New interactive book uses HP’s interactive print technology to explore new market opportunities in wide-format and specialty printing

At PRINT 18, WhatTheyThink Managing Editor Richard Romano will publish Beyond Paper: An Interactive Guide to Wide-Format and Specialty Printing, a full-color, heavily illustrated, interactive guide to the broad variety of wide-format and specialty printing technologies presenting new market opportunities for commercial printers.

From sign and display graphics, to floor and window graphics, textiles and industrial printing, and specialty products, Beyond Paper looks at the hardware, software and finishing technologies used to print these items. The book also presents case studies of print businesses already producing these applications.

“It’s common to hear people say, ‘There is no more demand for print,’ but if you look around, you can see print all over the place—on posters and signage, pens, USB drives, cups, glassware, T-shirts, hoodies and other textiles,” says Romano. “Print is everywhere.”

Printed by King Printing on an HP PageWide digital press, the book itself goes “beyond paper.” Developed in conjunction with HP, the book utilizes two different apps to deliver two different types of experiences.

HP Reveal presents users with the opportunity to scan the front cover for an immersive AR experience, bringing to life a variety of specialty printed items.

Additionally, HP’s Link technology offers interactive experiences throughout the rest of book, providing links to online resources, videos, and other content to further explain and illustrate the concepts explored in the book—or to offer jokes and other humorous asides.

A limited-edition print version of Beyond Paper, which will be available at PRINT 18, will also include bound-in samples of some of these specialty printing applications. The author will be signing copies for PRINT 18 attendees in HP’s booth (Booth #2411) on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Stop by HP’s booth and take a chance at winning an HP Sprocket Mobile Photo Printer.