E-paper Advertising: A New Era has Begun

Esquire magazine’s digital E Ink cover heralded a new era in the field of print advertising. Pepped up with moving images, high contrast, and easy readability, the technology certainly is an eye-catcher. E-paper will play a very important role in the future of print media. The latest Esquire experiment is a step in the right direction. It is easy to see how this emerging technology can take over many aspects of the print and billboard industry – and it really is a cost-effective alternative to LCD displays. Print is in trouble.

Recently, Ryosuke Kuwata, E Ink Corp’s vice president in charge of the Asia Pacific region, announced:

In the field of electronic paper-based electronic newspapers, a verification test will start by the end of 2008, and an actual business will start in the second half of 2009.

Now, those who question the quick penetration of the e-era must not forget how the iPod replaced everything. Here, you’re dealing with consumers who “want” everything in their mobile phones and would certainly end up “having” it too in the end, because there are Steves doing their Jobs to fulfill their dreams. And with their eyes not only glued to their handsets, but also used to e-consumption, the plain paper won’t do now for sure.

Take a glimpse into the future of advertising in this video here:

How the E Ink Cover was Made

Esquire’s 75th Anniversary E Ink cover took more than a year to develop and traveled seven thousand miles (and then some) just to get into your hands. Here is a rundown on how it was produced.

Shanghai, China
The issue’s display screen, electronics, and batteries were assembled in China, using components made in at least seven different factories. Hurdles overcome include flooding that destroyed 250,000 batteries, spur-of-the-moment regulation changes on the part of the Chinese government, and the Olympic Games. A very real countdown also begins: once activated in China, the batteries in the magazines will last roughly ninety days.

Dallas, Texas and Negras, Mexico
The electronics used in the covers are flown to Dallas, where they are then taken via refrigerated truck to Negras, Mexico. (The magazines must be shipped cold to help preserve battery life, which erodes in extreme heat, like those found in that area during late July.) Once in Mexico, a hundred-thousand-plus covers are assembled by hand, with a thin layer of protective foam used to protect the electronics.

Glasgow, Kentucky
The completed covers are put back into refrigerated trucks and shipped to Kentucky, home of RR Donnelley, the company that prints Esquire magazine. Using a rig specially created for this issue, machines bind the hand-assembled covers to the rest of the magazine, which is then shipped to newsstands across the U.S.

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