Printing? It’s so 20th century. As more offices go paperless, swapping toner for touch screens is an eco-conscious daily event. But while an all-digital future seems inevitable, we’re not quite there yet. Sometimes, the occasion still calls for the old-school printed page.
Consider the humble business card: the sine qua non of any networking toolkit. Coupled with a firm handshake, the business card exchange isn’t something that LinkedIn is likely to replace in the real world anytime soon. Here are three other ways that analog still trumps digital:
Invitations
Think of the last time you were invited to something fancy–be it a wedding, a gala, or an awards dinner. The digital “e-vite” has the effect of cheapening the occasion.
Facebook events work fine for happy hours and birthday gatherings, but more notable events (both professional and personal) call for the tactical. A well-chosen, beautifully designed invitation infuses these with class and sophistication. There are extra perks to printing, too: physical invites can be tacked on a bulletin board, and saved as sentimental souvenirs.
Flyers & Marketing Materials
Digital hasn’t pushed out old-fashioned marketing: it’s simply added to it. Try counting the number of printed ads you see on your way to work. Think about how you save a flyer, dog-ear a catalog, file a one-sheet, or clip a coupon. The list goes on.
As much as we enjoy burying our heads in our smartphones and tablets, we still live in the real world. I’m not condoning neglecting your digital marketing. But a printed marketing campaign still goes a long way.
Banners & Posters
Say you’re representing your company at a business convention. Unless you’ve got a half-dozen widescreen plasmas, chances are, you’re relying on high-quality posters, banners, and other splashy marketing tactics.
Digital has come a long way, but printed media makes an impression that’s not soon forgotten. To ensure that the impression is a positive one, don’t try the DIY-approach with your outdated inkjet. Commercial printing technology has only improved with the digital revolution, making for faster, cheaper, and higher quality prints.
Gregory M. Lewis is a Brooklyn-based tech blogger, copywriter, and leading techSmith for MarketSmiths, a copywriter’s collective specializing in bite-sized, luscious, vivid copy for websites, books, blogs, & more.
Photo Credits
MR LIGHTMAN | freedigitalphotos.net | Courtesy of author
