While the printing industry is under pressure in developed markets, printing and manufacturing group Novus believes that on the rest of the African continent, the demand for hard copy materials is still high.
Novus prints magazines, books and newspapers, and manufactures tissue paper.
The group said printed books remain effective and a first choice for many consumers, unlike the electronic versions.
"What is intriguing is how and why print-is-dead themes persist in spite of evidence to the contrary. While print is under tremendous pressure in the developed world, there is still an increased demand for printed products in developing markets in order to advance literacy, education and democracy," said Peter Metcalfe, group executive of marketing and sales at Novus Holdings.
In sub-Saharan Africa, digital has grown alongside print and the need for printed ballots and school collateral is unlikely to end soon, he said.
To support its views, Novus cited a report released by Codex Group in April 2016, which showed that demand for e-book readers had fallen 3.5% over the previous year.
According to the report, the reasons for this could be that e-book devices have not delivered the quality long-form reading experience needed to supplant print; and that a new consumer phenomenon called "digital fatigue" has begun to emerge.
The survey also highlighted that most book buyers spend up to five hours daily on a screen and would choose to reduce their screen time if they could.
"Print has tangible and emotional appeal to its readers and users. On a practical level, printed books are more convenient in that you can almost take them anywhere with you without the need for a cable to charge it or the power to do so," said Metcalfe.
He believes that South African print companies are well placed to offer the experience, reach and state-of-the-art technology to keep print effective.
"Digital adoption has been a slower process than envisaged and has not replaced or displaced print. The debate is simply no longer about which format is better, digital versus print, but rather digital and print — there is place for both," he said.
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