Print magazine Esquire's September issue will have an e-ink front cover. Esquire first thought of the idea eight years ago, but the technology was at this stage below standard. The same company that invented the tech used in Amazon's Kindle device - E Ink - is enabling this project.

The price is exhorbitant and Ford has been brought in as a "sponsor": A moving car ad will appear on the inside cover. Esquire have designed a battery (a "six-figure investment") that was small enough to fit into a magazine and the magazine running for 90 days.

The New York Times reports that the assembly line is as follows: the batteries and covers are assembled in China and shipped to Mexico via Texas where they are then hand assembled. The magazines will then be distributed in refrigerated trucks to keep the batteries fresh. 100,000 of the total 720,000 print run will be assembled by hand.

According to Charlie Sorrel at Wired.com: "It looks like it will have more in common with the early web: Think flashing text rather than Flash animation."

Source: Wired.com from IFRA Executive News Service