This new style of manufacturing is great, but I wish I were more excited for it. While some books certainly require no presentation, I really like a solid book with a good, unique design and typography.
That being said, I'm very excited to see how it will improve education in the developing world. I see it being used mainly for highly specialized texts (like that one $7,000 book on Amazon), whereas projects like OLPC and devices like the Kindle will provice access to mainstream works and current events. You can't help but feel that paper's going to be gone soon though...
I don't see why the machine couldn't/wouldn't store print-ready pages and it looks like it is capable of printing a 4-color cover. You may lose some quality in the actual materials and the book will likely be limited to one size but the fonts, kerning, page margins, etc. can all be controlled by the publisher.
That being said, I'm very excited to see how it will improve education in the developing world. I see it being used mainly for highly specialized texts (like that one $7,000 book on Amazon), whereas projects like OLPC and devices like the Kindle will provice access to mainstream works and current events. You can't help but feel that paper's going to be gone soon though...