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Print’s Not Dead

By 08/10/2015December 2nd, 2015Full Fat Blog

Nowadays most things seem to be done digitally; email has replaced the written letter and a lot of people choose to receive their bank statements digitally so one would think that the printing industry would be dwindling, but it still has a lot of relevance in today’s economy. Even with this rise in the digital medium, physical prints are still very widely used.

Whilst there has been a gigantic shift towards the use of digital media for certain purposes such as catching up with the latest news and advertising for products and events, there are still a lot of reasons why one would make use of print, especially digital printing. For example, people still have a great fondness for printed books and many literature lovers will still pick physical books over eReading devices. As well as the tactile experience, there is a real sentimentality attached to books, photographs and programmes that cannot be replaced by a digital counterpart. Additionally, the older generations are far more likely to use printed, hard copies of things such as newspapers, letters and bank statements instead of a digital version, for example, if an older person was sent an email reminding them of an upcoming appointment they may not get the reminder as they are less likely to be in the habit of checking their emails, whereas you don’t need a prompt when a letter falls through your door.

Print Advertising is Still Effective and Widely Used

As well as this, there are some business purposes for physical print such as hard copies of contracts and legal forms. Likewise, many people still use business cards for social networking on a more personal, face-to-face level and boosting their own personal brand. Printed advertising such as leaflets and posters is still effective and widely used, especially as many people find Internet advertising annoying and intrusive.

In some ways, printing is evolving just as much as other technologies. For example, the recent invention of3D printing means that brand new, never before possible items can be created such as custom parts for vehicles, fake meat and even replacement parts for human organs. Also, combining traditional printing with innovations in technology means that better, clearer graphics can be printed and, therefore printed products have a greater impact. If you look at the greetings card industry it is worth noting that several large high street chains have downsized or gone into administration, but people are still sending thousands of cards for all kinds of occasions as they are using online shops such as Moonpig and Funky Pigeon instead to create a personalised greeting card that can be sent directly to their loved one.

Like any medium, there is a time and a place for both printed items and their digital counterparts and the chosen option will depend on availability, suitability and plain old personal preference. The unreliable, poor quality print of yesteryear is dying, but there are exciting new developments in print that mean that it is still very relevant and important for a whole manner of purposes.