Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to axe spending on school textbooks in California has inevitably provided the headline writers with some sport. The Daily Mail gives us "rise of the machines: Arnold Schwarzenegger terminates school books and tells pupils to go digital", while The Telegraph opted for "it's way too soon for Arnold Schwarzenegger to say hasta la vista for books".

Aside from the punning headlines, it was heartening to see the Guardian actually question any supposedly green credentials of the move, too.

This decision is anything but funny for book publishers and printers. Already there's speculation about how this will affect Pearson, with one analyst estimating it could mean a £50m hit for the publisher. Then there's the possible knock-on impact should others decide to follow Arnie's lead.

If this was a decision based upon online learning aids being vastly superior to the print and paper versions, then the printing and publishing industry would have to take it on the chin. But that's not the case, as Arnie is more interested in saving money than using the most appropriate tools for the job. Online resources have their place, but surely print and paper and online actually complement each other. Coincidentally I was talking to an academic chum about his textbooks the other week, and he was genuinely horrified at the prospect of life without them.

Hopefully as per PrintWeek's reader comments on our story there will be some fresh headline opportunities along the lines of "textbooks: they'll be back" in due course.