Digital Editions’ Growth Spurt
E-editions are gaining ground in the mainstream market.
June 2008 By Gretchen A. Peck
This spring, Barnes & Noble announced that it would offer both print publications and digital editions of more than 1,000 magazine titles to visitors of BN.com. The e-editions will be fulfilled by Barnes & Noble partner Zinio. Indeed, it’s just one more indication that, despite some debate on their future, digital editions are becoming a viable alternative to print for a growing number of readers.
Cambridge, Mass.-based The Gilbane Group recently published a study, “Digital Magazine and Newspaper Editions: Growth, Trends, and Best Practices,” showing that the number of business-to-business publications offering digital editions increased by more than 300 percent in a two-year span (2005 to 2007), and the number of consumer publications offering digital editions has increased by more than 200 percent.
For publishers, clear economic and environmental benefits exist: Digital editions don’t kill trees, and the cost to produce a digital edition is much less than a printed publication.
Beyond the environmental and economic considerations, many publishers also have found digital editions to be an effective medium for enhancing the editorial and advertising experience with the use of rich media.
Today, even businesses that have for generations been dedicated to printing publications are looking at digital distribution as a new way to serve publishing clients. For example, Brown Printing Co.—one of the nation’s largest magazine printers—announced that it would assist publishers with their digital publications by partnering with iMirus Digital Solutions, the e-edition division owned by parent company Riggs Heinrich Media Inc. Many other printers are now offering digital-publication services to their publishers as well.
Digital editions also can be an effective way for publishers to expand into new markets, and increase their circulations without the additional printing and mailing costs.
It was the opportunity to launch a new global title that prompted the publisher of Recycling Today to venture into e-editions. The global edition of the magazine debuted in April exclusively as an e-edition, with the help of Advanced Publishing Corp.
“We are extending an existing North American title into a global market position,” explains James R. Keefe, executive vice president and group publisher, GIE Media, which publishes Recycling Today. “The launch of the new product, which is different from a content perspective, was easier to achieve in an electronic format, as delivery to a reader base around the world is more reliable and immediate. Therefore, the distribution issue becomes much easier to solve. As well, the platform we selected allows a lot of powerful multimedia and interactive applications.”
Cambridge, Mass.-based The Gilbane Group recently published a study, “Digital Magazine and Newspaper Editions: Growth, Trends, and Best Practices,” showing that the number of business-to-business publications offering digital editions increased by more than 300 percent in a two-year span (2005 to 2007), and the number of consumer publications offering digital editions has increased by more than 200 percent.
For publishers, clear economic and environmental benefits exist: Digital editions don’t kill trees, and the cost to produce a digital edition is much less than a printed publication.
Beyond the environmental and economic considerations, many publishers also have found digital editions to be an effective medium for enhancing the editorial and advertising experience with the use of rich media.
Today, even businesses that have for generations been dedicated to printing publications are looking at digital distribution as a new way to serve publishing clients. For example, Brown Printing Co.—one of the nation’s largest magazine printers—announced that it would assist publishers with their digital publications by partnering with iMirus Digital Solutions, the e-edition division owned by parent company Riggs Heinrich Media Inc. Many other printers are now offering digital-publication services to their publishers as well.
Digital editions also can be an effective way for publishers to expand into new markets, and increase their circulations without the additional printing and mailing costs.
It was the opportunity to launch a new global title that prompted the publisher of Recycling Today to venture into e-editions. The global edition of the magazine debuted in April exclusively as an e-edition, with the help of Advanced Publishing Corp.
“We are extending an existing North American title into a global market position,” explains James R. Keefe, executive vice president and group publisher, GIE Media, which publishes Recycling Today. “The launch of the new product, which is different from a content perspective, was easier to achieve in an electronic format, as delivery to a reader base around the world is more reliable and immediate. Therefore, the distribution issue becomes much easier to solve. As well, the platform we selected allows a lot of powerful multimedia and interactive applications.”
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Mark,
To your last point, the publishing industry's environmental impact has no relation to that of the agricultural, golf, or real estate industries. Further, the paper that's harvested for magazine pages isn't just from North America. Our industry's imprint on the global environment is significant. And whether you believe it or not, the question isn't whether e-editions have more environmental benefits than print (they clearly do) ... it's whether they benefit the reader. That's what's debatable.
The statement that e-editions have environmental benefits is misleading, if not irresponsible. PCs and servers use lots of electricity, which in the US is mostly coal fired. It's not clear that e-editions are environmentally preferable to "dead-tree" (ink on paper) editions. And, by the way, the harvesting of trees to make paper seems to be a relatively benign process in North America as long as the land remains forest. The real damage occurs when "working forests" are converted to agriculture, golf courses, residential development, etc.
A Texterity digital edition copy of the Giblane report is available for review at http://info.texterity.com/info/
2008GilbaneReport/