E-Devices: Print’s Frenemy

"The e-reader has grown the overall share of the pie," Freschi says. "It has taken away some print, but I don't think it's a 1:1 correlation. Saying it's additive might be a bit Pollyannaish, but e-readers are not cannibalizing print anywhere near the extent some people might think."

One segment of the book industry that has the potential to lose significant printing share is education, particularly in the high school and collegiate sectors. Frank Romano, professor emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), notes that a number of universities are already giving out computers to incoming students, and some (including RIT) distribute course materials via PDFs and other digital formats. In fact, says Romano, every RIT class has an online component—reading materials, tests, videos—and, increasingly, the paper/book aspect is shrinking.