Is the Borg winding down printing altogether?

by slimboyfat 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  slimboyfat

  The thread about magazines stopping distribution in India reminded me of a recent conversation.

  A local brother said he asked for a copy of the new organisation book for publishers. The elder told the brother to print it out if he wanted a physical copy. The brother said he didn't have a printer. So the elder printed out the whole book for the brother on A4 paper, 200 plus pages.

  The instruction on the elders letter was that physical copies should be ordered for publishers who desire them, but this elder seemed reluctant to do that for some reason. Has he received extra instruction to avoid book orders and print instead?

  Could the Borg actually be gearing up to abandon physical publishing altogether? Maybe get an outside company to print a few tracts an that's is?
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  tim3l0rd

  I think they are transitioning away from being seen as a "publishing company". Apostates have beat that idea to death. If they no longer print anything, then they can get rid of that moniker. I think they know that print media is dead/dying and a HUGE drain on resources. I definitely see them stopping almost all printing at some point.
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  slimboyfat

  Book sales increased in the UK over the last year. Print is making a comeback. In general that is, maybe not in Watchtower terms. The rot set in for the Watchtower as a publishing company when they had to stop charging for legal reasons, long before ebooks came on the scene.
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  Doubting Bro

  We were asked maybe a month or two ago if we wanted a physical copy or if we would just use the digital. Of course, I requested a physical copy for which I will donate 0! Yes, its passive aggressive but it made me feel a little happy knowing that even if it only cost them $.10 to produce, its still a money drain.
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  the girl next door

  If Watchtower gets their way, and they will, all publishers will be printing out what they need on their own dime.
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  stuckinarut2

  Imagine how tacky it will look when people use home printers to print literature to distribute....!
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  cofty

  Who would want a book printed out on 200 pages?

  That's pathetic. When I was in the cult we never heard the end of how wonderful they were at printing 24 gazillion books per microsecond.
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  NewYork44M

  Does anyone remember in the mid 1990s (before the internet was a significant presence) that the Watchtower purchased and installed this super high-speed printer at Wallkill. This was a big deal and was the reason for a lot of activity at the time. From what I recall it was big and expensive and was a major part of the corporate strategy.

  I have often wondered what they did with that printer. And, why the holy spirit did not direct them to be proactive related to the pending paradigm shift in communication.
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  John Aquila

  That would explain the Bethel layoffs. No printing--no Bethelites.
  
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  azor

  Yes I remember I worked on the damn thing. On and on about 60 to 70 thousand magazines a minute. The only good thing about it was that I've destroyed more magazines than the vast majority of jws will ever touch in their lifetime. Wish I could destroy some more.