Will the need for printing ever vanish.

wseyller

Senior member
May 16, 2004
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I though about this because i'm work with laser cartridge technology and have wondered if my type of work will still exist in the future. I imagine this would be after my time, but you never know.

Think about this. Do you think new technologies will arise that will eliminate the need to produce another hard copy, a photo, a business document of some sort.

Document already can be stored in a mobile device, such as a pda, or tablet pc. Maybe something simpler we come around that is small and thick not much bigger than a piece of paper that could store thousands of documents. This would be handy to keep a desk tidy.

Some people print their own photos now. How about photo albums that are digital. Pages that are like a very thin display and pictures could be uploaded to it. Photos to hang on the wall. Maybe one day all the walls in the home will be a digital display and you could manage certain sized columns and rows and upload the pictures to whatever space on the wall you like.

Micr toner to print checks. It's easy to see that debit/credit cards will take over. Maybe a new card or some other personal device that you can place in your wallet can wirelessly receive your receipt from the stores register without the need to print one. This would be very handy at tax return time. Tax returns may all be filed electronically which is currently possible.

Electronic books, bibles, sticky notes, memos you name it.

I see a possible future without ink, and toner, and printing all together. What does everyone else think.
 

imported_Dimicron

Senior member
Jan 24, 2005
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Seriously, as much as I like everything to be digital, some things are just best in print, ink on paper style. I like ebooks, read them when on the subway. I prefer a real book though when I'm at home relaxing.
 

wseyller

Senior member
May 16, 2004
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71
Yeah it would be way too expensive now to implement something like that, but maybe in the future, maybe even 50 years from now a small digital display may cost a penny to produce comparing to todays money value. It's like now you can pick up a cheap calculator for a couple bucks or next to nothing. Image the cost of a calculator with similiar compability when it was first invented.

Some people still like to wear 1960's clothing but you don't see that as something popular today.
 

CycloWizard

Lifer
Sep 10, 2001
12,348
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As someone that spends a good part of each day reading articles that I download in pdf format, I can say for sure that I'll never do all my reading on a monitor. There's something special about having a hard copy that makes reading (for me, at least) a lot easier and more productive when it's on paper and I can physically flip through it.
 

Bowsky

Member
Dec 23, 2004
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www.math.umd.edu
Technology has a long way to come before it can replace print. A person can easily add notes to physical a book or manual. This isn't a big deal for novels and even newspapers, but, as a college student, I do not think I would ever be able to survive without printed materials. Until there is a digital device is comparable to paper in physical structure (small, light, flexible, foldable, and disposable) and allows users to easily and naturally make modifications, paper will have its place.

I believe that this day will eventually come, but technology needs to develop much more before the need for a printed copy goes away.
 

tdrez72

Junior Member
Aug 3, 2005
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There was actually an article about this in CPU mag a while ago I think. From what I understood, HP was creating a type of "electronic paper" that allowed the printing of documents onto this medium via pixels. The document could then be overwritten. Its been a long while since i've heard anything else in regards to the advancements of this technology. The point is however, that people have already begun to think of this concept and it might only be a generation or two away.
 

sintaxera

Member
Jul 8, 2005
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I don't think printing on paper will ever go a way. It's fast, cheap at the time of printing, reliable, and most importantly accessible to everyone. Other technologies require a device, something that cost money. So until paper is more expensive than it's alternative, then printing on it will continue.