Blurred Vines: Are You Invested in the Future of Print?

Greetings PI readers and citizens of the Printerverse! As 2013 comes to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity first and foremost to say THANKS. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my blog, engage with me through comments and e-mails, and share my posts with your friends and colleagues. Those actions connect us, and there is no better reward in my book!

For my final blog this year, I wanted to speak with you about the Future Of Print. There is war raging my friends, and the enemy is the perception of paper! Green is the new black, and too many green lines are being drawn to conclude that the use of paper is “bad” for the environment.

The “them” to our “us” in this scenario is a corporate machine invested in convincing consumers that paper kills trees. That perception, as ironic as it might be since these same corporations demonizing paper, use tremendous amounts of paper, is financially beneficial to them. Quite simply: less paper + less print + less postage + less human workers = more profits. It is a marketing strategy to focus attention away from their bottom lines, and point it directly to a simple call to action such as Go Green, Go Paperless.

I am in the same choir as you, so I will not be preaching eco-facts to “defend” paper and print. However, I will stand on my soapbox and ask what are YOU doing to defend the future of print?

I am a very proud (and loud!) supporter of Two Sides globally, and a partner member of Two Sides US. Two Sides is a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the environmental misperceptions of paper and print. Working directly and quietly behind the scenes with corporations, they have had significant success helping to craft accurate “green” messaging, having inaccurate messaging removed, and providing all of us facts to share through commissioned studies and research regarding the sustainability of paper and print.

To go back to my question, here is what I am willing to do to defend the future of print. Becoming a member of Two Sides US starts at $250 a year for a commercial membership. I will subsidize your investment by offering a free banner ad ($350 value) in one of my monthly newsletters in 2014 to all new Two Sides US members from now until December 31, 2013. No strings, no gimmicks. We are all in this together.

Perception can be a dangerous thing, as it becomes reality with the absence of facts. Please consider helping Two Sides un-blur the green lines, thanks for your attention, happy holidays, and of course Print Long and Prosper in 2014!

PS...Phil Riebel, President of Two Sides US has a new blog here on PI – check it out, and thanks to PI for helping spread the true story about paper and print!