Currently, in the times of digital media and Information technology, the importance of print media is same as years before. May be it is the convenience of reading something anytime you want that makes the hardcopies remain more popular. Even in our offices where most of the business and information exchange are carried out through internet, stuff like laser tone cartridge and bulk ink are still very important part of office supplies. It seems like nothing is ever going to take the place of print media. While the usage of printing and print media seems to have no end even in the future, one really gets curious about the history of this media. Let us go back in time and trace back man’s first successful print making endeavor.

Many historians trace the history back to Mesopotamian times of around 3000BC but there are hardly any evidences to prove it. However first actual record is known to be of block prints used around 200AD in China. Initially it was used to print on clothes. As the usage of paper became common around China and East Asia, the same technique was used on paper as well. Nearly two centuries later the Romans also used the same printing techniques on both papers and clothes. The earliest example of a complete printed compilation along with illustrations is The Tiananmen scrolls. It was printed in China in 868 AD. In Korea, the same block technique was further enhanced by using metal rather than wood.

Later during the 9th and 10th century same technique was used in clay, wood, metal, stone and even glass in the Middle East. The Arabs and Egyptians used the technique to print prayer books and amulets. With the Arab invasion of Europe and Central Asia, this technique also travelled along. Yet in Europe also, it was used to print religious banners and scrolls mostly n fabric.

As this technique was taking over the world, the Chinese invented yet another technique in the 1040AD. This was the movable object printing. The basic technique was still the block method but the components were actually movable. The very first example of book printed with this method is a Korean book, ‘Jijki’. It required a lot of effort in moving the tablets around.

During 1843, a new technique was introduced by an American inventor, Richard March Hole. In this technique the image or text to be printed is rolled around a cylinder which is than pressed or rolled over the substrates. With few improvements done along time, his remained a very popular printing technique around the world.

Later, the offset printing was invented during 1875. The technique was initially developed to print on tin but now has become the most common type of printing used for paper. Although it is good for large scale printing purposes, the increase in daily printing requirements lead to the development of most latest printing technique, the laser printing. It is quick and convenient and the equipment is not too heavy or bulky. This is the technique home and office printers are based on.

This article comes from ezine-articles edit released

Print media refers to paper publications circulated in the form of physical editions of books, magazines, journals and newsletters. Print media is given explicit freedom in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

With so many different forms of media distribution, traitional print media is struggling to maintain readership. Due to the fact that publications lose so many readers every year, advertisers are beginning to pull money from print mediums, such as newspapers and magazines.

Instead, those funds are put into other mediums like television, radio, and other digital platforms. Journalists considering a career in this field should recognize that the Internet offers the same level of freedom of expression as print media. Publishing written work on the internet is gaining popularity because of the ease of creating a content and dispersing it.

However, print media has a great touch.

This article comes from reference edit released

These days, you will hear the term “print media is dead” by so many experts in the advertising and marketing fields. While it’s true that a lot of traditional communication materials are going digital, print media is far from done. Just take a look at the magazine section in your supermarket, or how many books are sold on Amazon every day. Print media is still very much alive; you just have to know how to utilize it, and get the most bang for you buck.

Definition:

If an advertisement is printed on paper, be it newspapers, magazines, newsletters, booklets, flyers, direct mail, or anything else that would be considered a portable printed medium, then it usually comes under the banner of print media advertising. There are notable exceptions, when print media dovetails into mediums like guerrilla advertising, or other Out Of Home (OOH) executions.

It’s hard to say exactly how old print media advertising actually is. There are examples of printed pieces dating back to early Egyptian times. In 17 th century England, several different forms of advertisements appeared in newspapers and on handbills. But the general consensus is that print media advertising as we know it today started life in 1836, when a French newspaper called La Presse charged for advertisements and lowered the price of the newspaper. This is the birth of commercial press.

Costs of Print Media Advertising

These vary greatly depending on the publication, circulation, number of insertions, quantities (if it is direct mail, flyers, handouts and so on), and a host of other factors.

Every publication you deal with has what is known as an Advertising Rate Card. Get to know this format well, it deals with everything from costs to specs for print media.

If you have a low budget, you will find something to fit it. But you won’t be getting major exposure from a local newspaper in a town that has 1000 residents.

A mass-circulated magazine, like those found at the checkout of the grocery aisle, will charge many thousands of dollars for one insertion. That goes up if it’s a back cover, faux front cover, double page spread or center spread.

It’s also common these days to do multiple insertions in one magazine. That also bumps the price up considerably.

Costs of Direct Mail Advertising

For direct mail, you are dealing with not just large volume printing costs, but also purchasing qualified lists. If you, for instance, are advertising for a new auto-repair shop, you want to send your mailing to people who own older cars. If you’re advertising a new children’s product, you want to send it to households with children. This information will cost you.

With direct mail, you will be looking for a good ROI (Return In Investment), and have to deal with the fact that a response rate of 1-2% is typical. That means you can only expect around 3 calls for every 100 mailings. And that’s not a conversion rate either.

So, you will have to send out hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of mailings to get the kind of conversion rate you need to be successful.

Here’s an example:

Your product costs $70. You want to sell $20,000 worth of that product.

If you get really lucky, you’ll get a 2% response rate.

With good sales people,you will close the sale on 33% of those people.

$70 x 33% x 2% = 0.46

20,000 divided by 0.46 = 43,478

That means you will need around 44,000 mailings to get your $20,000. But remember, those mailings cost money, and that figure doesn’t include a profit. The overheads involved in making the product are also not accounted for. You will need to send out many more mailings to absorb the costs of printing and mailing and still make money. But as direct mail is still one of the most effective ways to reach a consumer, it can be done easily. If you make your direct mail exciting and fun to open, rather than a tacky piece of junk mail, you can achieve your business goals.

The Future of Print Media Advertising

Sadly, it is dying out in favor or digital media. The iPad is quickly becoming known as the magazine killer, but it will take a while. And that means there are bargains to be had in the print media advertising arena. Full page ads (known as insertions) that used to cost $12,000 are now going for a quarter of the price. The reason is simple. Less readers, lower rates.

The future of print media advertising in magazines, newspapers and other forms of traditional print media looks fairly bleak. But direct mail, if done right, it still a very effective way to reach a consumer and grab their attention. Overall, print media is not dead. Not yet. But you are reading this on a computer screen.

This article comes from the-balance edit released

PRINT MEDIA :

Print media includes those media of communication which are controlled by space rather than time. It can be read at any available time and can be kept for record. Following are the major print media of mass communication.

a) Books

b) Newspapers

c) Magazines

Books :

In the past books was not a mass medium but privilege of the elite class. There were two reasons for that. Firstly, books were not printed but transcribed by hand. Secondly, the low literacy level in the masses limited books exclusively to a small fraction of the society. It was the nineteenth century which saw book as a mass medium.

In the contemporary world, book is one of the most effective mass media. It is the best source of education. However, it should not be talent merely as an educational tool., It is the best and cheapest means of storing and transmitting to others the records, knowledge, literature speculations and entertainment characteristics of the human society. It represents the conscience of time and people gone by, and it speaks to each reader individually. Computer can also be used for storage and retrieval of information. However it has yet to go a long way to replace book for storing and retrieval purposes.

Books provide permanent record. Some books printed several years ago are still in existence. Books, from their beginning, have demonstrated their capacity to bind traditional societies together and to give rise to new and sometimes revolutionary thought patterns.

Newspaper

Newspaper is one of the most important and effective print media of mass communication. It was first published in Germany and later spread its roots to the rest of the world. Its valuable services to the community like information, education, entertainment, persuasion, cultural transmission, record facility etc., have made it an inevitable medium for the contemporary world.

Magazines

Magazine is a comparatively more entertaining print media. Besides other uses it gratifies readers urge for entertainment. It contains features, comics, sports, showbiz, current affairs etc., for its readers.

This article comes from mass-communication-talk edit released

Modern advertising techniques use many ways to convey a message to the consumers. Print media, however, is one of the oldest forms of advertising. It also remains to be one of the most popular forms because it can reach a wider target audience. There are various types of print media which help advertisers to target a particular segment of consumers.

Starting from woodblock printing in 200 CE to digital printing that is currently in use, printing has definitely come a long way. It is a process of using ink on paper to show us images and text by using a printing press. The primary use of print media is to spread information about daily events and news as it is the fastest way to reach the public. Apart from that, it provides a lot of entertainment to the readers. It may be magazines or newspapers that cover all the stories and articles that generate a lot of interest in the minds of the public. Another important use is that of advertisements, as print media is quite inexpensive and can target a huge population at once.

Newspapers are the most popular form of print media. They are generally delivered at home, or are available at newsstands, and it is the most inexpensive way to reach a huge mass of people quickly.

Different types of newspapers cater to various audiences, and one can select the particular category accordingly.

A newspaper is divided into various segments containing current events, sports, food, entertainment, fashion, finances, politics, advertisements, informative articles, and so on. The advertiser, in this case, can choose from a daily newspaper to a weekly tabloid. Advertisers design press advertisements, wherein the size is decided as per the budget of the client.

A newsletter is a publication that mostly covers one main topic. Sometimes, people have to subscribe for the newsletters, or many a time, they are even free. Newsletters are generally used as information sources for neighborhood, communities, and groups having an interest about that particular topic, or event. They are also used for promotional purpose, political campaigns, or for causes.

Newsletters are also used in many schools as a communication tool for parents, which give them information about what is new in the school. Many companies make use of newsletters as a marketing strategy to provide all the information to customers and employees.

Magazines provide detailed articles on various topics, like food, fashion, sports, finance, lifestyle, and so on. Magazines are published weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually, and many of them are sold all over the world.

Advertising in magazines costs a bit more, but it is a great way to target some market segments. The ads in the magazines need to be eye-catching, yet simple and elegant. Make sure you do not put too much information to herd the page; in that case, you can provide web details for more information. The advertisements and magazine subscription fees are the fund providers for the magazines.

Banners at many places are made of cloth, or paper and are used to show slogans, logos, or some messages. It is also used for advertising brands in exhibitions, giving out the names of products, or services that are being provided. Like banners, posters also come under the same category for the same purpose.

Communication details are also an important part of these banners. Posters are mostly hung at a height and are made attractive so as to catch the attention of the passersby. The primary use of posters can be seen in political campaigns. Both banners and posters are customized and include text as well as graphics―that too in a huge size so that the message is seen from far. It is a self-made form of advertising.

Billboards have mostly become digital, but they qualify under the category of print media―after all, the advertisements are printed on the billboard. These include text and graphics―mostly as a combination―so as to make it more appealing.

Billboards have fixed locations and are huge in size so that it can be seen and read from a long distance. Billboard advertisements are the most costliest in the print media category. The price depends on the size, location of the billboard, and mostly on the duration of the advertisement. Apart from advertisements, a lot of promotional activities are also done by making use of billboards. Even though it costs a lot, it helps in targeting all the market segments.

Books are the oldest form of print media that are used as a way of communication and information piece. They give an opportunity to writers to spread their knowledge about a particular subject to the whole world. They are a diverse platform comprising varied topics that include literature, history, fiction stories, and many more, that not only increase our knowledge but also entertain us.

A book is actually a collection of many printed pages, which are later bound together. After printing was invented, books were printed giving knowledge of various sectors to the world.

A brochure, also known as pamphlet, is a kind of booklet that contains the details of the company, or organization. Generally, brochures are for takeaway, so as to keep the brand in the mind of the audience.

They are distributed in exhibitions, or shops in which particulars of the product, or service of the company are provided along with communication details. It is very necessary that the brochure contains all the required details of the product or service with terms and conditions along with the charges. Brochures generally consist of two or three folds of glossy and colorful sheets with some nice presentation. They are mostly distributed by hand, sent by mails, or you may find them at brochure racks as well.

A normal flyer is also a part of print media. Some of the big companies may not use this type for advertising of targeting the market, but for small organizations, it can be very useful and can help in generating business. A flyer should always be crisp and eye-catching so that it attracts people’s attention.

Flyers can be distributed in exhibitions, or can be put on walls of colleges and schools, depending on what kind of audience an organization is looking for. Printing of flyers is also inexpensive, and so, a stack can be distributed in the neighborhood, or at signals. They are commonly used for advertisements, or at local events and parties.

This article comes form buzzle edit released