Future Of Printing

Being involved in digital technology for a living, you could argue that I’m biased, but I don’t see printing going away any time soon. The history of printing starts as early as 3500 BCE where Mesopotamian civilizations used cylinder seals to certify document written in clay. These were some of the first documents humans ever produced. Printing has come a long way since clay tablets; it now features an array of modern technologies which impact people’s daily lives.

“Printing is dead”, you may have heard this statement used over the last few years, this is a misconception that was primarily caused by the rise of digital. Printing is far from dead; printing has not only a future but an exciting one.

Print is also increasingly collaborating with digital media, no matter how we develop our access to web content over the years because it is such a trusted web leader. People like to hold printed items in their hands. According to Forbes Magazine, print materials and publications offer your customers and prospects a brand experience that can’t be replicated online

The printed word is powerful. It offers engaging information that is easily retained as opposed to the sketchier brief message of radio, television and online posts. With print marketing such as brochure prints or flyer prints, businesses have the opportunity to explain their services, products and benefits in a creative and eye-catching way.

We know that the world is moving towards the digital of things. However, there is a new generation of marketers who are reverting to the old way of things. Why? Because these time-tested things have passed the most stringent marketing requirements. It’s like deja-vu. History repeats itself. People are coming back to high quality printed marketing collaterals. And the reason for this is simple: it works! And if something works, why break it?

Let’s take Facebook as an example. Facebook has the most sophisticated advertising algorithm on the internet. I’m no FB engineer, and my coding knowledge is minimal. To say I know little about machine learning and the artificial intelligence behind FB Ads is a massive understatement. But all that doesn’t really matter. Facebook’s goal is to make media buying simple. Saying that they have two groups of customer, it needs to keep happy: advertisers and users of their site. (You could add governments as a 3rd group it needs to keep happy, but that’s a topic for another day.) Advertisers want to show their ads as many times as possible, whilst users want to see content from their friends and pages, they follow without being interrupted by ads constantly. Facebook needs to keep both groups happy. Without advertisers, they have no income. Without users, they no advertisers. Tough place to be for Mr Zuck.

So, what does this information tell you? In today’s world of digital chaos, people are being bombarded with information that they cannot even handle and process. Clutter is just overwhelming. You want people to be impressed by your business. With high quality printed materials, customers can see how serious you are about things; it builds credibility. They perceive you as a brand that can be relied upon. To cut this digital marketing clutter, give them something they can touch and feel. Something which they can read and share, something they would love to collect and pass on. Think about business cards for a moment. Is it extinct? No. Will they be used for the next 50 years? Yes. Or just check out the brochures of the finance companies. You would see the larger picture.

On a more positive note about the digital era, is that combining print and digital can be highly effective and generate far better results than one or the other alone. Use these cross-channel campaigns to grow your business to the sky!