Tablets and e-readers may indeed have plenty of advantages over old-fashioned newspapers, but for many people, a touchscreen will just never measure up to the user-friendly simplicity of newsprint. That's why the UK-based Newspaper Club is launching its PaperLater service – it allows users to set aside web articles of their choice, which will be incorporated into a print newspaper that's delivered to their door.
The idea is that when web-surfing users come across an article that looks like it will interest them (presumably a fairly lengthy article, otherwise what's the point?), they use their device's PaperLater function to tag it. Those articles should be of the text-heavy print-media-like variety, as opposed to things like photo galleries.
Once users have set aside enough content to fill at least eight pages (or a maximum of 24), they instruct PaperLater to make them a physical newspaper. That paper will be printed up at Newspaper Club's facility on newsprint that's said to "look and feel like a proper newspaper," although it's a little thicker. It's made from a mix of recycled paper and sustainably-sourced wood fiber.
The one-of-a-kind newspaper should arrive within three to five working days. Each paper costs £4.99 (US$8.50) including delivery within the UK – that's the only region in which the service is available, for now.
And yes, users could just print up those same articles themselves, although then they'd simply end up with a stack of papers instead of an issue of their own li'l newspaper. You can see how one of the newspapers "flips" in the video below.
Source: PaperLater via Laughing Squid
