16 Comments

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  No, print is not dead. However, misusing print in a wrong communication channel will usually result in inefficiencies.
  There was a greater need for print back before everyone could get the news from their phones and from the internet in general. But using print to convey current events or anything that could change quickly is just foolish. We now have other methods for such information exchanges.
  Print will continue to be useful (even valuable) in marketing scenarios that look to influence people’s decisions: read as convince you to buy, do, seek, want, trust, etc.
  There is a known psychological benefit to touch; this is why clever designers understand paper finishes, textures and weights. Print lingers, it remains in sight until you either look away or (horrors) throw it away.
  Print is very successful at combining both tactile and visual sensory to affect human emotions. Would you like to test this? Choose a photograph of any family member or anything you cherish, and shred it. How does that feel?
  I do not blame Kate for complaining about the wasted stack of books. Although I wonder if she is also as passionate about people whom eat soup with knives or use screwdrivers as prying devices (or teeth as scissors, etc.)?
  P.S. Someone should remind Kate that paper products are a commodity in the industrialized nations, and if the demand for paper disappears, large-scale planting of trees (sustainability) will stop. I’m just saying…

  07 Feb 2012 11:02 pm Joseph Castenando

  
  

  (Twitter: @@JCastenando)

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  I have a copy of DesignEdge, a Canadian design magazine with a die-cut maple leaf on the front cover. I have run my fingers through it, playfully held it to my face and used it like a mask, and put it in front of my iPhone to take some pictures.

  Until digital devices can allow me to do all that, then I’d consider print is dead.

  08 Feb 2012 04:02 am ‘Segun

  
  

  (Twitter: @segunolude)

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  I don’t think print is dead at all, however I feel that its purpose has massively changed. I could go as far as saying that it’s become more important, however that’s very subjective.

  Something on the web can be viewed and then forgotten about minutes later, whereas something physical will be with you until you either throw it away, store it, or perhaps even display it. The point is that you’ll remember it. For example, if a piece of print (such as a flyer/business card) is used in conjunction with a website, people will form a much better image of the ‘brand’ in question. Rather than having to go to the trouble of bookmarking their page in their browser, they’ll have a piece of print to remind them to serve as a physical reminder. On the other hand, publications created to be searched such as the Yellow Pages will eventually phase out. Their content is more easily viewed/searched via the web.

  Print is a very powerful tool if it’s used in conjunction with the web, it generates a very strong brand image. I don’t feel that books will ever be threatened as everybody loves the tactile feel & the smell of a new book, the same goes for magazines & newspapers, although with the rise of tablet devices these could be threatened.

  08 Feb 2012 05:02 am Carl Fairclough

  
  

  (Twitter: @thisgreatdivide)

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  It’s not Dead, it’s just matured.

  08 Feb 2012 08:02 am Gareth Coxon

  
  

  (Twitter: @@GarethDotDesign)

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  For me print is not dead, my artwork depends on it as I collage loads of stuff with my images, also I hate reading magazines on line, theres nothing better than a thick glossy magazine. As far as phone books, apart from using some pages in art work, ours doesnt get used at all, Id actually hate them to dissapear though, Ill maybe start collecting them and build some huge installation peice hmm! Im feeling inspired!!

  08 Feb 2012 10:02 am Sharon woods

  
  

  (Twitter: @sharonlwoods)

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  It’s not. Admittedly, there are a lot that don’t need to be printed today as much as before but I agree, there remains the allure of something we can see, touch and even smell. Much as I love my Kindle, it can’t beat the feel and smell of a real book. I can view a magazine on a screen but I’d rather be holding one. There may be a stack of unclaimed phone books but that doesn’t mean no one needs them anymore. Just print less books or perhaps on-demand. I’m thankful for digital media but I wouldn’t want print dying.

  08 Feb 2012 10:02 am Grace Oris

  
  

  (Twitter: @GraceOris)

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  No. Print isn’t dead and probably won’t ever be. In terms of communication of course it makes sense to keep thing currently updated via digital – but print is valuable and will always have it’s place.

  Both the printing process and designing for print go way beyond ink and paper – weights and stock etc play a huge role in connecting with people whilst they ‘experience’ printed material.

  ..and sometimes print can just look really mint!

  08 Feb 2012 10:02 am Sonny

  
  

  (Twitter: @@sonnylooms)

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  I don’t think print is dead, it just doesn’t have the same place in the world as it did 5-10 years ago. I think print has its place in things like business cards, restaurant menus, pads, packaging etc. I can’t see business cards making an exit any time soon.

  When it comes to Marketing however – the story is very different, flyers are being replaced by emails, and so on… Another good example is the London Underground now, they’ve got projectors in the platforms and TV screens in the escalators instead of posters, rotating different ads. Things are slowly converting to be digitally displayed. Eventually I see (and I think most people do) even more things going this way, whether it’s good, bad or we even agree with it, change is happening slowly but surely – who knows where we’re going

  08 Feb 2012 11:02 am Todd Motto

  
  

  (Twitter: @toddmotto)

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  I think print for prints sake is certainly declining (yellow pages, the prime example), however i think well designed well printed and well targeted print is still the number one way to market and engage the masses.

  08 Feb 2012 12:02 pm Michael smith

  
  

  (Twitter: @@leedsprintingco)

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  I don’t think print will ever die. There is something emotive about picking up a vinyl sleeve or holding a book or magazine in your hands or the smell of a new book (ok maybe that last one might be just me).

  Personally I agree with Marshall McLuhan when coined the phrase medium is the message. But with more advanced digital technologies in the future perhaps print might become more of an art piece that is more about aesthetics and less about the content.

  Whilst at university I did a project on this subject called ‘Print is Alive’ using screen printed Ultra Violet and Thermochromic inks. You can check it out here – http://www.danielconnal.com/?projects=print-is-alive

  08 Feb 2012 01:02 pm Daniel Connal

  
  

  (Twitter: @@danconnal)

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  Print is not dead, in fact Id say in many ways there has been a ‘re-birth’ of print design. I am starting my own letterpress company and have found that there is a widespread appreciation for the art. I think that print has a higher value now actually since there is digital media every where. Id say that print, and specifically letterpress, has a mystical or nostalgic quality to it that intrigues people. However with all the attention of the green movement I believe that using printed materials wisely is best… for most business operations its almost just as feasible to have pdfs instead of a stack of printed documents. Digital and print coexist and compliment each other.

  08 Feb 2012 02:02 pm A. Cavazos

  
  

  (Twitter: @@inkandaprons)

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  [Sad but true:] Print is not dead while governments and doctors’ offices exist.

  08 Feb 2012 02:02 pm fjpoblam

  
  

  (Twitter: @Twitter)

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  Joseph → You raise some fair issues here. I especially like what you stated about print ‘lingering’; that’s very true. The large-scale planting of trees is another fair point to be made.

  ‘Segun → Yeah, I love die-cut stuff too. I doubt that any digital device could ever simulate this, unless someone invents the Matrix, that is! I love paper sample books, and this is something the digital realm cannot replicate.

  Carl → I agree with what you’re saying; I think there is a powerful bond that is created when web and print are used in unison, and there is a continuing and even growing need for this. The business card & website example you gave is pretty accurate.

  Gareth → That’s a good way of putting it.

  Sharon → Let my know when the print-monument is complete!

  Sonny → I saw the London Underground quite recently when I visited friends. They work far better than print, but like you say, some forms of print will be replaced by digital forms along the way. However, I reckon new ways of printing will find their way out too. I’m still waiting for my “Minority Report” styled-newspaper.

  Michael → Good point. I always keep business cards, but as for web-browser bookmarks, they eventually get deleted.

  Daniel → Wow, that’s a pretty cool piece of work. I must admit, I’ve never used Ultra Violet or Thermochromic inks, so it’s great to see them in action, as it were.

  To sum up what you and other have said, I think its fair to say that “print will not die”. It will just evolve and be an accompaniment to digital media.

  Thanks everyone for contributing to this post.

  08 Feb 2012 08:02 pm Andrew Kelsall

  
  

  (Twitter: @AndrewKelsall)

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  I don’t think it’s dead.

  Certainly in this region of the world, where internet and the web are only just picking up, print media is still the best way to reach possible customers.

  I would also like to add that if you take into account 3D printing, then print is certainly far from dead. In fact The Pirate Bay has just launched a new section on their website under “Other > Physibles” for “Data objects that are able (and feasible) to become physical” – i.e. 3D creations that will in the future be printed using 3D printers. I don’t think on the world’s most viewed websites would create such a section on their site if they didn’t think it might be the future of print.

  10 Feb 2012 02:02 am Niall

  
  

  (Twitter: @niallm1)

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  It’s interesting, I was just having a discussion about the yellow pages a couple weeks ago. I run a small family owned print shop and for years my dad has chosen to run several ads in the book costing thousands each year. I finally put the hammer down on it this year and said No Way. We’ve always surveyed customers to find out how they heard about us, and as it turns out we only get a handful of calls each year from the book. That being said, I feel that when the term “print is dead” is used, its generally a false statement. Print has been generalized as mass media publications such as newspaper, phone books and magazines which by all accounts is only a small portion of ‘Print’. Newspaper, phone books and magazines are a dying breed for sure but that isn’t to say that cross media promotion via print is dead. Print consumers are becoming smarter about what is being printed and they are making sure that it does have more value than ever.

  11 Feb 2012 08:02 am Brett

  
  

  (Twitter: @@makemecards)

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  Oh, this Yellow Pages thing is so accurate. I don’t know why they still print the amount of books they do, especially when the residential volume is no longer even available in print form – it comes on a CD! (Which you collect together with the “Buying Guide” which is still a book. And yet, there’s also a CD for that if you want!)

  The last time I was posted a letter to go collect my YP books, I didn’t even bother.

  22 Feb 2012 06:02 pm Am

  
  

  (Twitter: @http://twitter.com/heyammy)

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