Print is Dead. Those words can haunt a young designer who has just spent the past few years pursuing their visual communication degree. It’s now “all things digital” so either get on board or jump ship to another career choice.
We most certainly live in a digital age. Information that was once only available via print is now conveniently converted to pixels on a screen. In many cases I would agree with this evolution. I can’t imagine under what circumstances I would pick up a phone book to get a number or navigate my car using an atlas. Truth be told, I don’t know how I made it most destinations before Google maps.
However, to suggest that print has no purpose and should go the way of cassette tapes or the typewriter is a short-sighted view and may cost your company money.
Studies have been done comparing the effects of paper marketing with digital media and the results are quite compelling. One study was done by neuromarketing firm TrueImpact which reported that print “requires 21% less cognitive effort to process than digital media.“ Bottom line — print was easier to understand and more memorable. Isn’t that what we strive for in our communication to clients?
While I am firmly in the camp of singing the praise of print, I am mindful of pitfalls that have absolutely contributed to people having a lackluster view of print. So let’s look at three of them.
Poor quality paper
Some companies get to the printing stage and think that paper is a place to cut corners. Or worse yet, the selection of paper is an afterthought rather than an integral part of the design process.
Paper is the first thing someone notices about your material.
I have seen average designs enhanced by quality paper and I have seen strong design weakened by flimsy paper. Paper sets the tone, so be intentional and informed about your paper selection.
Overuse of personalization
Have you ever walked into a store and a salesman is a little too eager? Or you feel like they are following some technique they learned on how to “win over” a customer? Similarly, the overuse of personalization can be a turn-off.
Variable printing has been around for a while and when used in a way that brings value to the reader, can be quite effective. For example, if you are doing a newsletter and have content that is relevant to some, but would not be of interest to your entire audience you can use variable data printing (VDP) and tailor the content for different groups within your audience.
The caution is not to rely on this technology to take the place of getting to know your audience.
If someone feels like they are being manipulated into opening your mailer, it sets a tone of distrust that is hard to recover from. However, if they receive tailored content that brings them value, your audience will take notice and be on the lookout for more.
Low quality artwork
We live in a day where we have access to entire libraries of images. However, just because you can use an image does not mean you should use an image.
First, make sure you have the proper resolution. Quality printing is all about the dpi, which stands for dots per inch. The standard resolution that printers are looking for is 300 dpi. That means there are 300 dots printed per inch, IF the image is placed in the file at 100%. A mistake some people make is increasing the size of the image once it is placed in the document. However you can’t add resolution to an image, you can only change the dimensions proportionally.
For example if you have an image that is 3″x5″ at 300 dpi, but you place it in the document at 6″x10″ you have reduced the dpi to 150. The result is the image will look fuzzy (like it’s out of focus) or in some cases pixelated (jagged edges where it should be smooth).
Make sure you have images at the proper size and resolution for how you will be using them.
Additionally, when it comes to imagery, just say NO to clip art. It is the fastest way I know to communicate low-quality and laziness. If you only value your message enough to use clip art, then your audience will categorize you accordingly.
When done well, print still has the potential to grab your audience’s attention and communicate your message in a way that digital can sometimes come up short. So while I will continue to battle the Print is Dead messages, let’s all agree that these print pitfalls should be put to rest.