Newspaper & Mailroom

NRC Handelsblad: the First Dutch Newspaper on Electronic Paper

Friday 07. March 2008 - As from today, NRC Handelsblad will be the first Dutch newspaper to also be published daily on electronic paper. The entire newspaper, including all sections and supplements, is now available on ePaper at all locations (in the Netherlands and abroad) and at any time of day to subscribers who have an iLiad eReader.

“We are always looking for new ways to circulate our journalistic content”, says NRC Handelsblad editor-in-chief Birgit Donker. “In 1995, NRC Handelsblad was the first national Dutch newspaper with its own website, and now we’re the first one to use ePaper. In this way we continue to boost our image as an innovative and progressive newspaper.”

“More and more eReaders are coming on the market. Although their main use at the moment is for reading books, they also provide a good, flexible and above all a mobile solution for reading newspapers,” says NRC Handelsblad director and publisher Gert Jan Oelderik. “The introduction of our ePaper subscription means we can gain experience in the digital release of our content; currently via the iLiad and before too long with a wide range of eReader-type tools.”

NRC readers will have a significant part to play in how the ePaper evolves further. They can use the readers’ forum to give comments and feedback on any alterations they would like to see made. NRC will be introducing more new options in any case, and anticipates that a number of updates can shortly be downloaded so that readers can follow the latest news even more closely.

For this introduction, NRC Handelsblad has chosen to use the eReader designed by the Dutch company iRex Technologies: the iLiad. This device uses the very latest e-ink display technology which enables people to read digital books, newspapers and other documents as if they were printed on paper.

NRC Handelsblad is offering the ePaper in combination with the iLiad for EUR 699. Existing subscribers can receive the ePaper free of charge; they can order the iLiad for the exclusive price of EUR 499.