Yes, we print!

Before radio, television, and internet, the dissemination of information could only be achieved in large scale through printing ink on paper.

People take printing for granted, but it was, in many ways, the forerunner of the electronic devices we use today.

With the advent, long ago, of personal computers, desk top publishing heralded the demise of print. Later on, the internet signalled much the same. Thankfully, for us, it hasn’t happened.

Why hasn’t printing died out?

Printed media is tactile, allowing consumers to interact with it in a way they can’t with a digital medium. Consider labels, cartons, posters – all tangible, all printable, all create instant engagement with people. How often do we find instructions or recipes online and print them to read because it’s just so much more convenient? More often than not I’d say. The same applies for lengthy online content, and important emails such as accounts payable and receivable.

Though users can print out low volumes of items once the purview of the printing office, and though digital formats, like this very blog, have wide appeal, and as printers we employ and embrace every development we can, people still prefer print. They still love to flick the pages of a glossy magazine, or sit down with a beautiful book instead of scrolling through a tablet, or stick up a poster to promote a cause.

And no batteries, restarts, and updates are required.