Print Is Big

We’re big, we’re green and we’re here to stay!

Despite what some people might say, print isn’t dead and it’s not the enemy of forests worldwide. The original “disruptive technology,” it’s one of the biggest industries in the world and it’s still growing.

Did you know that worldwide, print is still experiencing 6.8% annual growth on average? With an estimated 45 trillion pages printed annually around the globe this $640 billion worldwide industry is not only booming itself, it’s contributing to an additional $3.8 trillion in related services.

But what about the environment? Don’t worry — despite what you may have heard, we do care about the planet and are deeply involved in making our industry eco-friendly and sustainable. In fact, 51.5 million tonnes of paper were recovered through recycling in 2010.

Did you know that 60% of the power used to produce paper is supplied by on-site, renewable energy sources? That reading a traditional newspaper produces 20% less CO2 than reading one on your smartphone or tablet? That spam email wastes 33 billion kilowatt hours annually? Or that 70% of all so-called “junk mail” is printed on recycled paper?

And speaking of junk mail… it turns out it’s not quite as much of a throwaway as you might have assumed. 80% of households state that they at least browse their direct advertising mail. 78% of nonprofit donations are the result of direct mail marketing. And global response rates to direct marketing have increased by 14%!

Although some stats do indicate that print may be more eco-friendly than digital, there is no denying that the trend to go online is now a big part of our everyday lives. Technological advances are amazing and convenient, and we certainly aren’t saying they should be dismissed — just that it shouldn’t always be assumed digital is better than good “old fashioned” paper.

Print and digital actually work very well together, which is something that we have explored on our blog on several occasions. In conclusion, we don’t think that it’s a matter of print or digital; rather, that both have their time and place, and consumers should know that selecting print doesn’t make the dreaded statement that they (and we) aren’t committed to the planet!