I am a paper junkie. I’m a whore for a nice caliper of paper, not too thick as to be card, not too thin as to be unsubstantial. I love the feel of paper, the rustle and rigidity that give way with a subtle movement. I love the sound of ink being laid down, the gentle drag as my hand loops and dots across the page.
Despite all the advances of modern technology, I don’t see this changing. In fact I’m such a slave to this way of thinking that I’ll often print off an email if it contains important information that I’ll need at some point in the next day or so.
As such I walk around with a notebook (A4 size, hard bound, company branded) stuffed with ‘important’ sheets of information, with said sheets usually adorn with numerous, equally important, scribbles and notes.
And of course there in lies the problem. As of yet computers cannot match the speed nor convenience of pen/pencil and paper.
It is then a short leap and a step to full on stationery porn. Lusting over Moleskin notepads, gushing over the smooth flow of ink from a Mont Blanc. I’m not quite there yet. Yet.
But what of paper in our profession? The last time I was involved with a print house was over 10 years ago (blimey), and these days whilst we still produce user manuals, they are in the now ubiquitous PDF format. Information these days is largely thought of in electronic terms, yet everyone I know prefers reading novels in ‘old fashioned’ print format.
And I guess that is the problem, whilst the main thing we consume and produce is electronically focussed, many of us are still looking to paper as the medium. Which, if you are a paper junkie like me, is a good and a bad thing.
But mostly bad.
