Introduction
As the computers and tablets have integrated in our lives, it has replaced paper and books not only in many offices and students. The young adults are less likely to read any printed books as compared to the online material. However, switching from the traditional old fashioned books to the digital system is panic for the old people, and also for some habitual of book reading. Edmonds et al. emphasized the fact that the young generation has lost interest in reading the printed newspapers, books and papers. The traditional libraries are now replaced by digital libraries with easy access of online journals, book stores and libraries. The e books and e reading has strong influence on students and researchers. It not only has changed their habits of book reading and searches. But the enthusiasm and struggle in search of libraries and relevant books has decreased. The printed papers and online both have positive as well as the negative effects. On the other hand the research shows that the printed books and paper are more useful and satisfactory (Chyi & Chang; Chyi & Lasorsa; Chyi & Yang; De Waal, Schoenbach, & Lauf; Online Publishers Association).
A survey conducted in 2009 by Wendy Allen Shelburne for faculty, undergraduate and graduate students showed that 11% of the faculty preferred e books while 28.5 % preferred printed books. The group of graduate students 11.5 % students preferred e books while 24 % liked to use printed books. While in case of under graduate 11.5% students preferred e books while 26.5% voted for printed. So the overall results indicate that the printed books are more preferable as compared to the e reading.
The question that either publishing online books or printing ink books is better depends upon the demand of the books. Both the printed books and E books have some pros and cons.
Ferris Jabr stated that most of the studies conducted before 1992 showed that people reads slow, and less accurately on screens as compared to the printed paper. The laboratory experiments, polls and reports conducted on modern screens and paper indicates that people are not able to remember long texts studied from the screens mainly due to the reason that it is difficult to navigate long texts. Secondly the E reading also drains more of our mental resources. The attitude of people is also a big approach for analysing the learning from E sources and printed. The attitude of people for computers and tablets is less conductive to learn as compared with printed media.
Advantages of printed books:
Woody stated that there are many advantages of printed books. The book reading not only saves time but it also helps in memorizing things more efficiently. Muter and Maurutto stated that the screen reading is much slower as compared to reading from the books.
The book reading has less health effects as compared to the online reading which can cause visual effects, concentration problems and many other health effects. The books have a special aroma and the people who are habitual for book reading are never comfortable without holding it physically and its aroma. The printed books are more reliable and trustworthy resource of information that lasts up to centuries whereas the online media is not much trustworthy, it can be changed, modified or deleted any time. There is no battery or charging required for book, so one can enjoy book reading anywhere.
For the book lovers the collection of first edition and the signed books are a great mean of pleasure. Every book lover wants a signed book or first edition attracts them. But in case of e readers there is not any first edition of books and e books cannot be signed.
Disadvantages of printed books:
There is a lot of travelling and physical activity required in search of libraries and relevant data from libraries which includes time consumption, and travelling costs. A lot of solid waste is generated when the books are disposed of. The recycling of paper requires extra resources and energy. Not all the paper books are recycled.
Åsa Moberg et al. specified that the resources consumption is high for printed books as compared to the online. For printing books trees are cut for production of paper, transportation costs, manufacturing cost, ink production from resigns, printing and publishing costs. Even after printing there is the cost for the transportation to the book stores and book sellers. This cost increase if the books are to be transported overseas.
The printed books always require any second source of light to be read, it can be either sunlight or indoor lights whereas in e -reading technology there is no need for any light medium.
E-paper
The e -paper and e- publishing is now days taken the form of E readers, which are the digital products. The total e books sold in 2003 were of cost about $10 million, which was about 32% increase from the previous year. The E book is a new form of reading on screens of a personal computer, tablet, Personal digital assistant or E readers. A study conducted by Cox mentioned that the e Books can help efficiently in academic mission by saving time and adding values for dynamic and cost efficient collection management.
Wouter van der Velde identified that the e-books and papers are the digital form of material which can be available in the form of PDF or html. This material can be fully indexed and searchable by OPAC, google, publisher plateform or other sources. The online material can be readable either online or e readers. It can be facilitated with audio or videos. According to an estimate in 2007 the springer was leading in e- Books with more than 3,688 publications. The Taylor and Francis were on second with 3,651 publications.
Many e readers are available in the market these days. Colleen Cancio in 2011 quoted that there are several e- reader models available in the market with unique features and updated soft wares.
Some of these e readers are just devices which display digital books, newspapers and magazines. Such as the Amazon’s Kindle, the Sony readers, and many more. Some more modified e readers are having internet facility, Wi-Fi, and high end functionality. Some of the most advanced e readers are capable of audio and video supports with full colour displays.
Advantages of E-papers
In 2008 Stone et al. stated that the personal e readers of Amazon and Sony have accepted and shown commercial success. This is a big step towards attract business and press.
The e- books and papers are mostly available 24/7 at any place. One copy can be used by multiple users. I.e. there is no need of printing and multiple copies. The content of the books can be found by commands and catalogues available on internet. The e books and papers are easy to transfer from one place to another and even across the countries.
There are many benefits to the researchers for example there is ease of access for the researchers, easier citation, attractive discounts. Less travelling is required in libraries as compared to the printed media.
The online medium has increased the number of authors by online submission of contents, global readership and increased the usage. Lots of books can be stored in a single tablet or e reader regardless of shelves full of books as in case of printed books.
Those having habit of night reading can enjoy their hobby on bed even with lights out. There is no secondary light source of light required. The font size and text styles can be adjusted for e reading in some e readers and online reading.
Disadvantages of E-papers
Åsa Moberg et al. conducted a research to find out the potential environmental impacts of e papers and concluded that the tablet or e paper has the potential to decrease environmental impacts of newspaper consumption. There is potentially less production of waste. But the comprehensive toxicological impacts are high. So the developers should strive to minimize these toxic products.
Mayes et al. stated that the computer-based reading is significantly slower than the printed.
Browm stated that the poor screen resolution of e reader or tablet for a longer period of time can cause tiredness of eyes and it is difficult. The effect of different backgrounds and brightness can also cause eye and vision problems. The technological improvements and the soft wares have made online study much easier but comparatively it is still difficult than books.
Rachael Tulipano concluded his remarks about e reading that the E reading is much more expensive, for students most of the time these amounts are not affordable. The e books and papers are sometimes not transferable so it is also a big problem.
The disposal of the electronic waste for example e readers is a problem. This waste is not only toxic but also difficult to dispose off.
Cartson reported that navigation of a e book is the biggest problem for an E reading.
The online books are not much reliable resource.
Different types of screens
There are four different types of screens for all electronic papers that offers lower power consumption and much better sunlight contrast than LCDs. Some of the type of screens according to backlights in low light reading or bright light is discussed below:
- Elnk: Vizplex is the company that sells majority of electronic paper displays. Elnk is the earliest model.
- Elnk Pearl: Viplex is the second generation model with higher contrast and different levels of gray than earlier models.
- SiPix: an early competitor to Vizplex with efficient page turns.
- LG flex: it is an electronic paper type that means flexible screens. These screens can be folded without any damage and reader can easily take in anywhere.
Effect of eBooks on our life styles
Reading is important for humans for better understanding of various topics and reproduces content. Especially for the students the reading habit matters a lot. Better the habit of reading the better one can write. Corcoran and Evans stated that the e books effects our lives greatly; it does not give readers an active role to find and collect books from different libraries.
Kaufman quoted that the modern e reading has destroyed the reading habit of students especially of young generation. The students are much lazier and they spend more time on online games, chatting and browsing than reading.
Eye Fatigue:
Critical flicker frequency (CFF) measures the visual fatigue. It measures the minimal number of light flashes in a second for which an intermittent light stimulates no longer stimulates a continue sensation. The CFF measures the retina function. A study conducted by Kanga et al. showed that e reading effects the eyes and other than decreasing reading efficiency it causes eye fatigue. Moreover, in female students the eye fatigue is lower as compared to the male students.
E reading for different age groups:
The choice of reading also differs with the age group. For example, if we consider the school going kids there is less need of E reading. While for the research students and scholars the e reading is more comfortable and necessary as they need to get the data and papers from all over the world.
Woody et al. conducted a research on students for exam factors that either they prefer e books or printed books. The results showed that regardless of gender, computer usage and other comforts with computer, majority of the students preferred to use printed books.
A study conducted by Amanda, among university students showed that both the E books and printed books have an influence on students learning. However the students who chose printed text books got greater grades as compared to the students with e books. So it was concluded that the efficiency of printed books is higher as compared to the e books in students for learning.
Which is better for which purpose?
A comparative study for the online book reading and printed books showed that there are comparatively pros and cons for both, so it is difficult to prefer one in various situations online reading is better and for some printed is more attracting. The results of this study showed that for reading with a child printed books are more preferable. It scores 80% as compared to E reading. E books are more comfortable to the people who like to read in bed. It scores about 45%. Online book reading system gives you a wide range of books as compared to libraries and other printed book stores. And lastly the online system is more comfortable to get the books immediately at any time and at any place as compared to the printed books.
Parental views about e books and printed books:
A Pew study showed that in a survey conducted on the parents of minor children showed that parents of 9 out of 10 said that the printed books are required for the proper education and learning of their kids. The results show that as the parents switch themselves to the electronic devices, the adoption of new habits seems quite difficult.
SWOT analysis for E- publishing
The SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities and threats) shows that although there are many strengths and positive aspects of E-publishing but on the other hand e publishing is facing many challenges.
Strengths:
- The E-publishing gives one more control on the final material once published so modifications can be carried out with time.
- The e publishing is environmental friendly technique as it consumes less resources.
- Comparatively the E publishing technique requires less time for publishing, once you submit your manuscript you are almost done with it.
- Once the book is published online it can be available all over the world wherever one wants to deliever.
Weakness:
- The main issue for e books is that these are difficult to read on screen.
- The E readers are most of the time very costly, for students it is difficult to afford.
- The customers are reluctant to read from screens and e readers as there is more stress on eyes and other visual effects.
- Although the number of E books has increased the number of authors, but unfortunately the quality of books and material in these is not the same like the printed books. Still the old tradition books lead in many aspects.
Opportunities:
- There are greater chances of being published as compared to the printed media.
- The distribution system is less costly, more efficient and easy as compared to the printed media.
- The online publish system has increased the number of authors. One can easily write and publish with low publishing costs.
Threats:
- The major issue of online publishing is piracy. There are a lot of cases of theft and hacking on internet.
- There are only few sales in the saturated market of e books.
- Not preferred by students and teachers in most of the cases in comparison to published books.
Environmental Aspects
The recent studies have shown that there highest per unit carbon foot prints are through the production and printing of books. This process includes the raw material production i.e. paper from the trees, ink, paper production process, printing, shipment of books and disposal. However, the reuse and recycling of paper saves the cost of raw material resource production and consumption. However, if the environmental impacts of e books and the printed books are compared none of them is safer. The electronic e readers have a notorious variety of toxic materials among their circuitry. The toxic materials include the polyvinyl chloride or PVC which is a top bugaboo among environmental pollutants. There is no official standard for the environmental printing.
Green Printing
Now a days green printing or environmental friendly printing is attracting the publishers. However it still is a great challenge. It seems difficult to move people and make them attract towards the use of recycled paper books. Many publishers all over the word are working and taking this task as a challenge.
One of the U.S. green printing company reported that only 5% companies in U.S are working on the eco-friendly paper printing. Rest of the companies still consume the raw materials from cutting trees.
There are number of eco-friendly papers available, the use of vegetable inks instead of chemical and toxic based are also a way to reduce price and toxic effects. This also provide a safe working condition for the workers.
Conclusion
With advancement in technology and computerization the E- publishing are taking over the traditional published ink books. The E- publishing not only has made the search easier, but it has also narrowed down the distances. One can easily assess these books in his own e-reader or screens. On the other hand, though e-books has made it much easier to read and get the required book material online, the disadvantages of the e- books cannot be neglected. It has deprived readers of true essence of reading books. The love for books is diminishing day-by-day. This has also affected the writing and reading habits of the readers, tremendously. But the teachers and students still prefer printed books, as they are more comfortable to read, easy to learn, requires less care to handle, and less harmful effects as compared to E- readers. So, the printed books are more preferable over e -books.
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