Smartphone app brings digital benefits to print publications

Paperboy uses image recognition technology to enable users to share, save and explore printed media, online.

As newspapers and magazines struggle to find solutions to decreasing audiences — a problem driven by competition from digital media — Switzerland-based Paperboy hopes to offer a solution, with a smartphone app that uses image recognition technology so users can easily share, save and digitally explore content from printed media. Paperboy is available for iPhone and Android devices, and claims to benefit readers and publishers alike. To recommend an interesting article to friends, users snap a photo of it on their phone using Paperboy, which will recognize the page and allow sharing via email, Facebook and Twitter. The app will also suggest related articles, images and videos, and recognize URLs on the printed page. Pages marked with a shutter icon indicate exclusive digital content can be unlocked by using Paperboy, and there is also the function to save favorite pages in a personal archive. For publishers, the Paperboy platform means printed content can reach a much wider audience, quickly and easily, and offer greater engagement for readers. Paperboy currently supports printed titles in 16 countries around the world, and publishers can choose from two versions of their Interactive Print product. The basic package is free and enables every page of a printed title to be recognized by Paperboy. The PRO package costs USD 399 a month and has additional features such as SmartAds, which claims to increase the value of print advertising space by serving relevant, interactive ads to consumers via Paperboy. The video below explains Paperboy in more detail: Paperboy has the potential to increase audience numbers along with advertising revenue. One for newspapers and magazines who don’t want to be left on the shelf? Spotted by: Regina Fischer