Print is getting more expensive and losing its competitive edge to alternative media. Paper costs are rising rapidly and may never return to their historical lows since demand from the developing world is increasing and pressure from environmental groups opposed to paper mills is strong worldwide. The expectations of readers are also rising. Now that nearly every literate person has used a computer, a revolution of rising expectations is sweeping the publishing markets. These new expectations cover both the editorial and the commercial aspects of publication.
Readers expect faster turnaround to compete with electronic media.
They prefer the searchability of interactive products to the dead weight of paper. They like the superior illustration opportunities of multimedia. There are three kinds of publishers and three kinds of publications. Commercial publishers print for profit and produce newspapers, magazines, books and other products whic generally carry a price tag. Corporate publishers create pages for advertising, marketing, corporate communications, technical documentation and collateral material that they usually give away for free.