Steve Frye. In a sidebar in the current issue of Publishing Executive titled The State of the Printing Industry Frye drops this bomb:
I think we need to change our philosophy of what a magazine is. We are no longer a cheap means of dispensing information, and that’s what we were until the Internet came along. Now we are an inefficient and expensive means of distributing information. … We need to reinvent ourselves as a luxury item that people want and are willing to pay for. And until we change our own image of who we are, we’re going to find out that our vendors are gong to change it for us. Because, right now, postage is a premium. Paper is a premium. Soon printing will be a premium. How long can we buy at a premium and sell at a discount? We can’t.
Via, Michael Turro (here).
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[…] A Photo Editor – The State of the Printing Industry “I think we need to change our philosophy of what a magazine is… We need to reinvent ourselves as a luxury item that people want and are willing to pay for… How long can we buy at a premium and sell at a discount? We can’t.” (tags: printing publishing magazine premium product marketing) […]
[…] A Photo Editor – The State of the Printing Industry – “We need to reinvent ourselves as a luxury item that people want and are willing to pay for… Paper is a premium. Soon printing will be a premium. How long can we buy at a premium and sell at a discount?” Via Infovore again […]
So true. As someone who has witnessed the internet revolution from the point of view of a graphic designer, and jumped on the bandwagon into web design and usability and all that, I have to say that the printed magazine cannot be what it was. It has to be an event, something more than product or information source, but an experience. Look at magazines like Visionaire and McSweeney’s and GUM (R.I.P.???). And remember Nest? Each issue is a unique and special creation, a culmination of various creative industries… fabrics with card and paper stock, illustration on different media, all mixed together. Die cuts, plastics, etc. In some ways, these examples show us that print may actually return from whence it once came. Books used to be artisinal creations, with only a few copies. Even with the printing press, they were still prized possessions. The creative groups who understand that will be the life blood of modern publications in this Internet Era we are living in now.
I think they should really change their marketing strategy, but for me although almost all things can be done or get through the use of world wide web, nothing can still replace old fancy magazines, well you can’t bring these computers with you while having a relaxing sun bathing at the beach.. by the way Book Binding Dallas is my resource in printing and publishing books.
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