Right around the middle of the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg came up with a way to effectively (and a lot more swiftly) replicate textual documents. This meant a whole lot of relief when it comes to promoting the written word and literacy in general, for the amount of time necessary for making copies was shortened manifold. Furthermore, the possibilities of error were dwindled to a bare minimum, seeing as how Gutenberg’s new world offered making exact copies of text documents, be they legal paraphernalia, the Holy Bibles, or literal works in general.
However, now more than half a century later, with the appearance of the Internet and computing technology in general, the need for printed documents has taken a downward spiral. Be that as it may, the printing industry doesn’t seem to want to let go of its fame that easily.
Why is the printing industry dwindling in popularity at the time being? Who is the culprit which to blame for this atrocity? Why, the Internet, of course. Offering numerous options in terms of email, cloud platforms and social media websites, the printers are being rendered increasingly trite even right now, as we speak. Even though these two opponents seem to be in a perpetual state of battle-readiness, they have become allies in one department, at least. Also known as Web2Print, print e-commerce is based on doing print business using websites. The benefits of this collaboration are somewhat strong in numbers. Whether it comes to submitting print jobs, doing online reviews, or designing various things like postcards, the Interweb is helping the printing industry by promoting direct website printing, using rich user interfaces, which let you personally customize that which interests you, be it photos, booklets, business cards, or postcards.
A relatively new trend, digital printing on fabric doesn’t seem replaceable – you can’t wear your shirt design, now, can you? Whether it’s a variety of band merchandise, promotional clothing, or using dye-based inks to print on variety of fabrics that’s in question, this trend doesn’t seem ready to give up anytime soon. Of course, printing on fabric isn’t the only name of the game here. Various companies all around the globe have been known to use their dyes to add color to threads for a while now, so therein lies another benefit of printing. It is significantly cheaper to color the white thread, than making it in the desired color to begin with. The Internet has helped in this department of commercial printing too, by supplying the clothing companies with various user-friendly tools that can help their customers get creative and design their own prints and designs.
The trend of three-dimensional printing has smitten the world with its futuristic properties as of past couple of years. It is officially possible to create physical objects seemingly out of thin air by using these technological marvel. Supply a 3-D printer with appropriate materials, program it to create a particular design, and voilà – you got yourself whatever it is you needed. Until past couple of years, this idea would seem something out of a sci-fi movie, while nowadays, numerous prospects are being planned, from changing the way the industry works, to using 3-D printers to instantly create food for astronauts, even for the future Mars colonists!
Although the printing industry seems to be retracting from the world of business, it is not ready to give up that easy just yet. Furthermore, there are printing trends, unrelated to paper, that are somewhat irreplaceable by sharing platforms and emails. While not excelling in variety, the future of the printing business is likely to move to a more lucrative niche, rather than give up and fade out.
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