Everything Old Becomes New Again

Anyone else notice a resurgence of interest in the “hands on” crafty portion of the printing industry?

Processes like screen printing and letterpress seem to be making a comeback of sorts. I've noticed many mill one-of-a-kind printed samples featuring letterpress and even the latest Dodge Ram Truck commercial shown below likens the process of letterpress to achieving greatness. Wow!



I’m quite happy to see this attention given to a skill/craft once thought of as an endangered species. Unfortunately, it still is hard to find letterpress operations in our local area. But small, quirky screen printer shops are popping up around GR, so maybe letterpress is next. Crossing my fingers....

I faithfully read a futuristic series of books by J.D. Robb called the “In Death” series, and I am fascinated by her ideas of what the world might be like 20 years from now.

In these books the technology of the time refers to things like “links”, which are basically cell phones with the ability to “see” who you are talking to—think phone skyping—or that face to face thing the new Ipads have. Once upon a time that kind of ability may have seemed far off in the future, but the fact is, technology like that is currently upon us.

Makes me wonder, will there even still be printing 20 years from now?

I sure hope so.

While we need to embrace the new technology around us, we also need to look back and treasure some things from our recent past. In the book series I mentioned above, things like “real” coffee, or “real” meat hotdogs (not soy versions) are luxuries to be cherished, as are “real” printed hold-in-your-hands books, (not e-books). As we watch the technology change at alarming rate, and we begin to feel a bit like dinosaurs in our own industry, we need to remember that everything old becomes new again.

Its use may not be as widespread as it once was, but paper will remain. I am hearing encouraging stories of companies who a year or so ago completely embraced the electronic age and stopped printing their sales materials, only to find that their customers actually preferred something tangible, something printed. And those companies are now back to using paper and printing. Is it a trend? A sense of  false hope indicating our jobs will be safe in the future? Who knows?

Maybe paper won’t be back in the way we want it to be. But there are studies and support emerging that show how much more effective direct mail vs. email can be. And, how holding a catalog or a printed piece in your hands, makes the greater impression.

So remember to cherish and treasure the “old” crafty ways of our industry, and also to embrace the new ones. (Think digital printing, for example, and all its personalization opportunities.) Let’s all use the power of print, paper and craftsmanship to work together most effectively to send our message.

It is a comforting thought that there will be paper in my future, maybe not so much in thinking about the resurgence of leg warmers or perms, though.