By Lauretta Roberts
Mixed messages about the future of the printed book emerged from the industry's annual fair in Frankfurt last week.


Around a quarter of the 7,000 exhibitors at the fair came from the electronic media sector, and many of them confidently declared that the days of the traditional book were numbered.


"I can't see we'll be cutting down trees in 20 years," Microsoft head researcher of e-books Bill Hill told the Financial Times.


Microsoft is investing heavily in screen technology to advance mass uptake of the e-book. So far sales of these devices from manufacturers Softbook and Nuovomedia have yet to hit the 100,000 mark.


Experts say factors such as low screen resolutions, fragility of liquid crystal displays and the weight of the batteries all need to be addressed before sales will rise significantly.


But others maintain that the e-book will remain a niche product. "Globally almost 1m book titles are published in print each year and, despite the big technology firms behind e-books, there aren't 1,000 titles published in that format yet," said Oliver Bond, director of online book production resource Dotgain.


"The effect on the book production industry is negligible. Will it stay that way? Probably."
Story by Lauretta Roberts