Plastic newspaper attracts publicity

Plastic Logic Ltd. is getting an unbelievable amount of publicity today for a new product, the Plastic Logic Reader, which could someday replace paper for newspapers and magazines. The company calls the product "a gamechanging new device that brings a panoply of business information to your fingertips with powerful tools to make people more productive and simplify their work lives." The Reader is the the size of a 8.5 x 11-inch paper, thinner than a pad of paper and lighter than many business periodicals, according to the company's news release. It's made of plastic, of course, using "high resolution transistor arrays on flexible plastic substrates, manufactured at a low temperature." Plastic Logic also notes that its new manufacturing plant in Dresden, Germany, is scheduled to open next week. One of our sister publications in Europe, Plastics & Rubber Weekly, previewed this announcement back on Aug. 22, while also noting that the company had raised an additional $50 million on top of the $150 million already raised by a consortium of investors backing the company. There does seem to be a lot of interest in this technology. I think that's partly because news is whatever editors think is interesting, and most editors are going to be very interested in what the newspaper and magazine of the future might look like.