The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner
The Toshiba fiasco is behind us but that doesn’t mean we can breathe even a little sigh of relief. The graphic arts industry has an uphill road to climb, if it is going to really be able to change its image. Actually that road isn’t particularly hard or steep because the industry has impressive achievements and unbeatable credentials when it comes to environmental impact. No other media can do what print can do: you can smell it, touch it, caress it and even lick it if you want. As yummy as all that iStuff is, it just doesn’t have the same sensory clout. And when it comes to media’s end of life, only print has a future.
The reason the way forward is rocky and seemingly verticular is that printers are afraid. And fear is clasps its victims in a terribly tight grip. Printers are scared to put their heads above the parapet and to argue back against the nitwits who believe that digital media has a more benign environmental impact. Printers are afraid of upsetting customers by raising issues that might start them thinking. Can’t have that because thinking is dangerous. People might start questioning their media investment choices. And printers are afraid that next week’s press hall will be even less noisy than last, as the next digital alternative to print wheedles its binary way onto the market.
But as any warrior will tell you, if you are under attack fear is no remedy. It leads only to ignominious and inglorious defeat, capitulation, death. Print has been fighting the fear but the industry has been under attack for so many years. Now the fear has almost become a habit and the fight is getting tiresome. It’s as if the printing industry has slithered a greasy and grubby way to the bottom of the media pile. Now it’s passively standing by as digital alternatives flicker past quicker than quick. So entrenched is the printing industry’s fear of opprobrium that it has forgotten how to fight back. And the worst of it is that our trade press is participating in this grovelly charade.
The next time some misguided fool does a Toshiba let’s come up with a better response than injured outrage. We will work on a printers’ declaration that anyone can pinch from the Verdigris website and hand over to whomever wants to take potshots at print media. And we urge everyone else with an interest to do the same. This fearful cowering has gone on for too long.
– Laurel Brunner
This blog is yours to use if you want, as long as you fully credit the Verdigris supporters who make it possible: Agfa Graphics (www.agfa.com), Canon Europe (www.canon-europe.com), Digital Dots (www.digitaldots.org), drupa (www.drupa.com), EFI (www.efi.com), EcoPrint (www.ecoprintshow.com), Fespa (www.fespa.com), HP (www.hp.com), Pragati Offset (www.pragati.com), Ricoh (www.ricoh.com), Splash PR (www.splashpr.co.uk), Unity Publishing (http://unity-publishing.co.uk), Xeikon (www.xeikon.com) and Xerox (www.xerox.com/digital-printing).