A report by Sky News reveals how an artist has written software to convert the website’s 11.5 million entries into a print-friendly format. The printed version could be bought for £314,000.
Michael Mandiberg has updated various Wikipedia pages with approximately 2,000 updates solely from himself.
The entire 11GB file will be uploaded to print on Lulu.com which is expected to take a fortnight. Once this is done the collection will be available to purchase.
The final edition is thought to cover 7,600 volumes with the contents section covering 91 of these. Mr Mandiberg said:
“When I started, I wondered ‘what if I took this new thing and made it into that old thing’.”
Lulu.com vice president Dan Dillon told The New York Times:
“It’s not every day someone comes to you and says, ‘I’d like to make a printed inventory of the largest storehouse of human knowledge in English, and would like to use your website’.”
An exhibition on New York’s East Village will show the compressed file being uploaded online.
A spokesperson for Welsh-based Cambrian Printers released a statement following the news:
“It is quite remarkable that something like this is being done as well as being on sale for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
“We recognise how profitable and important printing services remain, despite being invented hundreds of years ago. A printing business can provide bespoke ways of improving your business through various methods, such as leaflet production, poster creation and much more.â€Â
