This week is a special one here at Layar – it’s HTML Week! Over the next few days you’ll be introduced to the world of possibilities created by our recently released HTML widget for the Layar Creator.

The HTML widget lets you embed a frame of HTML on top of print content which anyone can then view by scanning the page with Layar. It opens up nearly endless possibilities for interactive print, and we’re going to show you just what you can do and even how to do it.

Each day for the rest of the week, we’ll be posting some great examples of how the HTML widget can help bring print to life in a whole new way. We’ll even share the plugins and tools we used to make it possible.

To kick things off, we’re introducing an entirely revamped LAYARED Magazine, which has been loaded with great HTML widget examples. It’s the same print magazine as before (with some updated stats) so if you have your own copy, just scan it again today to see all the new content. Don’t have your own copy? You can order one, download a PDF or view it online here!

Here’s a look at some of the examples from the new LAYARED that we’ll be going into more detail on this week.

• Full Mobile E-Commerce Experience
  Now you can provide a complete mobile shopping experience directly from the pages of a magazine! You can switch through various product options, add items to your cart and proceed to checkout.
• Fun Puzzles & Games
  Adding a bit of entertainment to your print is easier than ever, and it’s way better than a simple crossword or sudoku. We show a few quick examples of interactive games that can be easily built in the Creator.
• Interactive Lonely Planet Map
  This clickable interactive map shows you hotel and flight information for some of Lonely Planet’s hottest locations around the world. It’s an excellent example of how you can provide more info to readers in an engaging way.
• Layar Creator Step-by-Step Guide
  Our infographic spread showing the steps to using the Creator to launch a campaign comes alive with interactivity, taking you on a guided, click-by-click tour through each step.

Order your copy of LAYARED Magazine here, and stay tuned here on the blog this week to learn all about the power of HTML in interactive print!

Publishers Weekly (or PW as it is commonly known), a leading American weekly trade magazine aimed at publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary agents and more, has added interactive print from Layar to its pages.

Published since 1872, the magazine joins a growing list of industry publications – like Publishing Executive, which added Layar to its pages earlier this month – embracing Layar’s interactive print technology.

The trend is clear: the biggest names in the print industry think Layar’s interactive print is here to stay. Just take this headline from Publishers Weekly describing the interactive print content in the magazine: “Welcome to the future.”

“Publishers are looking for new technology like interactive print to connect with readers in different ways,” said PW publisher Cevin Bryerman. “Publishers Weekly is a leading publication for the book industry and discusses new technology trends, so we felt it was important to feature Layar’s interactive print.”

Scanning the cover of the most recent issue of Publishers Weekly, which features a young girl’s body health book, reveals an interview with the author and links to download an excerpt, meet the author and more. Give it a try yourself on the cover and these example pages.

“The Layar staff has ben awesome and responsive to our needs as clients,” added Bryerman when asked about PW’s experience with Layar and the Layar Creator. “We are looking forward to using Layar in editorial and advertising in the future.”

Layar has an extremely diverse community of developers creating augmented reality experiences of all shapes and sizes. To give you an idea of the different things that can be done on the Layar platform, we’ve put together a set of case studies featuring some truly unique examples.

Below are five case studies that show the flexibility and capabilities of the Layar platform and our outstanding community of developers. For each, click the “Case Study PDF” link to view the case study in full.

Layar Augmented Office - Case Study PDF
The Layar Augmented Office is an interactive 3D model that you can literally walk into and access information about the company, layer content, job openings and more.

streetARt - Case Study PDF
streetARt is an iPhone application that displays the public art, graffiti, tags and other forms of street art in your neighborhood. The third-party app uses the Layar Player to embed an Augmented Reality view, but it can also be viewed within the Layar app.

Exile on Your Street - Case Study PDF
Exile on Your Street is the official layer for The Rolling Stones, in promotion of the 2010 Exile on Main Street (Rarities Edition) album. Create and add posters in AR, listen to audio tracks, watch videos, purchase music on iTunes, and more.

The Invisible Artist - Case Study PDF
The Invisible Artist is a 3D Augmented Reality guide to 10 of London’s top contemporary art museums.

UAR - Case Study PDF
UAR (Urban Augmented Reality) displays images and 3D models of the past, future and “what might have been” for architecture in the Netherlands.

You can also find these case studies at any time on our Examples page.