Physical dark mode

Books with white pages don't emit light, a screen with white backgrounds does

It's like staring into a lamp.
- It literally is.
- Stare into the lamp and it'll stare back
  Edit: also, u crazy, its just a lamp! —Ikea guy
Yep. And a soft, warm desk lamp is a lot easier in a dark room that a bright white one.
I've been reading a dark mode book on an OLED screen and it's such a treat. The background is pitch black but I crank the brightness up so there is a high contrast and the white letters look really sharp. It actually makes it easier to read
Unless it's an e-ink screen... then, it doesn't emit light
- And these also don't need a dark mode.
They do reflect it, though...
- As someone with sensory issues, absolutely they do. I used to struggle so hard in school when I was supposed to stare at white paper in a well-lit room. I'm not sure if most people notice just how fucking bright paper can be xD
- That's it, downvote the guy even though he is right: https://www.pa.uky.edu/~sciworks/light/preview/color4aa.htm#:~:text=White%20objects%20look%20white%20because,wavelengths%3B%20the%20rest%20they%20absorb.
Not with that attitude.
Plus doing dark mode with a physical book requires a crap ton of ink - it would be very wasteful.
Everything refects lights, that's how our eyes see!
- emit ≠ reflect

White paper and black text is the norm because until relatively recently, it was much more cost effective... This could be done cheaply with modern tech, and should 100% be a thing...

I'd buy the hell out of dark mode books.

That question was just as stupid as that "you wouldn't download a car" ad. Hell yeah, I would! And read dark mode books!
- At this point I can’t even remember what was actually in that ad and what was in the IT Crowd bit and memes making fun of it.
The image is from this website: https://www.monochromebooks.com
- Limited edition of 999 hand-numbered copies
  But I want it!
I was going to say "but that uses dye" and then I realized we use a bunch of chemicals to bleach pages white anyway.
Though, you'd imagine that they would essentially need to bleach the pages then dye it...
It wouldn't be great to start requiring more resources to create pages.
- Bleaching is to mainly remove tannins, to make the paper white, and to stay white over time. It also makes the paper better able to absorb and retain ink. You don't need any of those properties if you're printing in white, because you can't use absorbent type ink in something like this, it won't show well. You could dye in lieu of bleaching (and this might be cheaper actually).
  Printing the text is the challenge. The ink has to be on the paper instead of in the paper... The methods required to do that and come up with a quality product have existed for a very long time, but they'd be methods used to create high end things like wedding invitations and greeting cards and not bulk products like books. I believe the first tech that could do this economically at scale was the photocopier (maybe mimeograph?), which basically melts plastic onto the surface, and could apply clear white text onto black paper as easily as black on white.
  I would imagine though, that the tech that could do this in the most economically viable way, would be to ablate the text in with lasers, similar to thermal printing. That would actually reduce the consumables used, maybe even by a lot. likely would overall entail much less hazardous/caustic consumables too... Dark mode printing could possibly be incredibly "green" :)
Buy an ebook reader and you can do it today.

Books don't light up. They reflect light, but it's different. Light mode is like staring into a flashlight, almost literally.

I prefer light mode in light environments and dark mode in dark environments. I find it's easiest on my eyes when the background of the text matches the room ambience. (of course this has to be paired with matching screen brightness)
- Yeah, light mode is great for when you're outdoors.
  Only then.
- Poor contrast is what kills your eyes. You should adapt your screen to your environment.
  Problem is, not many screens can compete with the of light of a sunlit room for daytime viewing. That makes dark (text) on dim (background) on light (environment) very rough. Even for daytime viewing light (text) on dark (background) on light (environment) can feel better.
  But dark (text) on (light) background on light (environment) is excellent if you can accomplish it, since it's only single step of high contrast because your monitor blends into the environment.
However I bet you could make a book with ink that glowed.

Remember that in the beginning of computer era there was no dark mode, it was just called a display:

Heyyyy! I have one of those. Still works. https://imgur.com/gallery/0GVWgMQ
- To really prove it you should type your username on it.
- That thing is awesome!
"cumputer" Hmmm... I'm not sure if that's just misspelled, or some clever reference that I've missed.
- Just typo. But certanly is funny one.
Pepperidge Farm remembers

Books use the color scheme they do because it's cheaper to print black ink on white paper than white ink on black paper. Digital displays don't have that limitation.

Except OLED. It's better for OLED to show white text on black background.
- Every software needs a "just turn off the pixels that aren't displaying anything" mode for OLED. Way too many "dark modes" are just dark grey which still keeps the background pixels powered.
- Is it though? Wouldn't that cause a burn in faster?
How about we really break the bank and just print an entire black page on white paper.
- In all seriousness that's not usable because the ink will have a tendency to bleed and fill the voids that make up the letters.
Explain eink screens

I mean if I could I would. Also books do not emit light that burns my retinas so... moot point

Fun fact: kindle has a dark mode
- Most ereaders have I reckon as it's rather easy to implement. My Tolino/Kobo also does, although, I don't really see the point with e-ink displays
- I use it exclusively 😅

Imagine the cost of all that black ink.

Black paper and white ink.
- But how do you make the paper black

Lol seriously though, I’ve had so many people look at my phone and are like “JESUS YOU USE LIGHT MODE”

Like it fucking matters what I use lol

There's a comp sci student I try to help but his entire ide is in light mode. He uses a macbook with full brightness on and it physically hurts my eyes. I use a Thinkpad with half brightness, night mode on, and dark mode everything.
- Maybe his eyes are bad. I have astigmatism and especially the combination light text on dark background at low brightness is hard to read for me, because the letters "bleed out" (think like streetlights through a foggy window).
- I've liked light mode on a few things in the past, but dark mode feels so much easier on the eyes.
- Yes but people say this to me about my phone
- Could this be me…?
- That's me: I use a MBP, light mode (#ffffff) everything + Lunar for "overdriving" the XDR display brightness. Dunno why but I like it
JESUS YOU USE LIGHT MODE
- Yes, my child.
From an objective point of view, if your phone has an OLED screen, it uses less energy to emit less light. So in that case, dark mode can matter in that it'll save battery life.
That said, I'm seeing a lot of aesthetical defense.
- It also makes it harder to read the screen when its bright outside
How many puppy stragglings are you up to this year, buddy?
It’s just easier to read light on dark, for so many. According to this, I should find light mode more accessible; but for myself and my legally blind friend, we find light on dark much easier to read and navigate.
- Not all dark modes are created equal. Some dark modes use a color theme that is illegible for people with color blindness. Many dark modes don't have enough contrast for the legally blind. Now, properly well designed dark themes with accessibility in mind will be more readable. But for some people with certain forms of blindness, black letters over white are more readable than what some apps and webpages implement as a dark mode.
Automatic dark mode/night shift is the way to go, change my mind.
It depends on the context, but I often prefer light mode with screen brightness set to very low. Easy on the eyes. Never experience the shock of going from a dark page to a bright page. Bonus is that battery is rarely an issue for me (usually 80% remaining on normal days).
I have a theory that people who complain about light mode haven’t figured it’s possible to just reduce the screen brightness.
- I like bright white text on a black background
I can't handle dark mode on most screens especially in daytime. It strains my eyes trying to read light text in dark background, even more so when there's ambient light. I prefer a solarised light mode for IDEs, with anything else I make do. I've spent hours trying to find a usable dark theme for VS Code, and I've always ended up going back to light.
I only like dark themes, but on a phone they suck in the sun, so from time to time I switch it up just to see.

Yall ain't ready for Bible 2.0: Back in Black

we already have bible black

Imagine reading black text on white background, but the background emits light.

I WANTS BOOKS LIKE THAT!!!

Can I have 1984 is all dark pages?

Dune, Handmaid's Tale, Silmarillion, so many books would look epic like this.
- The Gallic wars by Julius Caesar would also be great with it.

I would pay double the hard cover cost for a book like this

Damn. This is effective advertising if it is. I ended up googling it. This book costs $90 :(

Kindle e-readers come with a night mode, which I use regularly and it doesn't look too different from this. Very useful when reading at night next to your partner

Came here to say the same thing. We use it nightly.
- I’m try ing to put the internet down, to pick up the Kindle now, in dark mode

I would read that book. I also would download a car. The thing stopping me is the possibility.

Because books reflect light while screens generate light so white paper doesn't cause the same eye strain as a bright white screen.

That's not accurate. The eyestrain comes from staring at the same thing for too long without your eyes refocusing every now and again. On top of that people stop blinking as much as they should. You get just as much eyestrain from reading books as you get from staring at a dark or white screen if everything else stays the same (time you stare, how much you blink).

Well now I will.

Just because I prefer dark mode at night I'm now a light mode hater?

What's wrong with wanting choices? It's not a zero sum game, when I like one thing I don't automatically hate the other. I use dark mode at night and light during the day. Also because screens these days are optimized much more for top business than bottom brightness (reviews always scream about 1400 nits screens but never about ones that can do <1 nit at night while retaining full colour depth!)

And when I have a different preference to someone else they immediately take this as a personal offense. Even with brands, the fanbois are so toxic these days if you have the slightest criticism about their beloved brand. Well, nothing is perfect.

Society is so polarised now. I hate that more than anything.

Team sports mindset is seriously a disease.
- True, I'm very very positively not a team player (which gets me in trouble at work sometimes because they want everyone to be a good corporate boi) and have no brand loyalty etc.
  I just don't really get the "us versus them" mindset.
It really is scary to think of how much suffering in the world ultimately comes down to “you prefer something other than what I prefer, and my decisions make total sense to me, therefore there must be something fucking wrong with you, you…. you OTHER!” That, and the implied bundling of opinions that you get because of things like political parties.
I absolutely love OLED-style dark themes with white text on a pure black background, day or night. When I grab my wife’s phone for something the light mode looks strange to me because I am so used to dark mode, but to think that’s bad is silly.
I agree that good picture quality at very low brightness is very important, but for light-emitting screens the capacity for high max brightness is a practical usability need for some outdoor settings.
- Yes high max brightness is important. But low min brightness is too. The problem is that reviewers and spec sheets emphasize the former and not the latter. So manufacturers often disregard the latter as improving it doesn't translate to better sales. Some even use terrible PWM.

Okay where does one aquire The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius printed on black paper because that'd be a great coffee table book.

That should be the one. https://www.monochromebooks.com/
But Marcus Aurelius is all sold out. And it costs 80$ :(
- It seems you can't be a stoic holding these sweet dirty banknotes.

First up that's a ligit nice looking book. Secondly the difference between a physical book and a screen is the book isn't glowing and reading a white page on a screen is like reading stencil cut outs that are in front of a spot light.

A while back, I actually got absolutely wrecked by a bunch of kids who took offense to me saying I didn’t like dark mode in apps. Like, they downvoted everything I had to say on it regardless of my saying that I had nothing against dark mode.

Polarization is just part of life now. You either love things or you hate things.

People sure can be tribalistic about anything.
- No they cannot, fuck you!
I don't think this is anything new.
My generation learned to be indifferent about everything.
Excuse me while I visit your profile page.
- It was my main account, not this one. And roughly 3-4 months ago.
I use discord light mode precisely because it triggers people. About 8 years now and I've lost count of how many people have taken issue, it's great.

Epson corporation is salivating so hard right now they have put up a slippery when wet warning cone on the floor.

That's not saliva...

But now I want one book that looks like that at least lol.

I had a journal in high school that was all black, with black pages and came with a silver pen to contrast with the black. Sickest journal I ever had.

That’s cause they don’t sell them this way

I imagine white ink that's actually opaque enough to stand out against black paper is more expensive than garden variety black ink. Not to mention the extra step of having to dye the paper black.

My kindle is set to dark mode... so yes.

Black on white is better for reflected light, white on black is better for direct light.

So best go with an ereader that can do both. They're honestly fantastic for anyone who likes to read a lot.
- Yeah, much easier on the eyes provided it's an e-paper display; the only way I'm aware of to get reflected light on a digital display.

Book goes hard

My niece has a form of dyslexia, these types of books are easier for her to read.

This is how I read digitally ¯(ツ)/¯

I'm doing it right now!
- Me too!

It's about light emitted, I'm fine with with paper, not with white light blasted to my face.

Aint no way this is about my boy Marcus. Bout to find me this book for my shelf.

Edit: found it. Here ya go lads, dark mode books.

That's what we used to use to prevent game piracy.

Good luck photocopying glossy black ink on a matt black background.

I would if I could. Although I have never seen a physical black page with white letters so perhaps it would be more difficult to read, who knows

More difficult to manufacture, more likely.
- Yeah, we dont really have much white ink nor black pages to make a proper book sale

books don't fucking glow alright?

Yes, and I only read from OLED.

That is indeed pretty sick. For some reason it reminds me of that book that you can buy pre-destroyed, Bats Of The Republic maybe?

Fyi There's some physical conditions that restricts people to look at black on white screen

I only use dark mode in my sync app and text messaging app. Everything else is light mode. I can't stand my browser in dark mode.

The only problem would be it would be difficult to annotate your books in the margins if you are somebody who likes to do that.

get a white pen?
- That is true, but it seems like a waste to get white pens specifically to annotate books with dark colored papers if I'm not going to use them for anything else. It's more clutter too.
If you want to annotate, get the eBook.

That's what I thought 1948 would look like on the inside.

Imagine owning a book. You know you can own words digitally now right? No need to cut down trees. Are we acting like paper is green now? Have we compared the amount of energy it takes to create a book in all its forms? It may be more entertaining to make a paper airplane, but digital airplanes last forever. So long as you renew your PaperAir 3d+ subscription monthly for $3.99. Maybe that's a bad analogy. Have you thought about using audible and closing your eyes? Ultimate dark mode. Have you tried to read a book while wiping your ass? For the disabled this can spell disaster. Agatha Christie may be to blame for death of countless fictional debutants, but what if she killed in real life as well? What if she killed in the future? It's the perfect crime. Potentially killing thousands of people just trying to clean their bottoms while holding onto the murder weapon, which is her own words. Have we talked about ink color yet? Well I forgot why that was important. All I know is Agatha needs to pay for her modern sins. I say we sue her estate for all its worth. Maybe then the dark and the light readers can all get along.

Was this fun to read? Probably not, but was it fun to write? You'll have to ask Agatha about that.

Agatha has not returned any requests for comment.