7 reasons why we love print

We often read and hear the doomsday scenarios: ‘Digital thrives, print bleeds to death’ or ‘Print has had its day.’ Do we at Buroform agree to that? Of course not! A digital way of communicating is a great complement to print and vice versa. Are you also curious why we love printmaking so much? Then read on quickly.

1. Paper is in our DNA

It was the Egyptians who developed something fantastic thousands of years ago. Something we use every day: paper. You see it all around you: from a birth announcement to a magazine to toilet paper. There are so many products that incorporate paper, we can’t live without it. Paper is in our DNA.

2. Print media make us curious

Are you also always curious about the contents of your mailbox? You are not alone! We previously wrote about a survey at Bpost. This showed that as many as eighty percent of those surveyed are curious about their mail. Twenty-seven percent of the mail read, in turn, leads to actions: requesting information, making purchases, … So the conclusion is clear: in our mailbox there are enormous opportunities to reach people.

Need inspiration? Take a look among our tips to personally address your target audience.

Argenta’s Coping with Money Kit teaches young teens how to handle money through play.

3. Reading on paper strengthens your memory

Okay, maybe we’re exaggerating a little bit with this title, but still… When we read on a screen, we scan: we read diagonally and skip sentences or paragraphs. That’s how we lose pieces of the message.

Because we read slower on paper than on a screen, readability is increased and the message seeps deeper into memory. As a result, we remember messages on paper better and longer. Want to communicate an important message or a long text? If so, be sure to choose a printed version.

An absolute gem, those presentation folders for Bank Park.

4. Messages on paper make you focus

Suppose: While reading an email on your smartphone, you receive a message from your best friend. What are you doing? Did you also reply “I open that message”? Many of us will agree with you.

Communicating digitally may be convenient in this digital age, but you still have to take in pop-ups, online advertising and notifications all the time. Messages on paper don’t give you those distractions and offer a pleasant offline peace of mind.

5. Printed matter excites our senses

When we read on screen, we use only one sense: our eyesight. We can look at the screen but are otherwise not stimulated.

Print, on the other hand, offers many more incentives. We’ll take you a moment: you open the mailbox and find a box. You open the box and take out a beautiful invitation to a winter wedding. You look (sight sense) at the invitation very carefully and feel (touch sense) an impression in the card. Your attention returns to the box that also contains a booklet. As you open the booklet, the aroma (sense of smell) of pine trees is released and you hear the rustling (hearing) of paper. Big difference, right?

Wondering how print media can enhance your marketing mix ?

6. Printed matter really speaks to you

Digital ads that may be of interest to you are sought out via cookies. For example, an ad for that one pair of pants you saw online – but didn’t buy – can haunt you for weeks through various websites and in your mailbox.

Printing does not do this. With print, you choose where and when to have certain information brought to you. If you read an article about gardening in a magazine, it means you are interested in this at that moment. If you see an ad about flower pots in the same magazine, you choose on your own initiative – and with greater interest – to view that ad.

7. Printed matter makes an impression

Quality printed materials, more than digital communications, leave an impression. Because your message becomes tangible, you are more likely to make a connection with the person holding the printed material. The fact that printed material is kept longer than a mail only offers further advantages.

Not convinced? Then consider this: How long does a text message with “Thank you” stick with you? And how long will you enjoy a card with that same message?

Conclusion: Is print bleeding to death?

No. There may have been many shifts in our industry in recent years, but print will still be around. Because it leaves an impression, stimulates our senses and makes us occasionally shed a tear.