Yesterday I was presented with an array of interesting print samples and this caused me to have a flashback to the ECMOD show for cataloguers and e-businesses, which took place last month.

A handful of print suppliers exhibited at the event. One, I am sorry to report, had an exhibition stand that largely consisted of a big picture of one of their presses. Did this image of a rather clunky looking grey box prove to be alluring for the potential punters present? Unsurprisingly no it did not.

The busiest printer at the show (at least while I was there) was Mohn Media, which provided something of a masterclass in exhibiting in a way that engages with your target market. Mohn had a big display featuring blank catalogues in all the different formats it can produce, which with its multitude of web presses is a lot. I made a point of watching the reaction of passers by, and visitor after visitor would without fail pick up the different blanks and leaf through them, and lively debates with colleagues ensued as the relative merits of various formats were discussed.

Credit should also go to Garnett Dickinson, which also had samples of some cost-effective spine-glued catalogue formats, with a "three ways to save" message highlighting the benefits of eliminating binding costs, combined with speedy turnarounds and low cost mailing.

It made me recall the old debate about printers being brilliant at producing other people's marketing materials, while all-too-often neglecting their own. I feel pretty safe in stating that customers will be more inspired by what that big grey printing press can produce than in the press itself. And in a world of increasingly ephemeral screen-based information, print's tactile and engaging properties really should come to the fore.