Found a flyer for a local print shop that's been gone for 20 years

I was at the Pinewood Community Center last week checking the bulletin board by the front entrance, and someone had pinned up this old, yellowed flyer for a print shop called "Copy Cat" that I used to go to as a kid. The thing must have been sitting behind the board for decades before someone found it. It listed prices for 10 cent black-and-white copies and $1.50 for color, which feels like a different world compared to what I pay now at the FedEx place. Seeing that made me think about how much has shifted in just 3 years with QR codes and everything being online. These days, half the bulletins around town are just printed QR codes with nothing else on them. Does anyone else miss those big, colorful paper flyers that told you the whole story right there on the board?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_green23d ago

That line about "a different world" really hits me. I actually heard on a podcast last week that back in 1999, the average small print shop did over 80% of their business from walk-ins just like that. My buddy runs a sign shop now and he says his counter is mostly for people picking up custom banners or business cards, not making copies. The part about QR codes on bulletin boards is so true... I walked past one at the grocery store that just had a code and "scan for event details" and I just kept walking. Paper told you everything right away, gave a reason to stop and take it in.

lucas16523d ago

That 80% walk-in stat explains why those old print shops felt like community hubs, not just transaction counters. QR codes on bulletin boards are a perfect example of tech that makes you do extra work instead of just telling you what's going on. Paper had a way of stopping you in your tracks because it didn't ask anything of you except a quick glance.