uses print on demand at a large scale... reports, studies, etc. I think now about smaller businesses that could benefit from more accessibility to printing services, as cost, time, professional look of documentation, etc.
Print on Demand is the future of printing, if not the only future...