Ebook readers have been with us for a couple of years now. The Internet has existed for more than a decade, and it’s use is everywhere in everyday life. Newspapers are struggling to continue their existence. All of these developments are signs of a the digitalization of information in our modern society. So, does all of this signify the death of the printed word?
Although the dissemination of information has radically changed, it has also increased the flow of information at the same time. In other words, there is a veritable torrent of information hitting us at all times, and it is harder than ever to keep up. While online information seems dominant, printing is still an important media and source of marketing and information. The same technology that brought us the internet has also made printing cheaper – in some cases, online printing has actually brought new competition and higher efficiency to the marketplace.
The explosion of online and offline options has caused reading tastes to become much more diversified; some information may be more easily accessed online, while people may prefer printed materials for other types of reading. Modern technology has also brought digital printing to the fore, making cheap newsletter printing and cheap brochure printing more readily available. Paper is unlikely to disappear anytime soon; rather than being the main source of information, printing is becoming a niche source which is used for specialized applications. Keeping the reader’s interest is usually the primary goal, and the medium which will be used is secondary.