#isprintdead

One would think not. I’m not one for statistics, at least not researching them, but by all accounts I seriously doubt that digital is dying, or even slowing down. However, I have been noticing a trend that seems to be growing. Not at an alarming rate, but actually a healthy rate. 

Have you noticed that the buzz words surrounding ‘antiques’ is now Vintage, or Retro? Vintage and Retro sound much more nostalgic yet modern at the same time. No one wants to use an antique toaster, but Retro-Toasters are being sold for hundreds of dollars! Of course they’re not true antiques, but they look like it.

So what does that have to do with digital? Well, several things. Look at photography for example. I’ve been a professional photographer for over 30 years, have used just about every film format available, from instant, 35mm, to medium and large format, and now digital. I’ve used digital since the Nikon D1 at a whopping 2.47 MegaPixels! 

But if you look at trends in photography, apparently you’ll notice that millennials are the largest group of film users out there. They are gathering up old analog cameras and shooting film. Many are even developing it and printing it themselves. Personally, I’ve been there, done that, and much prefer digital, but still - it’s a nice trend to see. And one of my favourite iPhone Apps is called “TinType” which gives your digital photos that old, worn-out, vintage look.

And have you noticed how records (i.e. LP’s) are making a comeback? I went into an audio-video shop recently and couldn’t believe the selection of turntables available. Great new designs that do basically the same thing they did 30 years ago - spin the record around with a needle to ‘read’ the song.

This brings me to the reason for my post. In today’s world, it’s important to realize that marketing yourself effectively is a necessity. Learning how to Facebook (I think that’s a verb now), Tweet, Instagram and blog are skill sets that every business owner needs to master. Having a website for your business is a given, as well as building your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to help your customers find you. But since we’re talking vintage and retro here, what about print media?

Well, if you look at this article on the Gecko blog, you’ll read that Millennials are leading the retro-revolution once again by embracing the printed word (or should I say ‘hard-copy’) again. Books and magazines are once again coming en vogue. And for many of us Boomers, it never really went away.

Let’s face it, trying to relax with digital is stressful. Pop-up ads, ads within videos (think “Skip Ad in X seconds), fake news and scams, are the norm in just about anything you do online nowadays. When people want to really relax, what do they call it? Un-plugged! People simply relax more when they are un-plugged from the digital world and allow all their senses to relax.

I won’t get into the science of it - it’s been done and you can read about it in this article by Robert Dooley that inspired me to write this post. Not just taking note how “vintage” is in style, but also asking why is it? 

Want to relax? Print this post out and read it! Oh.. and then recycle the paper! ;)