'In print we know at least that these are the words and ideas that the author intended, whether in a column by Jeremy Clarkson or the second born son of the country’s monarch.' –
Gareth Ward
We are just a week into the new year and we have already experienced the absolute power of print. The publication of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir Spare has generated more comment, more opinion and more argument than any of his or his wife’s previous forays into the media – more than high profile television interviews, more than the Netflix documentary series. A printed book has this power, even if very few people have as yet been able to read and ingest it. The presses will surely be primed this week for a reprint, welcome at a point in the year that book printers can be quiet.
It matters what is set down in print because print confers trust more than any other medium. This is a legacy from the time that print was expensive and slow, dependent on typesetting, galleys, several rounds of proofing before the ink was applied. Nobody would go to the trouble of printing something, unless it was worth it. And if it was worth it, the word could be trusted. Compare with a pithy comment spewed out on social media, often without thinking. There is power there for sure, especially when combined with others of a similar conspiratorial bent, but ultimately few Facebook, Instagram or Twitter comments endure. People may enjoy the ebb and flow of comments on social media. Few actually trust them.
This is why books will fly off the shelves this week. This is why there are great expectations for the new Smart Label technology, why investment continues in printed labels and packaging, why there is excitement around programmatic mailing. What is printed confers trust for banknotes and for packaging and print itself is to be trusted, even if the sentiments that are expressed in print may not be. Because they are in print we know at least that these are the words and ideas that the author intended, whether in a column by Jeremy Clarkson or the second born son of the country’s monarch.
Reprinted from Print Business – For forward thinking printers – eZine dated 9 January 2022 –www.printbusiness.co.uk
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
