noelward
Well-known member
Print and Mail to the Rescue
The enduring power of tried and true communications
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
A good friend from many years ago sends me a postcard about every three weeks. This has been going on for a while, him upping the frequency from twice a year to monthly. We used to race cars together and he maintains contact, living now about 1,000 miles away. Neither of us races anymore but the physicality of print and mail has rekindled a connection that would otherwise have been lost.
Jim takes an image with his phone, prints it on his inkjet printer and attaches it to a postcard, always writing a comment about the image he has affixed, and drops it in the mail. He does the same thing with a dozen or so other people. around the country. As it turns out, they, like me, save the cards and pull them out when he arrives for a rare visit. They all tell him how much they treasure this old-school means of communication. Print and mail still matter, even on this tiny scale that has nothing to do with commercial printing.
The re-connection Jim’s cards have forged surpasses the ephemeral nature of email and texts, even those with photos, and enhances our phone calls and occasional in-person visits. Other people are doing much the same. Capitalizing on, or perhaps encouraging this practice there are printing firms that make postcards gummed to take a 4x6-inch photo. OK, it's not a job that will save you from going under but it does foster print and mail. Hmmm.
If a lot of people were to create and mail their own postcards I wonder how it could, in a very small way, transform communications. After all, most people have a camera in their pocket and many own a decent printer. There are people in my past who, if I can track them down, might appreciate the contact and maybe appreciate the enduring value of print and mail. I ordered some of the gummed cards and more 4 x 6-inch paper for my Epson.
The enduring power of tried and true communications
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
A good friend from many years ago sends me a postcard about every three weeks. This has been going on for a while, him upping the frequency from twice a year to monthly. We used to race cars together and he maintains contact, living now about 1,000 miles away. Neither of us races anymore but the physicality of print and mail has rekindled a connection that would otherwise have been lost.
Jim takes an image with his phone, prints it on his inkjet printer and attaches it to a postcard, always writing a comment about the image he has affixed, and drops it in the mail. He does the same thing with a dozen or so other people. around the country. As it turns out, they, like me, save the cards and pull them out when he arrives for a rare visit. They all tell him how much they treasure this old-school means of communication. Print and mail still matter, even on this tiny scale that has nothing to do with commercial printing.
The re-connection Jim’s cards have forged surpasses the ephemeral nature of email and texts, even those with photos, and enhances our phone calls and occasional in-person visits. Other people are doing much the same. Capitalizing on, or perhaps encouraging this practice there are printing firms that make postcards gummed to take a 4x6-inch photo. OK, it's not a job that will save you from going under but it does foster print and mail. Hmmm.
If a lot of people were to create and mail their own postcards I wonder how it could, in a very small way, transform communications. After all, most people have a camera in their pocket and many own a decent printer. There are people in my past who, if I can track them down, might appreciate the contact and maybe appreciate the enduring value of print and mail. I ordered some of the gummed cards and more 4 x 6-inch paper for my Epson.
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