Purchasing print is a challenge for those who do not fully understand the production process; often suppliers are retained for long periods without the checks and balances required to ensure value for money.
Printed matter divides into various categories, many of which may be considered business or time critical. The evolution of digital print production has created an incredible reduction in pre-production timelines. Clients now often expect their print providers to react within hours of a brief and often a lack of understanding about the difference between digital and litho operations can cause issues with deadlines.
Quality, flexibility and reliability are often perceived as the key factors when clients are reliant on their print providers to deliver on-time, of course keeping to the budget is as important although very often this may need to be flexed to suit stretched creative deadlines.
When marketing your business, using a range of routes to market is extremely important and print is still very important to many. Finding the right balance between various media channels will ensure a steady revenue flow, an increase in sales and access to new customers.
Since the rapid surge of the Internet and social media, the marketing world asked the question ‘Is print finished?’ While many businesses have completely migrated their advertising efforts to the web because of its cost effectiveness, exposure potential and convenience, print still maintains its stance as a powerful and necessary component of any marketing campaign. Consider some advantages that print media has over its digital counterparts.
Tangibility
A printed piece is a physical thing. Magazines and newspapers can stay in houses or offices for months or years, whereas internet ads disappear instantly. Most digital emails and ads are ignored or deleted, but a printed item through the letter box (even if they know it is an advert for something they don’t want) will at least be looked at and the headline read. If it takes 10 seconds to get to the recycle bin to throw it away, that is 10 seconds longer than the equivalent email!
Credibility
There is something about print that gives a sense of legitimacy. The saturation of pop-ups and banner ads on the web can be overwhelming and the fear of spam and viruses is enough to make people weary of clicking. There is no imminent danger in a print ad.
More Engaging
Consumers are more engaged when reading printed material, unlike websites, which are often skimmed in as little as a 15 second visit. A study shows that people read digital screen text 20% – 30% slower than printed paper. (Alshaali & Varshney, 2005). In addition, a print ad is able to better communicate the complexities of a highly technical product or more involved sales message.
But is there a generation gap when it comes to print vs. digital? Not necessarily. A recent study of readership conducted by two prominent energy industry publications found that 91% of its readers preferred to receive the publication in print form, compared to 9% who chose digital. Within both groups, there was no appreciable difference in relative proportions of older and younger respondents.
Less Print Ads
With more and more businesses relying solely on the Internet for their advertising needs, the decline of print publications can actually be used as a marketing advantage. Print publications are less crowded, allowing more room for your ad to shine.
QR Codes
Placing QR codes on printed pieces is an excellent way to bridge the gap between print and web. When scanned with a smartphone, the QR code will take you to a homepage or a special offer page that lives on the web.
Reaching your Audience
One of the significant advantages to print publishing exists in distribution. While printing costs are significantly higher than those involved in publishing on-line because of actual paper and printing costs, the advantage of print publishing is actually placing text in the hands of your audience. Online, you can only direct someone to a site which may be of interest to your target audience based on generic demographics.
Personalisation
Studies show that 61% of consumers feel better about brands that personalise the user experience and are more likely to buy from them. Personalisation makes prospects feel special, privileged and taken care of.
Reader Capabilities
Digital Solutions are limited by the technological limitations of the user’s screen and memory capacity. Printed publications have the advantage of creating a design based on whatever capabilities the publisher has with regard to fonts, layout, photos and overall size of the publication.
Standards
Though online publishing is growing in importance, publishing in print continues to maintain prestige as an authority and a viable source of detail/information because the idea remains that anyone can put anything on the Web, and print editors and publishers are held to a tighter standard and will only print what is worthwhile or valuable.
The question of print vs. digital may be subjective for many of us however there is no doubt that it has a future, albeit perhaps very different from its original appearance in the 15th century. The idea that the workplace itself would one day be free of paper pre-dates the current digital trend, and was first predicted as far back as 1975 in a now-legendary article in Business Week. So why, nearly 40 years later, has this prediction failed to come true?