The print world continues to change at an accelerating rate. The current global downturn has only exacerbated what was the real challenge for the industry: volumes are declining as they go electronic. Certain print products will have the distinction of being the first to face extinction. Here are a few:
‘Yellow Pages’ directories
Printed versions of Yellow Pages continue to lose revenue to their various digital counterparts and internet versions. The cost of advertising in the Yellow Pages is also an issue. By dividing various geographic areas into smaller units, retail businesses had to advertise in more editions. Over two decades, the cost of those ads never went down. When colour printing was implemented, the yellow was printed. Thus, if you wanted a white area, you paid a premium for “no ink.”
‘White Pages’ directories
There are just over 3,400 phone directories in the US, where the White Pages directory is mandated by statute. If the phone company wanted a monopoly on wired local phone service, it had to produce a residential and business directory and get it to every subscriber. The break-up of the Bell System, the competition for long distance, and the gradual extinction of the wired telephone have changed the dynamics of the phone business. AT&T was successful in convincing the Florida Public Service Commission to kill the White Pages, in the name of making the Earth greener.
Printed classified ads
The internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads sound trivial. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites such as Craigslist and eBay, then newspapers are not far behind them. The revenue from classified advertising was an important part of a newspaper’s base. Once lost, it does not come back.
Handwritten letters
Worldwide, 360bn emails are sent each day – that’s four million each second. An estimated 3.8bn humans own cell phones, and 80% of the population has access to cell phone coverage. More than a trillion text messages are sent annually. At any given moment, half the population of the Earth is on the phone. If you want to stand out from this clutter, send a handwritten note. The handwritten note is the tip of an iceberg that includes all forms of first-class mail. We see losses in volume for paper, envelopes, and postage.
Personal cheques
The American Bankers Association says 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while 14% plan to increase their use of electronic payments. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments. Cheques continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a cheque. Cheques account for about half of consumers’ recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003). Cheque use peaked in the mid-1990s. By 2000, retail electronic payments had gained considerable ground.
Frank Romano is professor emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter
