There was an interesting Apple iPad survey yesterday by one of the main Dutch news broadcaster (RTL4) asking:

Can you hardly wait to get the ‘revolutionary’ iPad?

21% said yes, while 78% said no, they can wait and RTL4 was also wondering in their broadcast what was so special about this new Apple tablet device; as was CNN, Wired Magazine and many Twitter Tweeters. One could argue that this survey is a positive for the iPad is still in pre-launch mode, yet then again, many will see this as a sign that the iPad is an iFail waiting to happen. (Apple stock ticker AAPL shows it down 4%+ last night)

Now this sounds familiar. Remember before the Apple iPhone came out (for instance, “Why the Apple phone will fail, and fail badly” from pre iPhone launch 2006)? Same sort of surveys and opinions it seems. As a matter of a fact, there was a time there just before the launch of the iPhone that many saw it being a complete and utter failure! To be honest, I was one of them. Wow was I wrong! (Just do this Google search, “iPhone will fail“, which I searched on dates from 2005 till end 2006 and it is kind of amazing!),  Read more... (331 words, 1 image, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

This is a cool site for those in the printing industry in the UK, but useful for anyone that uses the English language really, PrintSpeak.

“Print is not dead, but circulation and readership of printed publications are falling fast“, says Karen Charlesworth. It is Karen’s honest reporting and fairness to both vendors, as well as the users alike, that makes this site a must visit, in my book. The site is like a portal for both print news, but also informative links on prepress software, hardware, as well as editorial views that are up to the moment. They even have a nice Pre-flighting software (stand-alone) category. Check it out:

http://www.printspeak.co.uk

They also have a great and easy to read print industry newsletter which you can subscribe to. Print’s one-stop product information shop • printing products directory, video library, product news and more..

The PRINT 09 show in Chicago a couple weeks ago is proof that many printers need to become more than just appliers of ink onto rolls of paper. The latest Fuji inkjet press or Xerox digital printing machine is of course important, yet we read in this article titled, “The Digital Future for the Printing Industry” that print-shops need to change or die. What is that change generally about?

“The printing industry is currently and will continue to experience many transitions in the form of `Digital Printing and Communications`. This also impacts on all businesses globally.

The printing industry will continue to evolve into new and exciting `electronic imaging driven by digital technology`. Digital technology, economic restructuring, global competition, market changes, emerging new media and other market forces are combining to `dramatically` change the operating environment of the Printing Industry.”
Source: http://www.graphicstart.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=429

Here is a little video of T.J. Tedesco giving a 40,000 foot view of social media for printers at PRINT 09, which is for sure part of this transformation (Starting to sound like a Mayan 2012 prophecy!):
 Read more... (560 words, 1 image, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

Here is a blog post and story about the current facade on the demise of print and publishing, with some insight. Your comments below are encouraged…:

“Stop the Presses: Print Media Is Not Dead”

This is an interesting article which raises a valid point, which in my mind was:

Print media is not dying, but it is being choked.

The point being, although many publicly traded media outlets are cutting costs and moving things away from print and more online largely due to Wall Street pressures, there are many more examples of private media companies performing just fine and profitable with print and of course with online sister editions as well (Print feeds Online and Online feeds Print.). Take this quote for example:

“But don’t shed a tear for these massive corporate news outlets. According to John Morton, who analyzes the newspaper industry for a living and writes for the American Journalism Review, for most of 2008, newspaper companies were still running profit margins between 10 and 20 percent. Of course…” [Cont...]

SOURCE: http://graphicstart.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=187

Would love to get your feedback on this subject. What is your view on the future of print and publishing? Comment via the comments section just below…