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IT’S NO SECRET that the publishing world has experienced trying times. Advertising revenues have declined, while competition from Internet media has challenged many print publishers.As an avid reader I was loathe to switch to a tablet, as I felt like a traitor. I love the weight, smell and feel of a book. I now admit to having a Kindle, only because it weighs less when travelling – it’s convenient.Convenience is what it’s all about these days.You can have access to more than 100 magazines with online subscriptions to sites like texture.ca. But just like books and newspapers, there’s nothing like actually opening the cover, unfolding the paper or flipping through a magazine – all of that is lost online. It’s akin to watching a movie on your phone. There’s no way you can fully appreciate the cinematography, sound engineering or special effects – you need the big screen and surround sound for the full experience. As with magazines, the photos jump out at you, and the glossy paper is tactile and pleasing to the eye. Creative people worked on writing and editing the copy, and photographers, production specialists and graphic designers all contributed to the layout.This is where I show my age, but as part of the demographic for magazines like Active Life, I believe this audience has a greater appreciation for how far we’ve come. One of my first jobs was with at a small printing house. Not only did I do the typesetting, but I also did the layouts using Letraset, an exacto knife and a waxer. Once approved, I operated a process camera to make the negative and then burned the plate for the printing press. If a line of waxed type slipped after I set it up on the camera, I had to redo it.When I was the advertising production manager for Sears Canada, we used couriers to go back and forth between our office and the typesetter’s. If we made a change, a courier had to be called again. There were times when a traffic jam delayed our printing schedule. Now, if I make a correction to the text, or suggest a colour or photo change, the art director sends the revised layout back to me by email within minutes. If I hadn’t lived through it, I could never have anticipated how the print world would evolve.The younger generation likes sound bites – a quick synopsis of a story. And in a way, that’s what magazines still offer. It’s a collaboration of specialists sharing pertinent information, along with accompanying photos that we can relate to. I like nothing more than to leaf through a magazine, no matter where I am. It’s enjoyable entertainment – and people read the ads.As with most progressive companies, HOMES Publishing Group is changing with the technological times, and has expanded their online presence with MyHomePage.ca. You can read all of our publications there, or you can contact our office and we’ll mail you a free hard copy – because there’s nothing like the real thing – and you can share it with a friend.Catherine (Cat) Daley