I admitted it, I am a hoarder. A hoarder of massive piles of industry magazines and printed blog posts. It’s time I put them to use. Here is a compilation of my favorite statistics from the pile!
First up from SmallBizTrends. 9 of 10 consumers agree there will always be need for print. Small business owners agree professional printing helps them stand out. The simple act of printing company materials- a flashy business card, a well-designed brochure can be enough to edge out the competition.
Even half of the millennials in the survey agreed on the need for print and indicated they like having something professionally printed once a month.
Two Sides survey indicate 88% believe they understand, retain or use information better when they read it in print. Furthermore, 80% have a clear preference to read complicated materials in print. And 78% say the like to keep printed documents with importance to them, rather than filing online/electronically. Yeah, Me too (reference hoarder comments from above).
On The Bay Magazine provided 10 “mind boggling” print statistics. Pointing out magazine readership continues to enjoys year-to-year growth, saying it is an effective way to create brand awareness and persuade people to take and interest and purchase their products. According to their research, the last 3 years alone the total magazine audience has grown by almost 6 million people.
While most of their stats were not exactly mind boggling, I was surprised they say “95% of people under 25 read magazines; paper-based reading stimulates emotions, drives sensory involvement, provides more focused attention and is preferred by the majority of people”. Including the younger generation!
Healthcare provider? Listen up! Their research indicates of all the major healthcare topics- dieting, prescription medication, healthcare and fitness, print magazines and newsletters are the best way to reach people with major interest in these areas and they are most likely to share and dispense the information read in magazines and newsletters.
I have 5 magazine subscriptions, I do read them (nearly cover to cover) each month. I do review products online that I have seen in the magazine, look up a recipe I saw or sometimes take a picture on my phone of any idea I like! A 2018 study from DMA.org says 42% of us read catalogs received in the mail. I am one of them.
Twosides tackles claims like “go paperless – save trees”? They say these myths create a “false impression that forests are a finite resource, being destroyed by paper production. In truth, North American forests are a renewable resource that is continuously replenished using sustainable forest management.”
More than half the forest land in the U.S. is owned and managed by about 11 million private forest owners. Private forest lands provided over 90% of the domestically produced wood and paper products in 2017.
Having worked at a printing company for nearly 17 years, I didn’t know this one. “About 39% of the fiber used in paper making in the U.S. is obtained through recycling. The rest comes from wood that is typically obtained through: 1) thinning of forest stands being grown to larger diameters to provide raw material for production of lumber and plywood, 2) patch clear cutting of smaller diameter trees managed for pulp production, and/ or, 3) collection of chips and sawdust produced as by-products in the production of lumber.” In short, the resources used to make much of our paper products are coming from sustainable, renewable or recycled sources.
Based on the stack of magazine and pile of online sources, print is not dead and never was. Print is available in large or small numbers, can be made in endless combinations of formats and creativity.
Print is everywhere and accessible to everyone. At home or work, there is no device, WIFI, username or password required.
Has the print industry changed? Yes. Will it continue to change? Yes. However, If we believe the stats 9 out of 10 of us believe print is here to stay.
