Blog post: Print is not dead, but ...

Guest blog post by David Collins, editor of 'Welsh Football' magazine

I have been involved in independent print publishing for nearly 40 years now.

I’ve lost count of the number of doomsday predictions that print is “living on borrowed time”, every one of which proved to be wide of the mark. But I can honestly say that life has never been as tough as it is now for independent print publishers.

My experience has mostly been in producing sports periodicals, with a mixed subscription and retail distribution model – although I’ve also published a number of standalone books.

Through prudent management, and by adhering to a strict not-for-profit approach, I have succeeded in keeping Welsh Football magazine, and its spin-off publications, viable and sustainable.

But it feels as though we’re now encountering a ‘perfect storm’ in our trading environment, ironically at a time when I’m reading that people are realising the value of physical books and magazines, the irreplaceable satisfaction of having “something in hand”.

Welsh Football magazine grew out of the fanzine movement of the 1980s, benefitting from the technological changes that made low-budget print production feasible as never before. Further advances in technology have enabled independents like us to make improvements in quality over the years.

In the 1990s, the advent of the internet and online publishing led to the first declarations that print was dead. Actually, while some things were clearly now better-suited to online media (think news and results, for instance), print publications just had to recognise this and adapt, if they could. In fact, I discovered that the information age actually made the whole creative publishing process far easier and quicker.

Another 20 years on, social media was a game-changer too. Again, some things that had previously appeared in print were now better delivered via the new channels and platforms.

But social media provided a huge boost to small businesses – as it was suddenly possible to reach new customers via Twitter, Facebook etc.

Even the pandemic – initially perceived as a threat when football shut down and bookshops were closed – brought a surge in demand for subscriptions. It turned out the arrival of a magazine in the post was a reassuring little bit of normality in dark days.

Oddly, although there is no single new threat driving it, we have entered a far more difficult period for periodical publishing. It’s not down to the economics of publishing – printing costs are still affordable, our prices are stable and regular customers assure me they have no issues with value for money.

Distribution is another matter. The huge rise in Royal Mail postage costs, together with a reduction in service and reliability, present a real challenge to subscription print magazines. It’s not an existential threat, yet, but definitely a factor affecting pricing and customer perceptions of our service.

While it’s true people are perhaps losing the habit of buying print publications (newspapers obviously, but football match programmes too), I am reasonably sure, from anecdotal evidence, that there’s still plenty of appetite for a quality, niche print product like ours “in your hand”. But reaching potential subscribers has suddenly become harder than it’s been for well over a decade.

For several years now, our subscription numbers have remained buoyant, even despite the inevitable ‘churn’. Regular social media posting could be relied upon to generate plenty of interest and to replace lapsing subscriptions.

But recently, that’s stopped working. Posts on X, Facebook etc. just don’t get the volume of views and engagements they used to. Even results from paid social media ads have declined noticeably to a point where they’re not worthwhile. It’s the algorithms, apparently. And I’m left wondering how to reach potential customers in the mid-2020s.

Previous predictions of the death of print publishing have been mistaken or exaggerated. Something has always turned up, enabling us either to pivot, or to capitalise on a new opportunity.

After 34 years of publishing Welsh Football magazine, we enter 2026 determined to carry on – too many people value what we do and enjoy our output to do otherwise.

Ever the optimist, I’m left wondering what new opportunity might turn up to supercharge our marketing efforts.

Print is not dead. But it could certainly do with a new lease of life.

Check out the Weltch Media blog archive here.

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