Beginning with the first issues in 2010, STC will no longer publish printed versions of Intercom and Technical Communication as a standard offering. Members will receive email notifications with links to the online publications as they become available. STC will offer print-on-demand copies of each publication at an additional subscription fee for those who prefer to receive printed copies.
This important change has been on the table for several years. The Publications Task Force, Stratton Report (2007), and the Strategic Planning Assessment (SPA) Committee (2008-09), two key sources of input to the board, have both strongly recommended the shift to online as the primary delivery method for our publications. The recommendation was discussed several times by the Board of Directors and analyzed for feasibility and financial impact by staff. The move will save about $200,000 annually in printing, postage, and design areas of the budget, according to Executive Director/CEO Susan Burton.
Menno de Jong, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Technical Communication, notes in an editorial to be published in the February 2010 issue of the journal that it takes “approximately 3,680,000 printed pages and 9.2 tons of paper to produce a year of journal issues.” He said that almost all academic journals have developed from print-only journals into print journals with online versions. “Successful new journals were established that were online-only from the very start. Convincing examples of such journals are the Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, Journal of Medical Internet Research, and Journal of Usability Studies.” De Jong also agrees that “online publishing is going to be the norm in the academic world.”
Although many associations have preceded STC in “going green” with their publications, STC President Cindy Currie is excited about the change and how it will position STC in the tech comm community. “Our primary publications, Intercom and Technical Communication, have been leaders in quality content for years. I am so pleased that now they will also be leaders in reducing the paper, ink, and postage that was required to support them.”
Green causes are nothing new for STC, having recognized former Vice President Al Gore for his work in presenting An Inconvenient Truth, a film about global change brought on by global warming, and his companion book that was a 2006 New York Times best seller. The Frank R. Smith Award was most recently awarded to Roger Munger for his tutorial paper Green Printing: A Guide to Environmentally Responsible Printing (Technical Communication, Vol. 55, No. 1, February 2008). The article recommends asking printers what their company is doing to minimize air emissions, reduce chemical use and solid waste, and comply with environmental and health and safety regulations.
Since 2000, STC has significantly reduced the number of paper-based communications distributed to members. Email has been the official first line of communication with members since 2006.