To a point you're correct, however modern synthetic inks and papers used in publishing - even the lowest grades - are still lightyears ahead of primitive mediums that it's not even a competition. We have early papyrus and wood pulp scrolls still because of the dry/arid environments these documents survived in, not because their quality is better. Out of the myriad books produced in the early middle ages we have, at best guess, less than 5%, because they were stored and maintained in a standard European climate. If we wanted a repository of knowledge to pass down through the ages, we'd create an uber library in Arizona, or digitally.
Slashdot Mirror
To a point you're correct, however modern synthetic inks and papers used in publishing - even the lowest grades - are still lightyears ahead of primitive mediums that it's not even a competition. We have early papyrus and wood pulp scrolls still because of the dry/arid environments these documents survived in, not because their quality is better. Out of the myriad books produced in the early middle ages we have, at best guess, less than 5%, because they were stored and maintained in a standard European climate. If we wanted a repository of knowledge to pass down through the ages, we'd create an uber library in Arizona, or digitally.
Yeah but, as of now, the output from a 3D printer is pretty fragile. Especially compared to a nice solid slab of granite.