By Shell Haffner
Manager, Desktop Product Marketing
Xerox Corporation
With the influx of laptops, smart phones, tablets, and whatever the next consumer device may be, more and more conversations crop up about the future and relevance of print. Are eReaders killing the hard copy book? Are hand-written notes a thing of the past? Has the growing number of digital options killed print all together?
Now granted I work at Xerox – a company with a history in putting ink on paper – but I believe that print isn’t going anywhere. It may not have the monopoly on consumers’ attention it once enjoyed, but I believe its relevancy may be even more powerful today. My sentiment is echoed by a specialized group of taste makers – the graphic designers, marketing communication firms and creative agencies that shape much of how companies market to us.
And guess what? Despite the virtually limitless number of digital options to which designers now have access – from websites and apps to social media vehicles – creatives say they will continue to lean on print as an important way to tell a compelling visual story.
According to Gordon Kaye, who has followed the graphic design community for more than 20 years, print provides a tangible, targeted, emotional connection.
Further research commissioned by Xerox reveals that consumers are more receptive to print communication than digital and mobile combined – by more than double. More than one quarter of respondents (27 percent) said that print is the best way for companies to reach them, whereas only 13 percent said the same for online and just 2 percent for mobile.
What communications vehicles do you prefer – and for what? How do you use print in your daily life?
