Wherever you are printing in the world, most people realize their new business environment is facing a new, far-reaching challenge in the confidence of the printing product. Bank meltdowns, sovereign debt woes, continuing ad-budget creep onto the Web are all primary factors causing many of us in the business of print to pause. The most damaging influence, however, is that many people in printing have a crisis of confidence – not just the outsiders who simply assume we are all on the way to a paperless world.

It has unfortunately proved very difficult to better position print in the eyes of consumers. Numerous efforts to prop up print over the past few years – by trade associations, suppliers and even printers themselves – have borne little fruit. Instead, messages of print’s morass endlessly trickle down through the industry’s rank and file. As much as pundits and industry leaders appear to be looking for answers, reality is that most of us tend to act as followers.

In recent years, green printing – in its many phraseologies – has been one of the most prominent terms used to reposition printing in the marketplace. But, it is just as likely that this environmental position can be used against the industry moving forward, regardless of the damaging realities of consumer electronic waste. Most consumers simply are not engaged in debating the pros and cons of analogue green versus digital green.

In other words, I do not think green-anything will ever speak loudly enough to support the relevance of print in the exponential expansion of digital communications. There must be a better way – new metrics – to champion print’s relevance. Even print’s best attributes, like touch-ability and portability, are now completely negated by younger device-born generations.

A printed piece, however, is still unique and holds a strong future based on new metrics that are not yet even realized. I believe some leaders have an inclination of what these new metrics will be and there are printers out there who do not suffer from a crisis of confidence. These are also the same printers who are investing in technology, building toward a future in which print takes on a new face in the great communications melting pot.