COVER STORY
Printing For
Millennials
COMPILED BY MEGGAN MCCARTHY
Millennials require customisation, want to stand out and want prints done yesterday. According
to Richard Gray from Print Tribe, 'Millennials are a huge and increasingly infl uential generation
in economic terms. They use digital media more than older generations but still want to use
print; but only as part of a multichannel communications process.' We get advice from suppliers
on technologies that will help print shops maximise printing for this market.
Ryan Miles, Managing Director,
Heidelberg Graphic Systems Southern Africa
1. Millennials are known to be 'glued to their phones'. Is this market
still interested in print?
Absolutely. Electronic media has given not only Millennials, but all generations,
the ability to stay in touch through multiple forms of media, whether personal,
general areas of interest, or commercial, from multiple sources, in real time.
This information is usually delivered electronically en masse in small snippets.
But there’s no doubt that printed material creates a different reaction and
triggers an individual in a unique manner. Therefore, in highly competitive
markets, one needs to connect to your market using all tools available to
achieve the best results.
2. What expectations do millennials have for printed products?
We are used to having things at our fi ngertips. Take music as a simple example
of instant gratifi cation: now one can download a song right after hearing it
on the radio. We can apply this to print. The average age of print buyers has
decreased, with buyers in their mid-twenties expecting results immediately,
because they are getting that instant gratifi cation in other forms of technology.
The advance in technology available to printers has allowed for the meeting of
these demands, as well as to cater for new trends, such as personalisation and
PG 28
JANUARY 2018
AFRICA PRINT JOURNAL
www.AfricaPrint.com