From Print to Digital to Oblivion
This year, the major German-speaking photo magazine Color Foto switched from print and digital to digital only. They called it the right step in light of declining print sales, I call it closing shop.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
The magazine was first published in 1971 under the name “Color”. Unlike other German-speaking publications back then, the magazine focused predominantly on color photography, which was still consider amateurish. Circulation peaked in 1987, with 100.000 copies.
The first issue.
Most notably, the magazine almost always featured nudes on the cover photo and frequently included articles on nude photography. About 1990, things started to change and the magazine shifted more towards technical topics like lens and camera reviews. Humans – both with and without clothes – were seen less and less on the covers and pages.
It is no coincidence that from 2000 one onwards, with the so-called digital revolution, almost everything was only about technical aspects and less about aesthetics, catering specifically towards photographers enamoured with ever growing megapixel counts and ISO sensitivity ranges.
Irony
The discontinuation of Color Foto is not an isolated case, and the last 10 years saw a steady decline in available print publications.
It is quite ironic that after they switched from human form to digital bits and bytes, the latter actually killed them off, as they could not compete with free articles on the internet successfully.
Color Foto - from boobies to bytes.
Save Print!
When travelling, I always appreciated getting an issue of Color Foto or similar magazines from the news stand at the airport or train station. Sitting on a plane or train is just the perfect situation to read something actually printed on paper rather than swiping through endless streams of social media posts.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to consumer behaviour, and I strongly encourage you to purchase a printed magazine when you spot one that catches your eye. Because what would be the world without them?
