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PRINT.IT
01732 759725
DIGITAL PRINT
marketing spend, with the fast
shrinking newspaper sector continuing
to receive a disproportionate amount
of advertising. The share of one is
bound to shrink as the other grows
– unless newspapers become more
relevant to readers. This means hyper-
local sections, printed digitally with
targeted advertising.
Print in a digital world
The same trends are evident in
magazines, where mass circulation
titles that used to be printed gravure
are losing circulation while special
interest magazines prosper. There
will be fluctuations across national
boundaries and as fashions change,
but magazines that cater to a
community of readers with common
interests will not be displaced by digital
delivery of content because reading a
magazine is about much more than the
presentation of information.
A decade ago it was predicted that
with the growth of the internet, video-
on-demand and the ability to interact
with websites, fashion magazines
would disappear because websites
can show clothes being worn, have
links to prices and instant ordering.
But fashion magazines are stronger
than ever. This is because possession
of
Vogue
makes a statement about the
person carrying it – a phenomenon
that has encouraged online fashion
websites like ASOS and Pret-a-porter to
launch their own printed magazines.
The doomsayers who predicted the
same fate for catalogues have also
been thwarted. People like to browse
catalogues or holiday brochures;
they spark our imagination in ways
that digital fails to do. Retailers that
dropped print catalogues in the past,
or that only exist online, are returning
to print to remind customers to visit
their websites to complete a purchase.
If online shopping is going to grow, it
will need the help of print to do so.
But not the same sort of print
as before. For example, why send
someone who always travels to
Mexico details of holidays in Canada?
Instead, the holiday company should
create a brochure highlighting the
best hotels and resorts in Mexico. It
will be a smaller publication, with a
shorter production run, but production
standards can be higher in terms of
print, paper and personalisation.
A printer must be able to deliver
this to its customers. This will require
investment in technology that can cope
with shorter print runs and print on
uncoated papers – popular because of
their tactile qualities. It means being
able to enhance a printed product
using varnish, foils, raised print effects,
die-cutting and other processes that
make it more exciting and engaging.
It might even involve the inclusion of
printed electronic circuitry that turns
a printed page into a loudspeaker or
causes a printed label to light up when
a sensor detects movement.
Printed pages can also be
embedded with codes that, when
scanned with a smartphone, unlock
digital information, such as an
e-voucher to be redeemed in a
store or restaurant, while providing
the company making the offer with
information about who scanned the
code, where and when. The printed
poster or advertisement acquires
a measurable value because it has
demonstrated its relevance to the
consumer.
Marketing innovation
The high quality print and finishing
effects that sell premium bottles of
spirits are finding their way onto other
types of packaging, especially artisan-
produced goods. Overall volumes for
such products might be small, but
their look and feel is important and
printers can have much more influence
on packaging than is the case when
working for global brands with large
product marketing teams.
It was
predicted
that with the
growth of
the internet
fashion
magazines
would
disappear.
But they are
stronger than
ever.
...continued
Scodix helps your
printed products
stand out
Tactile Mohawk
Superfine paper
