UPM joins the celebration for International Print Day 2015. This one special day of the year is gathering the international industry together to embrace and promote the power of print. Conversation takes place in social media in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn with the hashtag #IPD15. Let the discussion begin!
The special magic of print
Text: Marsha Miller, Terry Parry
Anyone who has enjoyed the Harry Potter movies will remember his animated newspaper, The Daily Prophet. While the citizens of Hogwarts also had alternative sources of news, how can you beat a paper with two daily editions, a Sunday supplement and an interactive video embedded in the newsprint, furthermore delivered to your kitchen table by a damp barn owl – all for the cost of just one ‘Knut’?
Wet feathers aside, J.K.Rowling’s conception of what Hogwarts’ wizards want in their news service is consistent with current market knowledge: Consumers want both print and digital products.
The media response
Leading publishers are adapting to new consumer preferences by integrating print, web, smartphone, tablet and e-editions in a total news package. They are also keeping their print readers engaged by ensuring the highest standards of journalistic excellence, prompt delivery, and offering a pay format that provides web access within the price of a subscription to the printed newspaper.
While consumers are subscribing to these all-access packages and paying a premium in subscription prices, many still aren’t using their digital options very much.
In any case, it is fair to conclude there is a core population of learned readers who are hungry for news. We also know that their preference for local print news is well established, and that publishers and their investors are exploring a variety of innovative business models and technological advances to accommodate their readers and advertisers with both digital and print copy options.
Innovation plays an important role in maintaining this special interest in print, not simply by exploiting its unique sensory attributes, but also by encouraging new ways to explore the visual and physical nature that makes print so unique.
Print needs to be seen more as a complementary platform within the diverse world of media publishing. True value in publishing means getting the best out of content – and doing this well requires a greater appreciation of paper and its intrinsic values.