Paper Based Computing

A team at the University of Tokyo have found a potential solution for paper-based computing.
"The idea is to do computing on paper," Discovery News quoted Tomoko Hashida, a postdoc researcher in the lab, as telling DigInfo TV.
"In the future we'd like to enable several people to create one document, like with Google Docs, actually using real-world paper while far apart," she said.
Hashida and her colleagues at the Naemura Laboratory originally looked at existing paper-oriented technology but found it lacking in some aspects.
A projection on paper requires darkness to see the results and digital pens don't allow users to access drawings from the computer directly onto the paper.
Instead, the group came up with a method to allow drawings on paper to be altered in real-time by more than one collaborator.
Users can draw, erase and copy content. The system uses a photochromic smart material coated paper that changes color with change in light. A high-resolution digital micromirror device-driven UV projector then prints images onto the paper. Then a thermo-sensitive ink containing ball-point pen is used for drawing on the paper. A laser is used to erase the writings.

Tiny transmitters That Cost A Penny To Print

Alternative to QR Codes? Researchers in Korea have developed a cheap way of transmitting data from objects to mobile phones when swiped.

Via BBC:

...They have printed small "rectennas", a cross between an antenna and an AC/DC current converter, onto plastic foils using electronic inks.
The rectenna uses radio waves emitted from a smartphone to transmit data to it from a tiny chip.
The printed rectennas cost less than one penny per unit to produce and could be used as an alternative to QR codes.
The technology behind them, Near Field Communication (NFC), is already used in devices that enable shoppers to make card payments by touch.

 Researchers from Sunchon National University and the Paru Printed Electronics Research Institute spent four years developing the printed rectenna.
"What is great about this technique is that we can also print the digital information onto the rectenna, meaning that everything you need for wireless communication is in one place," co-author of the study Gyoujin Cho told the IoP.
"Our advantage over current technology is lower cost, since we can produce a roll-to-roll printing process with high throughput in an environmentally friendly manner.
"Furthermore, we can integrate many extra functions without huge extra cost in the printing process."

Printed Lasers

Scientists have created printed lasers using ordinary inkjet printers - a move that could lead to an easier and cheaper way to make future laser devices.

Via BBC:

A University of Cambridge team has used liquid crystals in place of ink to print tiny dots on a surface covered with a special coating.
Once the coating dries, the dots become lasers, the researchers wrote in the journal Soft Matter ...

"Until now, no one has been able to print lasers; the materials typically used to make lasers only work on certain surfaces and after extensive, and expensive, manufacturing processes," Damian Gardiner of Cambridge University, one of the team members, told the BBC.
"A laser requires three things to work: a cavity, or space between two mirrors so light can bounce back and forth, a 'gain' medium to increase the amount of light, and energy.
"Our laser uses the special optical properties of the LC to get rid of the mirrors, and a dye is added to give gain.
"However, the key thing is that it is a liquid system - and can therefore be inkjet-printed, very inexpensively."

"The lasers can be used for various display and lighting applications, or they can encode information and turn any surface into a 'smart surface'.

Digital Fiction Book Sales Soar

Via the BBC:

A "huge increase" in the value of digital book sales in the UK has been announced by trade organisation the Publishers Association. The value of digital fiction sales in the first half of 2012 was up 188% on the same period in 2011. Physical book sales saw a drop in value, dipping 0.4% year on year. Industry experts said that while the figures were healthy, other areas of the industry, such as bookshops, continued to struggle financially. "Certainly the strong e-book growth has taken the tarnish off the otherwise tricky market," said Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller.

Will Interactive Paper Revolutionise the Print Industry?

While the success of the iPad, Kindle and similar tablets combined with the relentless march of the internet have been predicted by many to spell the end of printed books and magazines and, in particular, newspapers I certainly think it's far too early to write off the old media just yet. We are on the cusp of an exciting new era for print as new technologies promise to combine the interactivity of the internet with the ease of use and appeal of paper - while the internet continues to cannabilise the newspaper industry and new models are sought to keep the industry alive and in profit, interactive print offers many exciting opportunities for publishers, content creators and advertisers.

The Independent's Alex Masters takes a fascinating look at Interactive Newsprint - a collaborative effort between Dundee, Surrey and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), that aims to integrate the rich media of the web into traditional news print.

Alex notes that:

...the technology can be applied to more than just newspapers. With posters, leaflets and advertising signage all potential surfaces that could take advantage of interactive paper. The team at Interactive Newsprint have already produced several prototypes that can play audio content and interact with online polls and social media services simply by touching interactive areas on a page.

We really are witnessing the start of "next big thing" - possibly interactive paper products are going to be a major part of our everyday lives in the near future with interactive magaznes, interactive flyers and interactive adverts, to name just a few applications, responding to our touch.

If you'd like to learn more about Interactive Newsprint then do check their website out.

Welcome to the Interactive Paper News Blog

Hi and a warm welcome to the Interactive Paper News blog.  On this blog we'll be posting about any and every exciting development in the world of interactive paper.

For those of you who do not know what interactive paper is then we can quickly - we'll be going into more depth in future posts - describe it as any kind of paper that is capable of having the kind of interactivity that you are used to enjoying with websites and mobile phones.

Interactive paper is a revolution in paper and printing technology; it's the future of paper and we'll be covering it here.