Just when you thought print was dead (again), Esquire goes and announces that their September 2008 issue will have an E-ink cover. Yep, the technology that allows a piece-of-paper-like device to function as something just short of a video screen will be addorning the cover of 100,000 copies of the monthly magazine when it hits shelves in roughly two-month’s time.
E-Ink, for the uninitiated is the next big thing after LED screens. Imagine a tablet computer the width of a piece of paper (or very close to it) and you’ll have the ultimate goal of E-Ink-like technology (for now you can find it in Amazon’s Kindle and similar devices). The theory is that once you “print” something in E-Ink, it will stay there until you re-print something else on the same “page.” Of course, if you want to have the printed image move or blink, you need to provide some sort of continuous power-source.
This is the catch with the Esquire magazine cover. Editor-in-Chief, David Granger says the words “the 21st Century Begins Now,” will blink to catch the eyes of passers-by. So, where is the power going to come from?
The New York Times is reporting that, to make a flashing E-Ink cover possible, Esquire a six-figure sum had to be dropped for a battery to be developed. That wasn’t the only thing that had to be invented for this stunt. It turns out that a whole new manufacturing process takes September’s Esquire from China to Texas, then to Mexico and then (in refrigerated trucks to keep the batteries fresh) to Kentucky. That’s where the traditional magazine stuff kicks in and is distributed with the other magazines with the non-E-Inked covers.
Why does Esquire want to do this in the first place? Well, obviously it’s a gimmick to sell magazines, but Granger also wants to see this issue in the Smithsonian. Yep, just a little ego involved, there.
Who’s going to pay for this ego? Well, it turns out that Ford will spring for the whole thing in exchange for an animated ad for their new minivan/SUV on the inside cover.
So, watch for this neat little gimmick to hit newsstands in September, but make sure to move fast if you want to pick one up. Remember, there will only be 100,000 made. Also, remember that usually magazines don’t print the actual calendar month on their covers. So expect the issue to have “October” printed on it (or even November?).
