In an earlier post I briefly discussed the common—yet false—assumption that print is dying.
Now there’s this story, courtesy of Fast Company, which shares a compelling reason why digital simply cannot completely replace print. The author of the piece cites a report by Scientific American in which the science of paper versus screens is thoroughly examined.
The gist, as noted by the Scientific American writer and reported by Fast Company, is that by holding a book the reader gains a “tactile sense of textual topography” not possible with digital media.
From the piece: “…you have physical markers like left page facing the right page, the hanging corners, and the shifting of the weight in your hands as you advance from cover to cover. This gives you a sense of narrative context: holding a book, it’s obvious where the individual page relates to the whole of the text, which makes it easier to create that mental map of the text’s meaning.”
I encourage you to read each article in its entirety. But before you do, I’ll share a comment posted by my manager, Shell Haffner, in response to the Fast Company write up:
“We are human and simply put, print creates a human connection. And even in today’s seemingly digital-first world, print is still very relevant. According to a study published in the Journal of Research in Reading, reading online may not be as effective or rewarding as the printed word – furthering the point of this article. That same study found that physical manipulation (i.e. scrolling) distracts our focus from what we are reading resulting in an inability to absorb digital media in the way we would absorb print media. This same notion is proving itself to be true in business as well. A study by McPheters & Company used 30-second TV ads, full-page four-color magazine ads, and Internet banner ads in standard sizes, and employed eye-tracking software to determine if Internet ads were actually seen by respondents. Study results found that the magazine ad had 83% of the value of a 30-second TV spot while a typical Internet banner ad had 16% of the value of a 30-second TV commercial. A pretty drastic difference.
In short, many studies are pointing to a physical touch of paper helps create a connection in our brains. As humans isn’t connecting with each other what we all want?
That’s not to say that digital is bad. All signs point to print being able to peacefully coexist with digital in all facets of life. Indeed, digital adds an extra dimension. Another sensory input to the brain. Together, print and digital can enhance communications of either medium alone.
I discussed the above points and more with Gordon Kaye, editor of Graphic Design Magazine USA and some other industry professionals in our latest “Ask the Experts” episode – some of the insights might surprise you. The replay can be found on the Xerox YouTube page.”
(Note: Here’s a link to the aforementioned “Ask the Experts” segment.)
