There once was a time when magazines only came in physical form. Today, however, due to the push of paperless environments, digital magazines are growing in popularity. Prior to this transformation to having everything online, individuals used to thumb through these glossy pages in the doctor's office, on a plain, or while sitting around passing time in the living room. However, a time has come that is making print publications a thing of the past. Many companies out there have included a digital edition to their arsenal of products and some have even gone 100% digital; either way, all companies are considering this new alternative to print. The yarn forward magazine is a great example of the technology, how it works and what the end product looks like.

One of the reasons that digital magazines are becoming so popular is due to the economy and the price for printing. Many publishers are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to survive without moving most of their media to the digital format. The reason for this is the expense of paper, printing, and distribution; because fewer people are spending money, fewer people are actually buying magazines. However, these same magazines that people once bought and loved to read are becoming available online in a digital format. These digital magazines cost a substantial amount less for subscriptions because the publisher does not have to pay for printing.

A stumbling block to this need to go digital is the fact that some people do not find it especially comfortable to read a magazine from their computer. However, many individuals either have a laptop or a media-friendly cell phone that make viewing digital magazines a bit more comfortable. Another newly developed technology that is helping this process along is the digital e-books offered by Amazon (Kindle) and Sony (Sony Reader Device).

A digital magazine does in fact have more benefits and features than a glossy. Today, many companies who have converted their magazines to a digital format have employed Flash technology to allow for more functionality. Many of these magazines offer interactivity, include hyperlinks to explore topics further, and include other technology components such as music, audio downloads, animations, movie clips, and even TV commercials. These added functions make a digital magazine more attractive to individuals who want to get more out of the reading experience.

Many magazine publishers are struggling to just stay alive and pay bills. The thought of converting to digital media for magazines has many worried about the cost to convert and the overall hit to sales because of the conversion. Magazines publishers are hard at work crunching numbers to see if this conversion will work and if it will be necessary to keep them in business. Publishers cannot just flip a switch and transform their business into a digital one. There are many factors involved in this conversion; the whole design of the magazine must be converted so that it keeps its flair, is easy to read and navigate, and contains all the same advertisements and articles that it did when it was in print. However, many pieces of software are available today to make this possible and sources say that they are very user-friendly. Also, technology has stayed current with the introduction of e-books to allow for readers that keep formats the same as they were in print.