People have debated for years whether print or digital better reaches an audience. It turns out the answer has less to do with marketing instinct and more to do with basic brain function.
What the Research Actually Found
In May 2024, researchers at Columbia University's Teachers College set out to measure how the brain processes information differently depending on where it is read. Fifty-nine middle school students from the New York area took part. Half read printed passages. Half read the same passages on laptops.
Using high-density EEG to monitor brain activity as it happened, the study found that students reading printed pages built stronger, more meaningful mental connections to what they read. Students reading on screens understood less, and their brains had to work harder just to follow along.
The research was designed around a classroom setting, but what it found does not stay there.
Why It Matters for Anything You Send a Customer
The same mental process that shapes how a student takes in a textbook shape how a customer reads a brochure, a direct mail piece, or a catalog. The format itself changes how much sinks in, and how much sinks in changes what happens next.
A mailed piece is not the same as a promotional email. A printed brochure is not the same as a message on LinkedIn. A catalog someone holds is not the same as one they scroll through. Digital still makes sense when speed and cost matter more than depth, like a flash sale or a quick reminder. But when a message needs to be fully understood- a new product, a service with several parts, a first impression aimed at earning trust- print has an edge that digital has not closed.
Matching the Message to the Format
This is not a case for dropping digital. It is a case for using each format where it earns its keep. Digital wins on speed. Print wins on depth and staying power.
Businesses across Holland and the greater Grand Rapids market lean on Schreur Printing for exactly this kind of decision, figuring out which messages can move fast and which ones need the weight of something printed and put directly in someone's hands.
The Bottom Line
None of this will surprise anyone who has worked in direct mail for a while, but now EEG data backs it up. Print creates deeper engagement than digital does, and that is worth factoring into how any business splits its marketing budget across channels.
Put plainly, if a message needs to stick, print still gives it a better shot.