Ebook readers, like the one created by Sony, has been cited as the potential end of paper books but this prediction seems to be a premature one. Patrick Dixon, author of Futurewise, thinks the paper books are here to stay arguing that while reference books face competition from their online counterparts, people still enjoy picking up and reading from a physical book that one cannot do with an electronic screen.

A new paper selection tool by UPM is known as the paper sommelier, a guide to helping customers select pages based on production values and physical attributes like touch and feel in paper grades. This tool will help publishers select paper that is the ideal fit for their desired audience. Research conducted by the University of Helsinki found that the quality of magazine paper is important in relation to reader and advertising perceptions. For example, magazines that feature expensive clothes, fast automobiles or high-tech gadgets have paper that is smooth and silky to the touch.

Many predicted an increase in the popularity of online-only magazines but markets where paper versions are still popular differed from markets where Internet-based magazines are successful. However, most print magazines do have an online equivalent but some feel that it is still no substitute for the tangible quality of paper. People still want to handle an actual object and be able to do things like write in the margins of a document – something that its online counterpart is unable to offer.

Tags: ebook, paper

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