Traditional Print vs Online Magazines – Who Will Win?

Ever since digital media began its upsurge some people have been predicting the death of traditional print. There has been much discussion about who will win the battle between the traditional reading experience and reading content online. There is no doubt that the growth of the digital world has led to changes in the print industry. Some publications have fallen by the wayside and the industry is far leaner than it was in the past. This does not mean that traditional print has lost the battle; if there is actually a battle to win.

We are going to take a look at why traditional print still plays a major part in our lives and how certain online publications are designed to reflect the traditional reading experience while also enhancing it for the digital age.

Why is traditional print here to stay?

Despite the ongoing growth of digital media, traditional print is still very much around. People still buy newspapers and magazines to read and there are many free publications around which make their money from offering advertising space. The fact is that people still relish the opportunity to sit back and relax and read a traditional newspaper or magazine.

When people read traditional printed publications they can also avoid being bombarded by advertising if they choose to. It’s not that easy when reading content online. Sometimes it’s a case of having to constantly click to actually get to the content. Having said all of this there is no doubt that digital content has given us immediate access to news and information that we have never had before. There are some online publications that try to combine the traditional reading experience with the best aspects of digital.

The best of both worlds

It makes sense that the best reading experiences should use a combination of traditional and digital. This is what happens with online flipbooks. You can read about the saas service yumpu to see more about the flipbook experience. In simple terms flipbooks are online publications that mimic a lot of what people enjoy about the traditional reading experience. Anyone who reads a flipbook turns the pages just the way they would if they were reading a hard copy magazine.

They may do so by clicking or swiping as opposed to manually turning but each page is still turned to reveal more and more content. The great thing about flipbooks is that this sense of traditional reading is combined with digital enhancements such as the addition of video and audio content. All of this results in a more immersive reading experience.

As you can see, traditional print appears to be here to stay, despite the continuing growth of digital media. Both formats co-exist to bring a variety of different reading experiences to people. It seems as though neither is really winning the battle; in fact there seems to be something of a truce in place with many publishers using a combination of traditional print and online media.