However, when it comes to books, demand for the printed word remains strong. Take the US market, for example. Book sales within the last 5 years show a strong consumer preference for print. Combined sales of paperbacks and hardbacks far outstripped the sale of e-books.
For a variety of reasons, there is demand for both printed and digital titles in the education sector. But why? We spoke to Saskia Steur, Knowledge Management Advisor, at VAPRO to find out more.
How It Is Today
The trend for digital solutions spans multiple sectors, from manufacturing right through to public services. Publishing is no different. Over the last 25 years, there have been huge changes in the ways people consume information. In that time, education publishing has been on a journey from interactive CD-ROMs to digital courses complete with video content and online exams.
However, despite all the noise around digital, printed materials are still widely used in the education sector. People want digital solutions, or they think they want digital solutions, yet in the end, paper is often preferred. From a cost perspective, a digital book is almost as expensive as a paper book. Yet, many consumers are not prepared to pay as much for a digital book as a paper one.
It’s fair to say that whilst some publishers are embracing digital technology and formats, others are resolutely paper-based. Others, like VAPRO, use a digital publishing platform to produce and maintain educational content in both print and digital formats.
Reasons To Go Digital
Education is a unique sector. Particularly in vocational education, where students are being prepared for operational roles within manufacturing or production, their teachers are often from an older generation, and sometimes less likely to be responsive to the uptake of digital resources. At the same time, students and trainees are growing up in an increasingly digital-first world, where digital solutions are the norm.
Educational publishers have to please both demographics, plus everyone else in between. Companies like VAPRO need to innovate to stay competitive and move forward, but because of their target audiences, they’re not able to abandon print entirely. Having an editorial platform which provides complete oversight over every publication on their list, no matter where it’s published, gives the people working at VAPRO a huge advantage. Colleagues and consultants can also read everything in the system.
As legacy educational materials are gradually updated, having a digital publishing platform enables publishers to incorporate dynamic content, such as more up-to-date videos. As a company that prides itself on empowering people, and educating them throughout their entire working life, VAPRO benefits from a single platform which puts all their publications in one place.
Making Moves To Modernize
With PublishOne, VAPRO can handle all their print and digital publications in one system. It allows them to keep pace with digitization and produce paper-based educational content that can be used to support learning in industrial facilities that either have no internet connectivity, or where it’s unsafe to use connected devices.
Through PublishOne, it’s possible to edit, update, and repurpose older content. Content can be gradually updated without having to change everything at once, including the images used to support the written information. Although digital publishing continues to find new audiences, when it comes to training operatives in certain manufacturing environments, paper resources are either preferable or the only option.
As technology moves forward, there’s a growing need within education and training for the materials used to become more connected. Publishers may soon start licensing their content for companies and training providers to incorporate and adapt into their own curriculums and training programs. With its growing number of integrations, PublishOne provides the perfect platform for doing just that.
Interested in what the world’s friendly publishing platform can do for your business? Explore PublishOne.
