There’s still a future if you change wisely and speedily.
What’s next for print? I know it takes many nails to seal a coffin. And I’m afraid I’m one of them. Well, a part of one, at least. I’m talking about printed newspapers, in particular, the Wiener Zeitung. Published on paper for 320 years, the Wiener Zeitung has been Vienna’s and, ultimately, Austria’s must-read daily newspaper. Since July 1, 2023, it’s an online-only newspaper. Similar to U.K.’s The Independent, established in 1986 and online-only since 2016.
Newspapers, Advertisements, Periodicals
The list of newspapers stopping their print production around the world is growing. Are you still reading a printed newspaper every morning? I stopped a long time ago for various reasons: I travel a lot, so what good does it do me to have printed newspapers delivered to my home when I’m not there? I pull out my phone or tablet, open the app, and off I go. It’s also much more convenient to save an article for later, reread it, or include some information from an article I’m writing, like now.
Years ago, there was talk of the newspaper-on-demand; think of it like a personalized version of The New York Times or The Washington Post. You select what you want to read, and they print it for you or send you a PDF, which you can print at home. Needless to say, it wasn’t the success everyone was hoping for.
And then came the online editions, and suddenly, everyone could get a digital-only subscription for a fraction of the print edition.
And then…well, now we’re at the point where most newspapers struggle. In Europe, energy is more expensive than ever, making paper a luxury item. Some of the largest mills have closed or are considering closing as their goods become unaffordable to produce/purchase. Newspaper printing requires a lot of paper, and the printing process isn’t exactly on the lower end of energy consumption. A vicious cycle has begun leading to increasing production costs and decreasing sales numbers. In order to keep a newspaper alive, publishers have to make tough decisions.
Recently, I heard of other publications shutting down or reduced, like the REWE, Aldi, OBI weekly advertisement magazines, and church newspapers. Initially, some retailers tried to hide behind sustainability claims; these, however, were debunked quickly. The only true reason is that nobody can be bothered reading them. Regardless of how timely, good or bad, or how they were produced–litho/offset or inkjet–most shoppers and even churchgoers, find it more convenient to look up what they want to know online at home or on the go.
Books and Print
But there’s light at the end of the tunnel: #BookTok. If you don’t read a book or are not using TikTok, you may not have heard of this multibillion-times-used hashtag. #BookTok has inspired readers worldwide to form book clubs and to read more, or, in fact, to read again. This is excellent news for the global printing industry, particularly for print-on-demand, or, as the insider would say, the book-of-one. OEMs and dealerships worldwide see the money.
Most books are readily available as PDF (portable document format); modern inkjet printers love optimized PDFs (and the industry has come up with some outstanding solutions); intelligent web-to-print solutions can turn around on-demand book orders within minutes; and sophisticated print job routing software can make sure the output happens as close to the customer as possible. It’s a great way to save on postage and reduce the overall carbon footprint.
The Never-Ceasing Wind of Change in the Print Industry
The changing landscape of the print industry, ever-evolving technologies, and the changing habits of readers will decide who will survive the next few years. Unfortunately, in Europe, we see an increasing number of traditional printers that are unable (financially, technically, and based on their mindset) to migrate to up-to-date technologies or close their doors.
With that, their knowledge is lost forever. The good news is that many young and technically able people join the printing industry (digital offset, transactional print, production print, large format, wide format, labels, packaging, textile, you name it) every year.
Print is going strong; it’s facing many challenges and evolutions, and change is the only constant, even in this very traditional business.
