I know what you're thinking. Printers never change. The industry's the same as it ever was, and the wide world of new media is passing print by.

Lucky for you, I am old and therefore have some perspective that may help. I've seen how it used to be, at least as far back as the '80s. In those days, printers kept to themselves and didn't actively embrace customer involvement. When going on press, we were ushered in (by nonverbal employees acting much like Brink's guards) through big black pressroom doors to see our work press-side. Or we were deposited into a silent and quite lonely visitor's area. There we sat, waiting for press sheet after press sheet to be brought out and scrutinized.

Getting a job printed commercially took many weeks. When it was finally delivered, we held our breath, scanned the samples, and said a silent prayer that nothing was horribly amiss.

Working with our printers involved constant phone calls, visits from the rep, agonized waits for couriers to make it through traffic with their precious cargo - and confusing invoices that went on for chapters yet explained nothing.

Good quality printing was not a given. Trying out new printers was as scary a concept as watching your toddler board a bus bound for a school you hadn't yet visited.

Print buying was a different experience then. Our printers were manufacturers who took in jobs, sent out proofs, and churned out final products. We knew that printers didn't change much and were never first in line to try new technology.

But as I think about printing companies in 2010, their owners, business development managers, marketing directors and (oh yes) the more and more prevalent cross-media communications gurus, I tell you it is not the same animal.

Thanks to amazing new technologies, most printers can deliver good quality printing.

All printing is 'on demand,' because you (and I) demand it. We continue to push the industry to deliver more in less time. God love them, they're doing it.

Printers (not all, but most) are much more customer friendly. Online resources, educational sessions, articles, you name it, they're offering it. Web sites are getting better every year.

Here's the neatest thing: If you scan program descriptions for print industry conferences, like I do, you'll notice that printers are learning about new media. Little by little, like it or not, they're accepting the reality that customers want to use an eclectic mix of media. Print is one of them, but it's not the only one, and it is probably not the primary one for many of us customers anymore.

Every week I find more printers using LinkedIn and Twitter, writing blogs and posting videos on their sites and on YouTube. Keep your eyes out for this industry-wide awakening. Yes, the print industry is shrinking, but I'm seeing growth from within and, more importantly, a change of attitude in the printers that are holding strong.

Don't assume all printers are stuck in the way-back machine. Give them a chance. I'm witness to amazing progress in this field.

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