Since 1955, the World Press Photo Awards has honoured the world´s best photojournalism. Thanks to these pictures, we’ve captured some of the most important moments happening all over the world. But we could only catch the impressive moments, not the full stories. That´s why World Press Photo started a unique project: 2015 World Press Photo Speaking Images - the first book, where every single photo will be able to literally speak.

Through an innovative and patented print process, developed in the last 7 years in conjunction with the Chemnitz University of Technology, each printed image is also a fully printed loudspeaker. As soon as the page is turned, a sound is emitted by the loudspeaker, which covers the entire surface. The sound stops when turning to the next page.

The sound is transmitted from a sheet of paper, due to polymers - special materials that transform the electric sound signal into vibrations and sound pressure. The special polymer is sandwiched between two polymeric electrodes. When receiving current, the material creates an oscillation that moves across the paper surface and is transmitted as sound. The printed loudspeaker is incorporated into the printed image. In the spine of the book, we placed a chip with sound files, circuits for sensor detection and an amplifier to improve the sound quality. During the binding process, the electronic components are connected to the loudspeakers, triggering a sound each time you turn the page.

With more than 300 Articles within the first five days and a reach of 16 million people in unpaid media - the World Press Photo Speaking Images attracted high attention – including well-known publications such as Focus, Bild, mdr, RTL Aktuell, Wired, Page and Wissenschaft24 – since it did not only show the best images of the year, but also the stories behind them in a never-before-seen-and-heard way. Plus, the idea contributed to the development of a new technology, which is the next step in the history of print technique.