Fujifilm Vice President Mark Friedman reflects on the unique attributes print brings to the table, inspired by his attendance at Printing United Expo.
There has never been a more important moment for the printing industry to assert its value. Not just within the market, but in the human experience itself.
In a world where AI can replace a hundred tasks with a single prompt and digital noise competes for every second of our attention, print stands apart. It slows us down. It reconnects us with our imagination. And it reminds us what it feels like to be human.
Talking with Marvel’s Greg Horn drove this home. His work, which is vivid, tactile, immersive, exists because imagination still matters. And print, in all its forms, is one of the last places where imagination has room to breathe.
When ink hits paper, it invites the mind to engage, not just consume. It demands attention rather than hi-jacking it. It creates a spark instead of siphoning energy.
At Printing United, that truth was everywhere. The Fujifilm team felt it in handshakes, conversations, demos, and the sheer electricity of people connecting face to face.
The show wasn’t just a showcase of technology; it was a reminder that human engagement is our industry’s real differentiator.
When people step away from screens and into real interaction, creativity expands. Curiosity wakes up. Ideas sharpen. That’s the opportunity in front of us.
Artificial Intelligence will continue to accelerate production, streamline workflows, and enhance capabilities. It should.
Copresco’s Steve Johnson, Domtar’s Sam Ankony, and Lindenmeyr’s Tommy Gaffney, Bill Kurz, and Jack Ankony.
But if we let the world lean too far into automation and frictionless shortcuts, we risk losing the very ingredients that fuel great ideas: wonder, imagination, and meaningful human connection. Print gives all three a home.
A printed magazine, a catalog, a photo book, a package design, aren’t just passive experiences. They’re invitations. They pull people into a story rather than shoving one at them. They ask people to slow down, to look closely, to think, to feel.
And that’s exactly why our industry matters right now.
Print is a counterbalance in a short-cut era. It keeps imagination alive. It keeps engagement real. And it reminds us all that some of the most important experiences in life still happen offline.
Skipping a print version of your book, manual, or publication may seem to be a shortcut. After all, printing sometimes seems like an additional step that takes extra time, effort and money.
That is where Copresco comes in. Neglecting print to save time becomes a moot point thanks to Copresco’s almost unbelievably fast turnaround.
In the time it takes to format and publish your materials for online use, Copresco can print, bind and distribute, with far more professional results.
Information is meaningless if no one reads it. In a world where people ignore their daily deluge of emails and grow frustrated searching thousands of websites, print shines.
People take print seriously. If you make the effort to put your information in print, your audience will make the effort to read it.
Don’t shortchange your target audience. Call the company that makes print painless.
Call Copresco.
Copresco is closed Friday July 3 to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial. Enjoy your 3-day weekend in the land of the free and the home of the brave.