Digital Paper = The New Holography
About 20 years ago, holography was supposed to be the next big thing. Every client explored it, trying to bring three-dimensionality to their print work. I remember visiting the Museum of Holography with one of our big clients fine-tuning the photography process so we could create life-like burgers on the menuboard. But the whole time I was thinking “what’s the big deal?”
Holography was–and still is–funky one-color imaging that only impressed you when you crained your neck just so, in the right light, at the right angle . . . and now in 2008 it’s still nothing more than a movie studio parlor trick. This came to mind a couple of weeks ago when I saw the new issue of Esquire, with the “revolutionary” digital cover. It features digital paper, or what they call e-ink. What sounded cool when it was described to me was underwhelming when I finally got my hands on one. It’s really not much more than fuzzy lenticular-looking assortment of still images, which gain their limited impact only when you crain your neck just so, in the right light, at the right angle. We’ve been waiting for technology to reach the printed page for so long, it seems like we’ll celebrate any little twist. But until somebody figures out how to capture light, sound and motion, it’s barely worth the effort.
A lot of marketers are installing digital POP in their retail locations, which is very promising. Done right, these installations use film and animation to activate the visual sense, and the messages can be altered by daypart to really target the message. That’s promising, but what took so long? I wrote my first digital POP script in 1984. It ran on laserdisk. And it cost so much that retailers refused to install the equipment. At least now the technology is all streamlined and efficient. But it remains to be seen if consumers learn to tune these monitors out just like the tv sets in their homes.
By now you’ve probably seen the digital billboards popping up in major cities, too. They are brilliantly lit, I’ll give them that. But again it’s a series of still pictures paging through like a gigantic photo album. They tell me that motion is prohibited on these because of the risk of causing traffic accidents, but I’m not so sure about that. Everybody I see on the highway is too busy texting to be a risk for the billboard ads.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:30 am
You mentioned that “holography was – and still is – funky one-color imaging”.
I would like to point out to your readers that full-color, animated, RGB digital laser holography has been available for few years now. The more successful applications are being realized in medical, scientific and technical fields at this time.
We’re still seemingly light years away from having products marketed through holographic images in our homes and other venues. In fact, it may turn out to be a competing 3-D technology that wins that particular race. Or it may not.
But holography itself is alive and well, and advancing nicely, in many other applications that are not seen on a day-to-day basis. For those of us working in the field, it is actually quite an exciting time.