Article by Julie Watson, CEO of Ultimate TechnoGraphics
I was recently motivated to renew this topic since my last article about #printiseverywhere. It was essentially recounting my experience while traveling and noticing that we are surrounded by print products during our travel journeys. And now, forward to today when the coronavirus pandemic has made travel furthest away from our realities. I have been in fact working from home for one year-to-date. In all cases, while on-the-go traveling or isolated in a work-from-home scenario, I do make the same observation that #printiseverywhere.
My original article about the topic also referred to a tech conference I happen to attend once more last year. It was refreshing to see that the dialogue around print had changed from “Isn’t print dead?” to “Print is an important part of our lives!”. Even the tech leaders at this conference were much more in tune with the changes our industry was undergoing, as well as the stickiness factor to print.
As a very well known, possibly overused, but always relevant saying goes, the TV did not kill the radio as they said it would. And the internet, did it kill the radio also? I still have access to radio stations in my car, online and streaming. From observation only, it does not seem that one means of communication is destroying another. Could it be that it has mainly changed our habits, while providing valuable content now available simply in more formats to choose from: stereo AM/FM, satellite, mp4 files, streaming, podcasts and audio books?
Back to how is #printeverywhere during the pandemic? First, I look around me right now, I have a box with printed branding on it including new books I have ordered online. Books are an ideal brain stimulation during the lock down. Even if I write most my notes on my computer, I still have a small notebook by my side for scribbles and the best ideas that cross my mind every day. I overlook a series of greeting cards I received during the holiday season and of course they do stand out from anything I got in my inbox that is already out of sight. And I would rather not mention that little box of chocolates I received for the holidays with amazing packaging covered in high end finishes to showcase the wonderful cocoa jewels inside the box! And finally, a collection of family pictures including my favorite with my daughter, simply taken from my iPhone and printed through an online service, reminds me every day of what is important in life.
Although currently, all contracts are being digitally signed, we still get may invoices by mail and still get payments in check form on a regular basis. My mailbox is not only quite active, but it is also filled with direct mail, magazines, catalogues, even more so during the pandemic.
In my experience – #printiseverywhere, but I would like to hear from you. I look forward to knowing how print is everywhere around you right now. Please share your story.