Printing Myths VS Reality
Print has been around for hundreds of years and over that time has become one of the biggest industries in the world. There have been many challengers over the years but through adaptation and evolution the print industry is still going strong.
In fact, one of prints biggest challenges has been the growth of digital platforms over the last 10 – 20 years. Many a time I have been told that print is dead, and OK things maybe a little more challenging than they have been in the past, but people still like to feel something physical in their hands. Whether that’s the latest book, magazine or marketing material, print is still relevant and continues to add value.
But despite prints’ refusal to die, I still hear that ‘print is dead’. This maybe the biggest myth surrounding print but it’s in no way the only one.
MYTH: Print can’t be personalised like digital channels
REALITY: With the rise of digital mediums this is another myth that I have heard quite a lot. But of course, print can be personalised, you probably see this every day when your post comes through the letterbox.
Thanks to variable printing, printed materials can be personalised (name, city, etc.) while keeping all other information such as logo and colour scheme the same. And this is just the start, other information and images etc can be changed on each piece thanks to digital printing to personalise the marketing material even more.
MYTH: Print Campaigns are Not Effective
REALITY: Well, they are effective. Yes, there are people who will respond to a digital message, but there are a huge number of people who will respond better to a physical printed message.
Printed materials hold a customer’s attention for longer, if the offer or service is of interest, they may keep it on their desk somewhere or pin it to their notice board. Email messages will tend to get forgotten in amongst the amount of emails people get every day. So, for a lot of people the printed message will be much more effective.
MYTH: Print is Bad for the Environment
REALITY: In the current climate Print gets a bad rep for its effect on the environment. However, the opposite is true. I will go into more depth on this in another article but a few of the points are as follows:
Forests used for paper production are growing. Paper comes from managed forests, so trees used in paper production are always replaced.
Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products
Most energy used in paper production is renewable and the industry has a very low carbon footprint
Paper is one of the most recycled products in the world
Electric communication also has environmental impacts
MYTH: Print and Digital Don’t Mix
REALITY: Businesses who wish to reach as many customers as they can will need to use a good integrated marketing campaign using both digital and print. As mentioned above their will always be a mix of people who prefer the different mediums and some who will respond to both. So, a campaign built around some printed literature with some social media or other on-line messages will enable the message to be seen by as many people as possible.
MYTH: Print is a Very Limited platform
REALITY: This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are so many options out there these days from the vast amount of paper options to the different finishing options which can all make your finished print product more engaging not just to look at but with also to the touch.
And with technology such as Augmented Reality and QR codes to name a couple of options, again show how print and technology can be used to great effect.
MYTH: Print is Only Affordable in Large Runs
REALITY: This is another example of how print has evolved over the years. Digital print is now an essential addition to the mix. The quality has improved so much over the last 10 years or so that some digital presses are now giving almost litho quality results.
This means that Short Run Digital print is now an excellent low volume print option while keeping costs competitive.
You may have heard these print myths before, but I hope now I have put some of those to rest. And here’s another reality: according to a recent survey, nearly 90% of consumers say they want to receive print marketing collateral related to promotions and sales.
So Print is definitely not Dead.