Paper’s not dead yet.

Just when we all thought ink on paper was dead, we are now seeing the wood pulp protagonist make a comeback by trying to compete in the interactive world. Here are a few examples:

American Greetings is adding a flavor strip, similar to those in breath mints to their cards so you can taste the vanilla cupcake image on the greeting card. Check out these links:

Racked.com & CNN.com

If you want to make your own flavor strip, contact these guys. We’d be happy to design the packaging for you!

A Company called Scentisphere makes a new and improved scratch-and-sniff material that prints like a conventional varnish. Unlike the old stuff, the Scentisphere material can be printed inline on the printing press, at a much lower cost than before. An entire page can be covered with microscopic capsules containing a scented liquid whose aroma can be released by rubbing the paper. This image shows the tiny white fragrance specks. The colored dots are the ink.

You can use your own fragrance or use one of the many Scentisphere has available. In addition to vanilla, cinnamon and the other standard fragrances, they offer Bacon, Dill Pickle, Stinky Cheese, Suntan Lotion, and Marijuana. Just sayin’.

Not impressed? How about light emitting diodes printed on paper? That’s coming. New technology for printing video displays on paper are in the works. One Sweedish company, Acreo, is working on it, along with others, so stay tuned. Because paper is staging a comeback!