chill rhizome: HP takes print away from town for seven days, laughs at 'print is dead' claim (updated)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

HP takes print away from town for seven days, laughs at 'print is dead' claim (updated)

With e-books and digital subscription of magazines and newspapers becoming the new hot, many are sending off the message that print is gradually losing or has even already lost to its digital counterpart, while others argue that print is far from dead. Needless to say, being one of the leading manufacturers of printers, HP took the "print is dead" claim quite personally -- and perhaps too literally. How so? Well, the company commissioned a project that got participants in the US, India and Singapore to live without printed materials -- including newspapers, books, labels, packaging, ID cards and even some clothes -- for two days. Needless to say, those folks struggled really badly, but HP certainly proved that "the role of print is vastly underestimated" and that "true print deprivation was impossible."

If you think that's an overkill, just you wait: HP and renowned photographer Chase Jarvis even went as far as getting a Wisconsin town called Spring Green to undergo a similar experiment, but for a duration of seven days. The entire project will be presented in a video documentary called 7 Days Without Print, and ahead of its premiere at Guggenheim Museum in New York on June 14, we were shown an exclusive trailer for said movie at HP's Global Influencer Summit in Shanghai. ~~For the sake of those poor participants, do check out the clip right after the break.~~

Update: Sorry folks, but we've been asked to remove the trailer as it's not ready for public viewing yet, but we'll put up the official version once it's out.

Gallery: HP takes print away from town for seven days, laughs at 'print is dead' claim