Trade Magazines

[John Childs]

I suppose that a lot depends on the content.

If it’s all advertising then, no, I wouldn’t want to pay.

[Dave Harrison]

Considering most ( well all the sign trade mags I’ve seen ) are about 80% adverts 20% content. . definitely not !

Like anyone, I’m interested to see new products and hear and about new trade services etc etc, but I get that through the post anyway ! I think its a cheek they try and charge for trade mags.

[Russell Spencer]

Yes they are very heavy on the advertising. But none of them are any practical use, in fact there is one that I positively loathe, they have the owner of signfitting company sprouting on about health and safety and how we all have to embrace it at every opportunity and the amount of column inches he gets is unbelievable. A quick flick through and then its bin fodder.
On another note, I dont actually subscribe but they send me them anyway ..! not complaining like.

[David Rowland]

it doesnt cost that much to produce so why dont advertisers pay for it.

[Robert Lambie]

Some of the mags are better than others….

From "experience" with UK sign magazines, Signworld in particular, advertisers govern the Sign magazines content and what they write.

Should we pay for a UK based magazine? that is upto you and what you want from your subscription, but i recon the advertisers already do the paying and string pulling!

[Shane Drew]

We have two trade mags here, one is posted free to all sign shops, and one is free if you pick it up from a wholesale supplier/advertiser, but you pay for a subscription if you want it delivered.

We have one online mag that is sent free every Friday too.

I wouldn’t pay for a subscription though. Content is, as Rob says, usually governed by who advertises in the mag. You will rarely see a negative article about a product that is supplied by an advertiser, so there is definitely a bias in the reporting.

I don’t buy the American mags because very little is appropriate to us here in terms of products they use.