Whenever I’m in a social setting, engaging in conversations with new acquaintances, the small talk train inevitably
arrives at the “What do you do for a living?” station.
My answer, “I work for Xerox,” almost always prompts some form of the following question: “How secure do you feel given the fact that print is a dying medium?”
“I feel secure knowing no such fact,” is the gist of my standard reply.
Most often, the reason people assume print is dying is because of the anecdotal evidence they see in their own experiences. Whether at home or in the office, most of us print less than we did before the Internet’s and e-mail’s ubiquity and the rise of social media. That’s a fact.
But when it comes to the “print is dying” perception, statistics tell a different story, such as these, courtesy of Direct Marketing News:
“…The commercial print industry is poised for greatness—to the tune of 2 to 3 percent annual growth over the next three years, reaching an estimated $87 billion by 2016. Plus, printed materials—brochures, print ads, direct mail pieces—account for more than 85% of total print industry revenue, as opposed to about 13% for non-print revenue—PURLs, QR codes, email, SMS campaigns, etcetera.”
To learn more about printing’s future, I encourage those interested to join Shell Haffner (my manager at Xerox) and featured guest Gordon Kaye, editor and publisher of Graphic Design USA Magazine, who will lead a discussion about the enduring power of print within the graphic design and creative community. This episode will feature expert commentary by Shell and Gordon as they discuss the future of design and print, the importance of print versus digital for creative businesses, print innovations that are making it smarter and greener, and why good design is critical to business success.
The event, which takes place this Thursday (4/25) from 11-noon PST, will be a live Google+ Hangout so you can watch and participate from your computer.
For more details, visit our official invitation.
