Esquire's Electronic Cover

Posted on September 18, 2008

Esquire's October 2008 cover will be made with E-ink technology. The novel concept has already boosted the magazine's ad pages reports the Associated Press.

"If we want to keep print vital, print advertising has to be just as vital as print editorial," Granger said.

So far, he said, the electronic display has been a strong draw: The October issue has the most ad pages of any issue in his 11 years as editor-in-chief of Esquire.

Granger wouldn't disclose the extra cost of printing the electronic display or its gain from Ford's ad buy.

A New York Times story about the electronic magazine says unlike print magazine this one will run out of power in 90 days.

"I hope it will be in the Smithsonian," said David Granger, Esquire's editor in chief, in a recent interview while showing prototypes of the cover - an early version has a cord sticking out that attaches to a battery pack.

If it does wind up in the Smithsonian, it will need a power source; on its own, the magazine will run out of juice after 90 days. Mr. Granger knows some will see the cover as a gimmick - but he says he thinks the technology behind it, which has been used for supermarket displays but never embedded in a magazine, speaks to the possibilities of print.

You can read about how the magazine's cover was made here. It's great to see magazine being technologically innovative. PopSci looks at the technology involved in this post. Here's a video about Esquire's digital issue"

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