
Much has changed in the digital imaging industry in the last five years. This includes advances in cameras and optics and especially the continued tremendous growth in the use of smartphones. With smartphone in hand more people than ever have a camera ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Yet printing for long term preservation has not followed in this growth. While the number of hard copy prints, including prints and photo books, has increased, the rate of increase has not kept pace with the growth in capture. This means there is a bigger opportunity than ever for photo fulfillment through the production of prints and photo books. There have been positive signs in the industry in terms of photo organization, software for easier layout and design of photo books, and apps to make prints and photo books from the smartphone. But the awareness by end consumers on the risks of technology change and how to access their digital images 10 to 20 years from now is still very low. There have been positive signs on the web addressing this topic but uptake by social media remains low. This paper will discuss the positive trends seen on the web, ongoing trends in hard copy output from the last several years, and ways to further energize the digital photo fulfillment industry on the potential for printing for long term preservation.
Joseph E. LaBarca, "Printing to Preserve – How Are We Doing Today?" in International Symposium on Technologies for Digital Photo Fulfillment, 2016, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4672.2016.7.1.art00001