It’s a peculiar love affair, this thing I have with print. Lately I’ve been thinking of how huge a challenge it is to get the word out about the medium and the field, especially to Millennials and younger people.

How do they learn not only what print is, but how important it is, and that there are career opportunities in the field? Seems to me that only those who have relatives or friends in the business would consider working in print. Too bad. We need a rock star, or a campaign that does for print what “Got milk?” did for milk.

For sure, it’s not a one-person challenge. And still, I do what I can to change the public perception of the print industry, one post or tweet at a time.

Here’s what got my attention lately:

1. Print connects people. There was a memorable piece in the Thursday Styles section of the New York Times recently. It was entitled “Bound in Spirit and in Print,” so naturally it caught my eye. The writer shares a story about his late mother, her love affair with real books, and what happened when she passed away. Just a terrific piece about how books – real books – connect us over generations. http://nyti.ms/1EH1PUl

2. Let’s hear it for direct mail. Check out the results of this experiment with good old-fashioned letters. The head of a digital communications agency wanted to see who’d connect with him on LinkedIn if he sent a letter in the mail. Yup, it worked, and it worked fast. Really interesting: http://bit.ly/1E7ytwI

3. It’s 3D but don’t call it printing. 3D continues to get lots of press. All of the Baltimore Diocese schools are getting 3D printers and a 3D printing curriculum – http://bit.ly/1EIe6qN. Oh, and the U of Louisville is opening a new 3D printing training facility: http://bit.ly/1Ga3wOA Wonder if anyone’s teaching these kids about real printing?

4. College students rock! Students at Chicago’s Northwestern University launched a graphic design community http://bit.ly/1FaJukW . Sure hope local printers got wind of it and get involved.

5. What a terrific role model for young print CEOs. Did you catch John Sommers Jr.’s 30-minute interview with PI’s Mark Michelson last week? He’s the bomb! I believe he’s still under 30. In his interview, he talked about data being core to his business – the million-dollar word! “Data is the key driver to print.” Get this: his CT company, Allied Printing, has a full-time social media person. And I know firsthand about their Allied Academy seminars that they host for customers several times a year. Just excellent programming. He does this industry proud.

That’s all for today, folks.

© 2015 Margie Dana