Thursday, February 18, 2016 10:15 am

SUSSEX, Wis. -- Select copies of the 2016 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue contain the Quad Virtual Reality headset from Quad/Graphics, which provides an all-access viewing experience of the magazine's first-ever virtual reality videos.

The Sussex-based global provider of print and marketing services announced Wednesday that the QVR Viewer appears in about 500,000 special newsstand versions of the swimsuit issue.

"Publishers are looking for new and innovative ways to connect more with their readership," said Joel Quadracci, chairman, president & CEO of Quad/Graphics, in a statement. "The QVR Viewer allows them to provide enhanced digital experiences that complement and extend their brand, or advertisers' brands, beyond traditional print or digital content."

According to the announcement, Quad's foldable headset is less expensive, lighter, thinner and more flexible than more widely known units such as Google Cardboard. Advertisers are able to brand and print four-color process on the unit's outer shell. The viewers can be bound or stitched into magazines or catalogs, onserted into paper or polywrap, placed in a carton or distributed as a stand-alone piece.

Sports Illustrated readers can download the SI Swim 2016 app, place their smartphones into the QVR Viewer and launch the app.

"Compared to other paper viewers, the QVR Viewer is an economical way to reach readers and consumers with a fully branded gateway to digital content," Quadracci said.