Buzzetta Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Print will eventually die as a form of mainstream communication in the way that people stopped carving their orders for wheat on clay tablets thousands of years ago. The humble Watcher lurking and aardvark88 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 (edited) Some how reading the latest summer issue of Spiderman or a Hardy Boys book up in the treehouse on my cell phone just doesn’t feel the same… And if it runs out of power halfway through, I’m out of luck. Edited June 15 by Robot Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 (edited) On 6/13/2024 at 8:12 AM, Robot Man said: I have worked in the Graphic Design and Printing field my whole life. For years I have seen the decline of the need of printed material. Glad I made it out alive. So many great print shops in my area have closed. Book stores new or used are closing in droves. Hard to believe comic stores aren’t next. Costco has now made the decision to stop selling books. My local grocery store has eliminated magazines. We only have one Barnes & Noble store still open. Music and record stores for the most part even with the resurgence of vinyl are things of the past. Are paper mediums next? The internet has killed all interest in holding a book, magazine or newspaper in your hands. Am I just the last dinosaur left? Very sad… I've been a full time graphic designer for over 25 years. The turmoil of declining newspapers and magazines had a huge effect in around 2008-2012. I was really lucky and the agency I worked for hooked me up with Disney, Warner bros and a few other movie studios from around 2012-2016. After that I went back to a huge print warehouse company with mostly print. I did everything from billboards to vehicle wraps to magazines. As I've gotten older I wanted to work for a University where I'm currently a graphic designer moving toward lecturing and teaching. I've also had a large amount for freelance for over 25 years. I've even worked for some people I met on the boards here. Still do in fact. Its shocking how many people still do not know how to make a proper bleed. The main software used in the print industry today (for the last 20 years) is still InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Although Canva is starting to make some small waves. AI is starting to have an impact and I've been teaching some classes on it. Its hard to stay on top of everything as the programs have really changed over the last year. But overall our local large print company is still doing better than ever. Edited June 15 by Rip Robot Man, Jayman, The humble Watcher lurking and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snitzer Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Might depend on where you live. Here, Books A Million, 2nd and Charles, B&N, speciality and rare bookstores, etc., seem to do well. I think we're seeing this a lot across the US, in various industries, and again, it could just depend on your locale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Book Guy Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 When Computers took off and especially after the founding of the internet everybody I knew in the Book business was aware it was in for big changes. Opinions differed on how much change and how fast. I remember thinking that for computer reading to really take off a device that mimicked Books needed to be invented. Say a Book sized device with just a couple of pliable screen pages that you could hold in your hand and flip and the page would update. Lo an behold the physical sensation of page turning or even holding something like you held a book proved completely superfluous and everybody adapted immediately to the flat screened e-reader! It has became obvious that we have become a 'Book-as-Object' market in some ways. Younger people I know often want to own Books but there often has to be something special about it. Illustrated, First Edition, facsimile edition, leather bound etc. Not always, but 'special' certainly catches their eye. Some people will always prefer reading a physical Book and that aesthetic will continue forward, putting some sort of floor under Book production. However per capita Book production will eventually peak in the developed world. It might have already. Left behind will be a series of niche markets that major and minor publishers will serve. I looked at the Kirby/Wood book that SFCityDuck posted a link to and will probably buy it. I note the proliferation of such narrowly targeted titles, often on kickstarter etc. I wish there was a way to keep up with what has and is being published, but I no of no central site listing Comic related items that I can check into. I've bought kickstarter titles, recently from Steve Rude and the Mignola illustrated PINOCCHIO and so get emails announcing 'similar' titles from KS but I'm sure I only see a fraction. If these publishers are at least somewhat successful they might maintain inventory on titles so that they are available after the initial campaign. I was heartened to hear they are selling some through regular outlets where I have a chance of running across them. If they are keeping inventory above the pledges then they have become old fashioned publishers in a sense. There is an amazing amount of Comic related material being published right now. In ways we are living in a Golden Age of this sort of publishing! Darwination and The humble Watcher lurking 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hepcat Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 On 6/13/2024 at 11:12 AM, Robot Man said: The internet has killed all interest in holding a book, magazine or newspaper in your hands. Am I just the last dinosaur left? No. I'm still here. And since I don't have a TV, I'm constantly reading when I'm at home and not on the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Yorick Posted June 16 Popular Post Share Posted June 16 Print is an art-form. Art will not die until humans do. The humble Watcher lurking, Robot Man, Mr Sneeze and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post lordbyroncomics Posted June 16 Popular Post Share Posted June 16 I'm a print shop technician in a university and, at least in that context, print is very much alive. Every day we have to print and score and punch and stitch tens of thousands of pamphlets, booklets, manuals, reunion guides, you name it. While that may eventually diminish, the reunions alone guarantee a preference for print for the next several years, at least. Magazines and newspapers have declined, yes. Bookstores close. It isn't completely due to people switching to digital, but also that the rents and property taxes, etc. have substantially increased and shop owners have struggled more because of it. Darwination, Ken Aldred, ADAMANTIUM and 3 others 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swig Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 well I always thought that I would want to read a physical copy- yet this month i joined kindle unlimited- and was so glad that a 954 page book i want to read is on there as well- plus the fact to buy said book on amazon 2.99 for digital- 17 bucks for paper bound. plus cost to ship- gas storage issues- why i went digital- Today on the ny subway i saw a guy reading an x-men comic on his ipad so while we are not quite there- i feel like the end is near- for print- aardvark88 and The humble Watcher lurking 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFish Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 When I was in Tokyo 5-6 years ago I was amazed to see about 90% of the people reading Manga on their phone (the rest were sleeping or politely looking out the window), yet stores like Book-Off and Mandarake are still PACKED with people buying print. I personally buy about 80% of all my books digitally- I like the idea that I can carry my entire library anywhere I go. I still own about 3000 hardcover books and multiple thousands of vintage comics-- but in terms of new stuff- I almost always buy digital. Ken Aldred and The humble Watcher lurking 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Noodle Boy Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 Books will always be available in print, because you're getting good value for your money. Also there are books with "bonuses", i.e. maps or illustrations or photographs. But comics? Who actually thinks they're getting value for money buying a new book from a comic shop? Five or six bucks for something that can be read through in ten minutes or less, and which usually only gives you about one-sixth of a full story? Print comics, at least the 30-page periodicals, will eventually go away. I think we'll end up with manga-style thick trade paperbacks at some point, to offer some value for money, and some collections on the higher end will add a lot of extras to entice collectors who want those things. For myself, I stopped buying new comics once they went past $2 each. I went trade paperback-only for awhile, but these days I'm all digital for new stuff, and I buy back issues from the Bronze Age and earlier for my collection. The humble Watcher lurking, Ken Aldred and Darwination 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 On 6/15/2024 at 12:12 PM, Rip said: I've been a full time graphic designer for over 25 years. The turmoil of declining newspapers and magazines had a huge effect in around 2008-2012. I was really lucky and the agency I worked for hooked me up with Disney, Warner bros and a few other movie studios from around 2012-2016. After that I went back to a huge print warehouse company with mostly print. I did everything from billboards to vehicle wraps to magazines. As I've gotten older I wanted to work for a University where I'm currently a graphic designer moving toward lecturing and teaching. I've also had a large amount for freelance for over 25 years. I've even worked for some people I met on the boards here. Still do in fact. Its shocking how many people still do not know how to make a proper bleed. The main software used in the print industry today (for the last 20 years) is still InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Although Canva is starting to make some small waves. AI is starting to have an impact and I've been teaching some classes on it. Its hard to stay on top of everything as the programs have really changed over the last year. But overall our local large print company is still doing better than ever. Hey, I’m so old I remember QuarkXpress… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 I miss the fine art of lithography. Large format eight color presses with multiple PMS colors, metallic ink, soft touch coating and spot UV. Working a sheet in the middle of the night. And holding a beautiful piece in your hands when it was done… Darwination and Yorick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrwoogieman Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I’m happy to read old novels and not have to wonder if they’ve been edited or rewritten to suit someone’s modern sensibilities. Darwination 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitrusZ28 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 On 6/17/2024 at 7:08 AM, Robot Man said: Hey, I’m so old I remember QuarkXpress… I received one of those files last week. Version 3.32 was the best, wasn't it? Luckily the client know enough to also supply a hi-res PDF with bleed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 On 6/17/2024 at 7:15 AM, Robot Man said: I miss the fine art of lithography. Large format eight color presses with multiple PMS colors, metallic ink, soft touch coating and spot UV. Working a sheet in the middle of the night. And holding a beautiful piece in your hands when it was done… This is what I'm seeing in some of the current underground comics. Small print runs, but beautiful printing technique. It's the proof I need that print is not dead. Major publishing houses with boring stories trying to make a dollar on volume is a different story. Darwination 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
