Digital Media, Digital Editions Hold Opportunities for Commercial Printers

By Erik Cagle

Quad/Graphics Sees Printed and Digital Future

It wouldn't be an accurate gauge of the printing industry or the future of printed product in the digital age without consulting with one of the world's largest publication and book printers, Quad/Graphics of Sussex, WI. The following is a brief Q&A with Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO, on the impact of digital, its influence on run lengths and the future of the printed word.

PI: How has the movement toward digitalization in the publication, book and catalog markets impacted your client base? Have they reduced run lengths? Are they adopting digital editions?

Quadracci: There is no question that emerging and growing digital and related new channels are displacing some traditional print, even while expanding the reading universe. The Pew Research Center showed that 43 percent of Americans age 16 and over had read long form digital content like ebooks and magazines in the past year.

We see it most obviously in books, where e-readers are having a direct impact on trade print volumes. Over the last year, 72 percent of American adults read a printed book, 21 percent read an e-book and 11 percent listened to an audio book. E-books were approximately 10 percent of the overall book market, but 88 percent of e-book consumers also read a printed book in the past year. But all print markets are impacted.

All marketers and all publishers are actively developing digital channel strategies and/or alternative complements to their traditional print channels. Magazines have digital edition and mobile app versions of their printed magazines, although very few consumers are electing to pay for digital-only subscriptions. Print and digital bundles are the consumer preference. Catalogers and retailers have online versions of their print campaigns.

But what we also see is that an improving economy is offsetting some of the negative impact these new technologies may have had in displacing print. In one internal analysis, we had found that more than half of the recent declines in print volumes were due to a recessionary economy. So, as the economy improves, many customers' print orders are actually increasing.

Print still works and its value is in many cases being enhanced via integrated campaigns that take advantage of a multichannel approach. For printers who embrace a multichannel services approach, there is a real potential for growth in print and related channel services.

PI: In general, what are publishers' attitudes toward the future of printed publications?

Quadracci: Printed publications are not disappearing, even as more digital content is read. Book publishers are quickly adapting to the e-reader environment and the entire book supply chain is transforming as a result of this change. Some printed books are being enhanced with better papers, more distinctive covers and even interactive print capabilities.

The simultaneous development of digital printing for book production is having an equally dramatic impact on the book business. Smaller initial quantities, multiple just-in-time reprints and even single-copy book printing are increasingly common as the economics and technology of digital printing evolve to make digitally printed books more practical for the long tail product life. Quality has improved, costs have come down and the front-end and back-end systems necessary for efficient digital book printing and distribution are causing a dramatic increase in this market.

In other marketing and publications markets, print remains a vital part of our customers’ future plans and print continues to be the number one channel for audience engagement and total revenues. Print has the proven power to build brands, create a call to action and create lasting value.

But, the world is changing. It’s not a “just print” or “just digital” or “just mobile” world. It’s an all-channel, all-the-time world and the consumer or reader is in the driver’s seat for how and when they want to hear messages or consume content. Understanding that dynamic and building integrated solutions is the key to success for all businesses, including print.

PI: What sort of tools do you provide publication, book and catalog customers that enable them to adopt an integrated mix of printed and digital applications?

Quadracci: Quad/Graphics just announced the launch of our new Media Solutions group. Media Solutions is a dedicated Quad/Graphics team focused on helping marketers and publishers more efficiently and effectively integrate print and new media channels. Media Solutions will offer clients more integrated services—creative, digital imaging, video, photography, workflow solutions, and interactive technology including mobile and social media—to help them create, optimize and connect content across all forms of media.

We also announced our interactive print solutions, which focus on ways to combine print with integrated multimedia channels to create entirely new and engaging content experiences for publications, books and catalogs. Augmented Reality, image recognition and Near Field Communications (NFC) chips are just a few of the ways to make print more powerful. For example, Quad/Graphics recently helped produce the first mass-produced American magazine ad featuring an NFC chip that could launch an interactive mobile experience through a tap of a phone.

In all of our content management and delivery solutions, we are embracing a multichannel approach to help our customers create, optimize and connect their content more efficiently and seamlessly.

The battle against perception can be frustrating, not to mention a losing proposition. Once an idea takes root in the American psyche, it can often take years to dissuade the masses from buying into a misguided notion. After all, it’s been thousands of years and, despite empirical data (not to mention outer space photography), we still can’t convince everyone that the earth is not flat.
OK, so maybe that’s an extreme example, but you get the point. Christopher Columbus did not discover America (which is why it’s named after Amerigo Vespucci). Marie Antoinette never used the phrase “let them eat cake” (it was written by Rousseau when the future ruler was just 10 years old). George Washington’s false teeth were not made of wood (they were found to be comprised of ivory, gold, lead, human and animal teeth). Eww!

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