The Future of Print magazine in digital world

Printed magazines are facing an uncertain future and many challenges. The first and foremost challenge is the Internet. Today anybody can create content and send it to millions of people without spending money. Printing magazine involves cost, from creating the content to fact checking, printing and delivery. You have to hire designer, illustrator and you need a team to bring out the magazine. Printed magazine is result of a collective effort while Internet is mostly a personal and individual experience. preparing a printed magazine requires time, patience and attention to details. It needs an editorial plan and calendar. Publishing content in Internet is much easier and you don’t have to be a graphic designer in order to be able throw content on the net.

The Millennials pose another challenge. They have been growing up using Internet and they more comfortable using digital content. It needs a super human effort to attract them to printed words. In order to attract them you have to really create something compelling and unique, something they cannot find on the web. It seems that in order for print industry magazine to survive is to print special editions and in some cases highly personalized issues. Also printed magazine should put all effort to create extraordinary content that people are willing to pay for it. Print magazine can no longer rely on advertisement. They have to be more focused and target specific group of people or even individuals. Printing can also play a role in attracting readers. Printed magazine should use special effects such as spot varnishing, embossing, personalization and other print embellishment in order to offer something eye catching and appealing to readers, while at the same time providing the best content that readers can’t easily find or access using the web.