Electronic Publications Versus Hard Copies (Essay Sample)

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Electronic publications refer to written information that can be stored digitally through DVDs, diskettes, portable document files, CD-ROMs or other online networks. Hardcopies, on the other hand, refer to printed versions of data stored in an electronic medium. The printout is displayed on a paper. These include books, journals, handouts, newspapers and magazines. With the increased technological advancements, there has been debates on whether hard copies still hold any importance. This essay seeks to compare and contrast electronic publications and hard copies.
Electronic publications are cheap to distribute compared to hard copies because of the magnitude of data that can be stored in electronic media. Modern disks and memory cards have high data storage capacity of dozens of gigabytes and this capacity is constantly growing. Distributing huge amount of data using hard copies would be tedious and expensive. Electronic publications would therefore reach a wide scope of audience within a short period of time. They are also friendlier for sight impaired persons as they can listen audio electronic publications. Multiple users can access and read electronic publications simultaneously. They are also easily portable compared to hard copies. This has enhanced speedy flow of information CITATION sea06 \l 1033 (seas.gwu.edu).
Furthermore, electronic publications do not deteriorate with age. Paper degrades with time and can be destroyed by fire or floods. Although these environmental factors can also affect electronic documents, typical backups are easier to store in electronic form than in paper form.Electonic publications are thus more secure than hard copies. However, they can be easily edited by several users. This may affect the originality of the publication. Hard copies are easy to destroy CITATION sea06 \l 1033 (seas.gwu.edu). Recovering paper documents that have been shredded or thrown away is impossible. Deleting an electronic copy eliminates only one copy and saves another in the trash bin.Deleted publications can thus be revived to their originals. Electronic publications are also easier to search since they are created and stored by electronic means. Storage of paper documents is tedious since files and shelves are required. It is therefore difficult to search a document stored in a paper file.
Electronic publications, however, require support of infrastructure that hard copies do not need. The huge volumes of data that can be stored and its complexity have necessitated many types of computers and other electronic devices to help overcome various difficulties associated with the huge data transfer. The infrastructure has led to the increased cost of production for electronic publications. Extra skills required for this production have further increased the production cost. Errors made in electronic publications are easy to correct as compared to those made in hard copies. Improvement of electronic do...