Some more thoughts.

Upon reflecting on this project, its pretty amazing how much it has developed and changed. My original question was, "Will paper become obsolete?" and has twisted and turned into something so different. My final research and experiments more so reflected the relationship that paper and digital medias have. Digital medias have definitely replaced paper in many ways, in some ways, their competition encourages the other to be better (figuratively speaking). Today, in such a an advanced digital age, paper and printing industries must highlight the value and special qualities that paper can offer, embossing, special inks, paper weight and finish. Especially in the art community, there are many companies and people that strive to make their paper creation, all the more special and ironically it is sometimes done through digital technologies.

No one can deny that the digital age makes so many things easier and more efficient. Paper does have a place in the modern world but just a very different one than before, and because the digital age evolves so rapidly it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what that is.

As i was researching places to get my project printed, i searched "Kinkos London". Ahhh kinkos, my dear friend. As annoying as they may sometimes be, they feel so familiar and safe to me. And the fact that they are international makes living here in london slightly less scary a foreign. But alas, what do i see? i strange post where the London kinkos store locator used to be.

"FedEx Kinko's has sold its five UK locations to Printing Investments Limited, trading as "The Color Company". The five FedEx Kinko's outlets, four in central London and one in Reading, will be rebranded under the The Color Company banner – please see www.color.co.uk."

My trusty printing place was no more. i couldn't even believe it. not more that a month or two earlier i had just printed a project with their trustyy self service printing. The foreigner part inside me was suddenly terrified. Kinkos UK clearly could survive the current recession where only the bare minimums are allowed for large companies. This closure is clearly a sign of the time and the digital era, maybe people don't really need so many things printed anymore.

So my search continued, i then turned to service point, which was slightly more familiar as i had been there once or twice before to get films printed for silk screenings. As it was already 9PM i went straight for the 24hr service point of tottenham court road. But once again, an unfamiliar error. "This location has moved", my heart sank even further. Trusty old 24hr service point was no longer running from that location, and while luckily not all the service points had closed, it was another case of cutting the fluff and getting down to the bare minimum. It is undeniable that the paper business is changing and who knows if it can run as fast as digital era, it definitely has some catching up to do.