Article: If print is not dead, who’s keeping it alive?

Ellis Tree, It's Nice That, 'If print is not dead, who’s keeping it alive?'

October, 2025

Author Ellis Tree is a graduate of Kingston School of Art with a degree in Graphic Design. 'Across her research, writing and visual work she has a particular interest in printmaking, self-publishing and expanded approaches to photography.'
The article covers a lot of interesting themes; the fragility of the print and book industry, the disconnect between designer and craftsman, the continued desire for physical print in a digital age, the decline and appropriation of DIY culture, the decline of education, 
'Whilst artists take centre stage when we’re talking about a print or publication, the press behind its being just skirts the spotlight.'
This quote reminds me of when studying my degree in graphic design, where we were taught to work from the content. In designing a book, you look at the content of what will be on the printed pages and build from that. This centres everything on that, so that the designer becomes secondary, just a tool rather than a creator.
I am reminded of an article I read about the artist Ben Denzer, who I have previously read him stating that we are taught to work 'from the inside out'. Through his work, he challenges this by doing projects where the books are made to get people to "question what it means to be ‘a book’."

Tree goes on to discuss how there is a lack of appreciation for print and production in the creative industry from designers and others. She states that this problem is 'rooted in a creative outcome’s detachment from its producer,'

She then talks about how digital has created the desire for physical print again; 
'In antithesis to AI-generated art and automated creative processes, people have certainly turned back to the ‘truth’ and authenticity of the printed page.'
She believes this is to the point where there is a wave of artists/studios/brands who are choosing self-publishing and jumping on the trend of zines/publications, so much so that 'real print and bookmakers' are being pushed out. She also notes how this is rewriting what once was a "DIY movement" into a “capitalist hellscape”. It could be said that we seeing a decline of DIY culture in correlation with industry; an odd combination.
However, on this note Tree explains that this is down to a matter of accessibility;
"For the large majority of people, owning a few independent zines and artist books is one thing, and the idea of buying into artist printmaking in a larger way is often completely inaccessible, let alone possible to fund the production of at a smaller press."  
The solution to this according to Tom of Make-Ready Studio, is for pricing to adapt so that business can meet the the buyers in the middle. He explains how, at the end of the day, if people can't afford to buy, the industry will just die.

Tree points out how the artform of print and bookmaking 'slowly gains an evermore rare and bespoke reputation,' and moves away from being apart of our every day. She uses Vogue magazine as an example, in its swapping out of its monthly cycle for occasional collectible issues.

The article then moves on to interviews with various print houses. The first is Make-Ready, who specialises in silk screen art prints. I really like what the founder Thomas Murphy says about the process of hand printing; "the grease from the machine is still under my fingernails. I can go to bed at night knowing that we’ve done a great job." This rings true for me as well, with physical printing and book-making creating far more satisfaction than using machines.
"We’re not simply providing a service at Make-Ready. We’re sharing the idea of our vision with them and combining and mixing it with theirs, we are creating something very unique and original."
Tree then introduces Small Editions, who makes a really accurate comparison in film; print and bookmaking could be considered to be a similar 'line of work to cinematographers. She says. "the cinematographer’s job is not simply to press record with their camera – all of the work, all of the craft exists in using the ‘language of the camera’ to shape a story,” Isobel says. “A cinematographer plays with camera angles, movement, stillness, framing, and mise-en-scène in the same way that we play with paper, binding structure, ink opacity, and materiality."
Hannah and Isobel talk about education and how 'information on production is no longer taught in most art or graphic design programs', this includes 'traditional' bookbinding and printmaking'. They state that most working in the industry had to learn print and production by doing it, becoming self-taught practitioners. They also note how this also means that the expert knowledge in the industry is not being passed down. This is true in the fact that there is less and less apprenticeship schemes in the craft. For example, the last bookbinding apprenticeship available was dropped during the pandemic. According to this article, in 2020, the Queen's Bindery Apprenticeship at Windsor Castle was suspended due to the financial impact of the pandemic, leaving the UK without a single full-time bookbinding apprenticeship program.' so it is harder for people to pursue the career, but especially hard to gain the expert knowledge.

Tree goes onto discussion about decline of print and the dying industry; 
"'Print is dying’ has become a violent sentiment in a climate where there’s a declining culture of care if a press disappears, and we have less know-how to give each time we train someone new."
She states her concern on how the next generation may give up on trying to gain the skills and knowledge that is so hard to acquire, especially with the appeal of digital alternatives; "too busy with shiny new digital tools to turn to analogue print", potentially leading to print’s decline. It puts into perspective the importance of engaging with industry and community, and a good reminder that there needs to be more reaching out from those who are able to pass on their skills and knowledge.

Hannah and Isobel make a really great observation of the power of the experience the book offers; “a pause evoked by the ‘thingness’ of the book”. Tree acknowledges the 'magic' of a book, holding different kind of space to digital alternatives. Many have moved to creating through tactile physical methods and transferring this into digital whelms. She gives an example of the website “I feel so much shame” by Jackie Lui observing how it is "shaped by this charm of imperfection – composed with over 700 individual prints for each digital click, the intimacy and warmth of this poem stands worlds apart from your usual URL-based experience."
Julia Schimautz, co-founder of Studio DTAN, Berlin, has some interesting insights on the subject of the blankness of screen based art and design compared to the variety of interesting creations in the physical world;
“At book fairs, you see all the different ideas and approaches people bring to printed matter. In a world where so much of our experience is digital, physical printed objects hold a different kind of value; one that’s more about connection, craft, and tangibility rather than pure information delivery.” - Julia Schimautz
She argues that the use of physically produced methods, even when transferred online, has more of an impact in reaching the audience. She says, “These characteristics that some might call ‘imperfections’ have become part of our visual vocabulary and help our work feel distinctive in its own way.”
Looking at the studios website, they claim to use "digital tools to reclaim traditional techniques" so that "every project carries the marks of human touch – the unexpected outcomes that emerge from embracing process and celebrating the beauty of imperfection."
The studio claims that it "hasn't been able to survive on an appreciation for their small runs of prints and publications", which has lead them to applying physical methods of creation to animation, which they suggest is thriving in this way and offers much opportunity within the field.

An important fact that Tree notes is that the New York Art Book Fair is 'doing very well; 2025’s edition of the event saw 15,000 visitors over its four-day run'. However, Hannah at Small Editions says, "it’s more and more difficult for printers, publishers, and artists to nurture an economically viable print practice,”

At the end of the article, Tree talks about the future and how despite the 'impending doom' of the current climate, makers are finding ways to make it work. In fact, there is a lot of hope, despite the circumstances. For studio DTAN, "running a small press ideal for today’s landscape. Instead of competing with mass production, small presses can focus on limited editions with greater thought, care, and value built into each piece,"

As it is suggested in the article; at the end of the day print’s value grows as a rare physical experience in this digital age. To nurture this, community needs to be developed further, educational opportunities and tools need to become increasingly available, and the wisdom of those who have managed to stay in the trade needs to be passed down.

Researching the mentioned studios

"Don’t Try Anything New is a design & creative studio based in Berlin. We specialize in using digital tools to reclaim traditional techniques. Every project carries the marks of human touch – the unexpected outcomes that emerge from embracing process and celebrating the beauty of imperfection."

Member of the team at work in the DTAN Studio

Screenshots of websites 'gallery' page
Screenshots of websites 'Studio' page
This page has some interesting quotes on the subject of 

Small Editions
"Small Editions is a design studio based in occupied Lenapehoking (Brooklyn, New York). We offer services in graphic design, print consulting, and limited edition book binding. We also run an independent publishing imprint, where we collaborate with artists on several projects annually."
Director - Hannah Yukiko Pierce
Senior Graphic Designer - Isobel Chiang
Design Fellow - Humberto Ochoa
Bookbinders - Sarah Nicholls, Celine Lombardi, Sarah Smith

Colour Theory, Pallavi Sen, 2024
Designed by Isobel Chiang

"Exhibition catalog to accompany “Pallavi Sen: Colour Theory,” 
on view at Williams College Museum of Art (Sept–Dec 2024)."



Paper & Ink, Isobel Chiang, 2024

"Paper is a crucial part of a book maker’s craft. Using paper in interesting and thoughtful ways requires not only material sensitivity, but a deep knowledge of how paper is made, distributed, printed on, and bound together. Half production manual, half paper swatchbook, Paper and Ink is both a technical and theoretical resource for anyone wanting to use paper and printing to shape the message, atmosphere, and concept of a book. It explores the relationship between paper, printing, and binding and is our attempt to share the knowledge our studio has amassed through 150+ book projects over the past 5 years. It’s centered around the idea that material “specs” such as paper, endsheets, thread, ink laydown, specialty finishes, folding structure, and cover materials all belong to the book as much as its content, and it’s the designer who brings everything together under one cohesive plan. 

Because it’s impossible to truly understand paper or printing without feeling and seeing it in front of you, we overlapped text with physical paper swatches from past Small Editions projects—leftovers from accidents, make-ready, or overage. The swatches showcase various textures, weights, ink finishes, and printing methods. Some are dented, some are misprinted, some have ink stains, thus echoing the fickleness of book making and the fallibility of paper. The entire edition is printed, collated, and bound by hand. Each book is unique and imperfect by nature."





Moraine, Corey Antis, Hannah Pierce, 2023
Designed by Isobel Chiang

"Moraine, produced in an edition of 20 books + 2APs, allows the atlas to be experienced by a wider audience. The book is letterpress printed on 15gsm Sekishu paper and hardcover bound with hand-backed silk covers. Moraine adds a new dimension to Antis’ ongoing project investigating site, sensation, and legibility."



Shadow Typology, Chantal Cheng, 2023
Designed by Isobel Chiang




IN THE COURT OF THE CONQUEROR, Patty Ortiz and george Emilio sanchez, 2022
Printing, binding, design by Small Editions, 
Clamshell construction by Sarah Smith, 
Letterpress printing by Sarah Nichols, 
Letterpress plates by Boxcar Press

"10.5 × 12 in Custom tri-panel clamshell with leporello, side-sewn booklet, custom cyanotype."





SEE NO EVIL, Adrianne Wortzel, 2021
Bound at the Small Editions studio by Sarah Nicholls 

"Adrianne Wortzel’s SEE NO EVIL is a drawing and text work in the form of a diary, created by a fictive, anxious, urban person whose life span straddles the 20th and 21st centuries. Each book shows a shaded side of the self; and the text is a litany of questions, complaints and mini-epiphanies. Hundreds of digitized colored pencil drawings are scattered throughout the edition, all reproductions from Albertus Seba’s 1731 "Cabinet of Natural Curiosities." As typical of a cabinet of curiosities, Seba aimed to present an encyclopedic view of all knowledge by empirical firsthand knowledge of specimens. Criteria for assembling and taxonomies were often subjective, favoring oddities, and occasionally faux and unnatural history. Wortzel's savage re-renderings of these specimens are distributed through an algorithm in each book, resulting in randomized, unique placements throughout the text that block out passages around the images, offering different “reads” in each of the twenty volumes.

SEE NO EVIL also has an augmented reality (AR) component–20 of the 165 drawings in the book are AR targets–where animations come to life in devices where the AR app is installed."





CALLING/부름, Gi (Ginny) Huo, 2022
Designed by Isobel Chiang

"Central figures in calling/부름 are Huo’s grandparents, and the book features photographs and ephemera from their lives. Some images are concealed, then revealed by fold-outs, some have details obstructed or emphasized with foil or digital manipulation, while others are previewed through circular die-cuts, as if through a lens or portal. These interventions comment on the unknowability of our familial past, and mimic the act of searching through our ancestor’s archives, where timelines and stories require our own translations.

This book is part of Huo’s solo exhibition, line/선, at Baxter Street Camera Club of New York from October 26th–December 7th, 2022."




Website notes

On Small Editions website they include images of the process of making the books alongside the professional images of the works themselves. This puts the craft of making in a context that suggests it is of as much importance as the finished made object itself. This is uncommon for design studios and I admire it greatly, as it regards the craftsmanship as just as valuable as the content.