Kara Siegert
Graduate Research Assignment
The Digital Type Revolution: Digital Type Design’s Impact on eBooks
Digital type has impacted electronic and print design in the 21st century, integrating traditional print with the continual technological advances that have mainstreamed media outlets. The revolutionary eBook industry allows publishers to digitally release multiple formats together at a reduced cost--a book’s hardcover print and audiobook CD publications can be merged together and consumers no longer have to choose one format over another (Eaton 72). Electronic print has emerged online as well as through specialized reading devices that have allowed books to be cheaper and more accessible, as well as improving literacy and comprehension.
Despite the competitive economic market that digital content resellers are still a part of, the unlimited shelf space allows all books to be promoted simultaneously. Digital publishers are also able to reduce production and distribution costs since the potential problem of predicting the content that will sell in stores is eliminated in the online market. “Online resellers have always had an advantage over bricks and mortar stores in that they can display every book published in a given year. They can list the book and if demand accrues, they can order copies from the publisher. They do not have to take the risk of ordering stock. The brick and mortar store cannot do that,” stated Young (139). The iPad and Amazon’s Kindle are prime examples of the revolutionary experience purchasing eBooks has become. Apple gives publishers the ability to directly set prices whereas Amazon buys content from publishers, sets its own retail prices, and profits off the differences (Schiller 14). The wholesale approach that Amazon uses may not be as preferable as the App Store’s wholesale approach (which allows Apple to take a 30% cut of the price that publishers set); however, Amazon Kindle’s eBooks still outsell its hardcover books on Amazon.com. Borders has also launched an eBook store that allows users to purchase books directly from Borders.com and download them to their e-readers of choice, offering free e-reader apps for Mac, PC, and mobile devices (Quint 11). Electronic eBook tablets (i.e. Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and Apple’s iPad), along with online digital publishing services (i.e. Borders, Nelson Free, and Zinio) combines variety, price, and accessibility, increasing the availability of printed content.
In addition to electronic print revolutionizing content availability, according to Larson (15), recent studies of eBook reading and response behaviors suggest that eBook reading may support comprehension and strengthen both aesthetic and efferent reader response. Barnes & Noble’s NOOKstudy is a freely available software application that has been designed to enable students to manage all their digital content--etext-books, class materials, and notes--on the computer device they rely on most, their PC or Mac (Quint 7). It could be argued that the appeal of eBooks are their growing popularity, but there is no denying this--tablets, such as the Kindle, provide a heightened reading experience can be conductive to improving literary skills. The Kindle provides a choice of six different font sizes, a built-in dictionary, as well as a text-to-speech feature, which allow consumers to view reading material according to their needs and personal preferences. In general, eBooks and digital readers have the potential to unveil an array of new teaching and learning possibilities rather than restrictive traditional reading methods. The International Reading Association also emphasized the importance of combining information and communication technologies into current literacy programs and stated that, “a first step toward integrating new literacies into existing reading programs often involves redefining the notion of what constitutes text, as teachers seek alternative text sources including digital texts and electronic books” (Larson 15).
The advantages that digital type has created for our society has undoubtedly changed the way that people are able to consume and benefit from the written word. Electronic print has broadened the economy--eBooks and digital text are cheaper, as well as provide opportunities for the traditional text market to expand. In a world where time, space, and money are limited, it’s evident that digital type is making a great contribution to the success and prosperity of electronic media.
Bibliography
Eaton, Lance. "BOOKS BORN DIGITAL." Library Journal 134.9 (2009): 26-28. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
Larson, Lotta C. "Digital Readers: The Next Chapter in E-Book Reading and Response." Reading Teacher 64.1 (2010): 15-22. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
Quint, Barbara. "Up Front With Barbara Quint. In Search of the Question." Information Today 27.8 (2010): 7-8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
Schiller, Kurt. "iPad Already Impacting." EContent 33.3 (2010): 14-15. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
Young, Neil. "How Digital Content Resellers are Impacting Trade Book Publishing." Publishing Research Quarterly 25.3 (2009): 139-146. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
