The study emphasises that electronic products and processes are changing business models by reducing the expense and time of physical materials while providing new revenue sources. Some examples of electronic alternatives include: SMS, E-paper, Blogs, Search, RSS, and of course the Internet overall.
According to John Zarwan, principal of J. Zarwan Partners who authored this study for PRIMIR, “Across the board, many of these electronic technologies will have a negative impact on print. It does not have to be direct displacement to be substantial – even a small drop in demand can have a substantial effect
on the industry and its participants.”
The report further explains that in an industry based on volume with high fixed costs, print has a disadvantage as advertisers shift their model to include electronic alternatives either as a direct replacement to print or as additional communications venue, thus diluting print’s share of the pie.
Zarwan points out, however, that print and paper have some outstanding advantages, and as a result have shown resiliency and tenacity in the face of formidable obstacles. It will be difficult, if not impossible, for electronic systems to replace print entirely, even in any one category. Print and electronic media will coexist, co-evolve, and support each other well into the future. Clearly, any stakeholder in the printing industry should familiarise themselves with these emerging and existing electronic technologies and follow their development, adoption and acceptance.
