CTRL+PCTRL+Pshall prevail

it is the dawn of a new era, where technology is on the scene with guns blazing and is taking names. What does this mean for older traditions and methodology like books, newspapers & magazines? Extinction! Disrepute! Annihilation! All The Above?

Ladies andgentlemen,

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CTRL+P SHALL PREVAIL

The correct answer for that would be, none of the mentioned options. Each media has managed to create its own time and space across cultures and around the world. The print media too, be it the newspapers or books, has been able to hold its own. Thanks to the distinct features, the ease of use and the reach of every media, they all have managed to create a specific target audience or readership for themselves. There is a little bit of appeal for everyone in every media. Contrary to this, many experts are portraying immense faith in digital media. They believe that just as new printing techniques revolutionised the industry and gave birth to full page colour images in

print media, digital content will change the way we read and consume print media in the future. Today chemicals, spray glue and letraset have been replaced with the Apple computers and desktop publishing software. People no longer have five days to produce the artwork for a full-page ad, in most cases you barely have five hours. Undebatedly, digital media is a more advanced and more innovative form of media incorporating elements that enrich the reading experience, like rich colour photos that can be enlarged, video, sound, animations and 3D images at the fingertips of every reader. Electronic media has the propensity to reach people on a broader scale than print media. This form of media

takes on the qualities of a fast food restaurant: the speed in its delivery to the public is faster; news is made to order, and the medium works well in a world that increasingly values expediency. Because of these qualities, electronic media has become the preferred source over print media, which society utilizes to get information about news events from around the world. Another frequent reason given for the electronic media’s growing popularity is the impact it has on the environment. Many feel the trend towards increasing use of digital media can only bring environmental benefits, as producing magazines and newspapers involves felling trees for paper and

printing leads to emission of considerable amount of carbon dioxide which can be damaging to the environment. Online media reaches people without any demographic or geographic boundaries, and people avail of it for free, theoretically speaking. So there is much temptation to visit online news sites and social networks that syndicate news updates. But are these reasons enough to convince lakhs of loyal patrons of print publications into making a permanent switch?

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Having stated all of this, there will always be a digital divide. It could be for varied reasons - either lack of access to technology, financial setbacks, or just refusal to adapt - the world will never be completely digital. Not in the near future, at least. This divide does not only apply to readers but to authors as well. As long as technology is not 100% adopted by the entire population, print media will remain alive. We are actually fortunate to have computers and mobile devices to read blogs but as hard as it is to grasp, there are still those with practically no option (or who prefer) reading printed books. Print is physical, and has potency. It would be foolish not to acknowledge that fact. It has been around for hundreds of years and well-established media houses have a massive reader base, even if it is domestic. These are people who prefer to hold their favorite magazine or newspaper while they sip on their coffee or tea every morning. There is nothing quite like opening up a new crisp book and ruffling through the pages. More importantly, I don’t think there is an application, as of yet, for e-books or downloaded material that gives it that new book smell of paper or that musky odor from those that have been repeatedly read over many years. Coffee spills destroy electronic devices, but for books, it adds a flare of character. A print publication showcases your photographs and carefully crafted story to an audience who wants to linger over and slowly digest your content. No matter how great digital content is, readers can stash magazines in their purses, dog-ear the pages and tear out their favorite articles. While newspapers are often tossed after being read, the life span of a magazine can go on for years. Magazines are passed along to friends, left on coffee tables as decor and stored on bookshelves for future reading and reference.

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Technology can be expensive and not everyone is able to afford it. Also, information on the internet can be published by unaccredited authors and consists of more opinion than fact. Print media is available 24 hours a day, as long as a reader owns a copy of the printed material in question. Electronic media may only be available to a reader for part of the day, often depending on the internet accessibility. When the question of its impact on the environment arises, we know that paper can be recycled, recovered, and reused. Recycling processes have become more efficient and sophisticated. Using recycled paper instead of paper made from virgin tree fiber reduces environmental impact of a print design project by minimizing carbon emissions, water and energy consumption, and solid waste sent to landfill. Printers

have worked diligently to provide safer working environments for all of their employees by switching to lower VOC solvents and inks. These efforts are making the print and paper industries significantly more socially and environmentally responsible. One of the main advantages of print media is its capacity to excite and stimulate, when people are in a relaxed frame of mind. Even though Internet Advertising has the edge in cost per lead terms, it is print media that seems to stay with us. Print media seems to be moving away from direct response and is now positioning itself as a corporate, brand awareness or back-up media to other formats of advertising. Some of the internet’s big players are now publishing print magazines, using traditional media to refresh the parts of their business model that other solutions can’t reach.

As long as there are coffee tables, people will want things to put on them! - The Economist

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“ People are treating themselves to a magazine rather than a big shopping trip.” - Jeremy Leslie Creative Director, magculture.com

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CO-EXISTING

What seems to be killing print media is actually ushering in a new age and breed of print. The internet is forcing print to become better - more valuable, interesting, and less cluttered - to survive. Moreover, magazines can use print and tech’s defining qualities as complementary strengths. There’s a shift towards more high-quality, timeless, and original articles in print. Perhaps the advent of the web is not the burning abyss for print magazines, but a refiner’s fire that will make printed magazines, books and newspapers better than they are today.

Print can’t continue to exist if it’s primary function is to serve as some sort of civilized ritual. That’s awkwardly nostalgic in the face of superior distribution mediums, and problematically indulgent in the face of how much waste we all produce. If we make something, it ought to be worth keeping around. Tim Holmes, director of magazine courses at Cardiff School of Journalism thinks that the future of print is bright for certain genres. “Luxury magazines can charge a high price to give readers an experience,” he says. Throw away magazines, such as gossip weeklies or puzzle magazines, will continue to be a staple of train journeys; while indie magazines are often made by people who love traditional print design and there’s a lot of playful creativity to be had with paper. We’re fortunate to live in a world where we have both options. If the print media continues to adapt to the changing media habits of people and corner its target readers well, it will survive. Mark Barret said that maybe there will come a day when the mass-market print publishing we know becomes reduced a smaller niche aimed at collectibles or high-end artisanal products. Although, it is the print media which seems endangered, it is a fact that the success of any media tells upon another media. It is only a tug of war going among these, where the centre gets oscillated between the ends. Print, a competitor to digital platforms but more often complementary, is far from dead.

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The flood of digital media,

has turned reading into a

process of gulping rather

than savouring !