First Heidelberg Print Media Dialog in New York
11/02/2000
"Print media safeguarding the future of the New Economy!"
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) initiated the first Print Media Dialog as the prelude to a series of discussions about the future of the graphic arts industry. At the invitation of Bernhard Schreier, Chairman of the company's Management Board, top representatives of the New Economy met in New York at the end of October to discuss the role of print media in today's communication society. In his summary, Mr. Schreier had this to say: "The print media will be able hold their own in the future, provided they are easy and flexible to use, are created and distributed quickly and cost-effectively and offers high quality". This result is reaffirmed by the latest studies conducted by Prof. Frank Romano, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). In a comprehensive research project, RIT has documented that the print volume will continue to grow over the decades ahead. According to this study, digital printing will increase its market share in the USA from 24 percent to 60 percent by the year 2020.
The Print Media Dialog experts came to the following conclusion in terms of future market developments: Only if synergies between print and online media are harnessed to full effect will the highly communication-dependent New Economy have the opportunity to grow. "In the future, the right media mix will be the deciding factor in the battle for markets and consumers", warned Schreier.
Online and print media complement each other
"The convergence of media enables us to develop totally new concepts for integrated communication. As an adjunct to online media, print plays a central role," adds Andreas Weber (columnum Büro in Mainz), the facilitator for the talks. By personalizing the relevant products and services for online and print media, one-to-one marketing is set to become a central tool for the Internet economy. Walter Bender, Director of the Medialab at the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology (MIT) warns against underestimating the role of print media. "Paper is an ideal means of communication. But the way in which paper is printed will change tremendously in the future". Bender predicts a rapid change from mass communication to "personal printing" in order to disseminate information digitally via the networks and print locally.
Harald Neidhardt, as CEO of the New York start-up company Cardmine.com, uses an innovative business model - his company uses a combination of Internet and digital printing. Online users can communicate with each other and have the manufacture of printed goods sponsored - for example, postcards of brand name articles like Hugo Boss. Rudolf Fischer, head of the globally active business consulting company C-Quential Inc., believes that straightforward and cheap access to media services is a key success factor. Fischer sees a need to build up a new infrastructure for content management, which will guarantee the authoring and automatic distribution of content to all forms of output.
The New York publisher Jason McCabe Calacanis successfully combines online news services, magazines and conferences to form innovative interactive offerings for "Silicon Alley", as New York's Internet scene is known. "Our society is on the threshold of changing from reading material to video. It's all about broad casting", claims Calacanis, adding: "Print is art". But neither paper nor technology will be the decisive factors in the success of media - much rather, it will be the time available to consumers that will be crucial.
New York trend scout Florian Peter from Cscout sees maximum efficiency in the synergy of print and online. Online companies are in the process of setting aside their reservations about printing. "The New Economy will accept and integrate digital printing far more quickly than the graphic arts industry has been able to integrate new, interactive online media services into its portfolio," states Peter.
Extensive image material is available at www.journalist.heidelberg.com, in the picture archive in the "Current events" section.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Thomas Fichtl
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 47 47
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 46
E-mail: thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) initiated the first Print Media Dialog as the prelude to a series of discussions about the future of the graphic arts industry. At the invitation of Bernhard Schreier, Chairman of the company's Management Board, top representatives of the New Economy met in New York at the end of October to discuss the role of print media in today's communication society. In his summary, Mr. Schreier had this to say: "The print media will be able hold their own in the future, provided they are easy and flexible to use, are created and distributed quickly and cost-effectively and offers high quality". This result is reaffirmed by the latest studies conducted by Prof. Frank Romano, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). In a comprehensive research project, RIT has documented that the print volume will continue to grow over the decades ahead. According to this study, digital printing will increase its market share in the USA from 24 percent to 60 percent by the year 2020.
The Print Media Dialog experts came to the following conclusion in terms of future market developments: Only if synergies between print and online media are harnessed to full effect will the highly communication-dependent New Economy have the opportunity to grow. "In the future, the right media mix will be the deciding factor in the battle for markets and consumers", warned Schreier.
Online and print media complement each other
"The convergence of media enables us to develop totally new concepts for integrated communication. As an adjunct to online media, print plays a central role," adds Andreas Weber (columnum Büro in Mainz), the facilitator for the talks. By personalizing the relevant products and services for online and print media, one-to-one marketing is set to become a central tool for the Internet economy. Walter Bender, Director of the Medialab at the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology (MIT) warns against underestimating the role of print media. "Paper is an ideal means of communication. But the way in which paper is printed will change tremendously in the future". Bender predicts a rapid change from mass communication to "personal printing" in order to disseminate information digitally via the networks and print locally.
Harald Neidhardt, as CEO of the New York start-up company Cardmine.com, uses an innovative business model - his company uses a combination of Internet and digital printing. Online users can communicate with each other and have the manufacture of printed goods sponsored - for example, postcards of brand name articles like Hugo Boss. Rudolf Fischer, head of the globally active business consulting company C-Quential Inc., believes that straightforward and cheap access to media services is a key success factor. Fischer sees a need to build up a new infrastructure for content management, which will guarantee the authoring and automatic distribution of content to all forms of output.
The New York publisher Jason McCabe Calacanis successfully combines online news services, magazines and conferences to form innovative interactive offerings for "Silicon Alley", as New York's Internet scene is known. "Our society is on the threshold of changing from reading material to video. It's all about broad casting", claims Calacanis, adding: "Print is art". But neither paper nor technology will be the decisive factors in the success of media - much rather, it will be the time available to consumers that will be crucial.
New York trend scout Florian Peter from Cscout sees maximum efficiency in the synergy of print and online. Online companies are in the process of setting aside their reservations about printing. "The New Economy will accept and integrate digital printing far more quickly than the graphic arts industry has been able to integrate new, interactive online media services into its portfolio," states Peter.
Extensive image material is available at www.journalist.heidelberg.com, in the picture archive in the "Current events" section.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Thomas Fichtl
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 47 47
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 46
E-mail: thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com
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