Paper

Embedding digital information into paper could become cheap and environmentally friendly, with a new technique under development by Swedish researchers.

Scientists at the Fibre Science and Communication Network, the forestry industry research programme at Mid Sweden University, have produced large boards and store displays as prototypes to show the practical application of integrating paper and computing.

The technology, which makes sound and vision stream out of the paper on touch, would be useful for outdoor advertising, in-store displays and public information signboards.

Mikael Gulliksson, project leader for media technology, told printweek.com: “Nothing is embedded into the paper so far. All audio information is stored and controlled by ordinary microelectronic devices (electronics boxes) hooked up to each segment of the display.

"The rest is printed with conductive inks and that includes the touch sensitive areas, the wires connecting them and the electronics boxes and the soundspeaker membranes and wiring.

"The product as such, in this set-up, is not on the market, as far as we know. We have got a number of requests for shop displays of various kinds and settings. Actually an order for 200 of them!

"Our students will look into one of these proposals and build a prototype for evaluation by the company in question."

The two prototypes are on display at the university campus in Sundsvall in Sweden. One is set up for the marketing of a new travel destination so when the user touches a picture or text, they hear the audiovisual advertising message. The other unit is a ‘music display board’, where a number of music albums are printed on paper and users can sample music by touching the front of the album, prompting the sound to stream right out of the paper.

The researchers have claimed the new display technology is inexpensive and environmentally friendly. The digital paper is fully recyclable.

Gulliksson added: "What's next is the scaling down of this concept to a single package or chocolate box. If this display is the macro we will spend the next six months exploring the world of opportunities in the micro setting. ”