Q: Printed Yearbooks
/We have annually produced a printed Yearbook which we distribute to each school family and our partners. It runs to about 250 pages and we print around 1,500. This year due to the pandemic we have produced a digital edition and our now considering whether we should continue with the print version when our lockdown ends! We know families value the publication but with school sustainability goals, the cost of printing and digital photography we are unsure whether printing is still the route to go down. Anonymous
A: GOODMAN
With no direct experience with client schools and yearbooks, I was hesitant to answer, but I do have thoughts on it!
Consider why your school prints a year book and the goal of the yearbook. It is not just for these students, in this moment, but for them to relive those moments and think about them for years to come. The yearbook is part of the alumni experience. Perhaps a paper book is not the way to go, but consider how you will ensure accessibility to the yearbook for the lifetime of your alumni. Where will the digital version live and how will alumni access it for the next 50 years? On some level it is the same question posed about NFTs and blockchain. Will the school store it in perpetuity and how will you accommodate for changing technology and ability for alumni to access it?
A: CAINE
I also have no experience with yearbooks at schools, however for that reason I believe that it might be wise to ask alumni, students and parents if they value a printed yearbook.
How many alumni actually dig up that book to look up folks that might pop up in their digital connections. My husband pulls his out quite often. It lives in a cubby under the coffee table. I on the other hand never look at mine.
Maybe try to see if you can draw the line from yearbook use to engagement.
A: CONNOR
Jill expressed my sentiments about yearbooks exactly. The technology will continue to change, and those yearbooks that aren't in print for the ages may not be accessible — like all those 8-track tapes we bought years ago, or the beta video that was replaced by VHS which was replaced by DVD and on and on.
I'm a print fan, and still pull my hardcover yearbook off the shelf to laugh at the fashion and hairstyles we thought we so avant-garde back in the day.
For posterity's sake, some things should remain analog!
A: CAYLOR
I would agree with Kathy. This is probably a perfect example of needing to get constituent feedback.
You cannot serve everyone, but maybe with print-on-demand digital printing, you could offer options...digital is $X and printed is $Y. I know if I really wanted to have the printed version, I may be willing to pay more for that privilege.
Now, whether or not your yearbook vendor offers that, your local printers can certainly help you.
