[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by Arts

I didn't mean ecologically unsustainable (though as someone that used to live on Vancouver island and seen firsthand the sheer scale of footprint left behind by the paper industry I'm not easily convinced that traditional wood-paper should be considered renewable, but hemp or other crops may be a good solution to that).

I meant as a cost effective means of sharing information. They are heavy (requiring special considerations in the building code to accommodate the dead load), take up a huge amount of size for the amount of data contained within, will become cost prohibitive as less demand will decrease the economies of scale for printers and publishers, are not easily revised when needed, present a bit of a health hazard in that they can promote growth of mold and must and can harbour infestation of pests, and for archival purposes worst of all they may not even be the longest-lived form of physical archival - if that is the goal then microfilm is a better choice than paper.

For more than a decade already, digital is the primary/original form for almost all data, with printable hardcopies being available for those that want pages to flip. This means large scale printing doesn't really make sense any more, we are at the cusp where it will be cheaper to print one-offs of a textbook (either from an online print shop or from home even) for those that want one than it would for a publishing company to print off small runs, and distribute them to businesses that have to hold on to inventory for hopefully less time than it takes for the next revision to be printed. Meanwhile devices will get better and better and new readers that didn't grow up with shelves full of paper books will be more accustomed to the new medium.

I do agree with you completely that sharing knowledge and reading is due for a comeback from all the modern high tech distractions, just think (as one of the last gen x'ers) that the practice will be not be done in permanent ink.

Fair enough! Thanks for the explanation.