Pen remains mightier than the digital sword

IN AN AGE of iPhones, BlackBerries, smartphones, PC and online calendar programs, it seems the humble print diary still reigns supreme.

Print diaries emblazoned with the company name remain a highly popular end of year gift in the corporate world, with printing firms running all out at this time of year to meet company demand.

Many companies order both desktop and slimline pocket diaries as gifts and for employees.

Recipients say they like the range of useful contact information and mini city maps included in most diaries, as well as the ability to see a week's worth of appointments at a glance.

Print diaries also remain popular with consumers, many of whom will snap them up in December for presentation as an apparently much-wanted Christmas gift - though perhaps desirability is dependent on brand.

Just look at the Filofax, the upmarket diary that was all the yuppie rage in the 1980s. The little mini-binder diary comes in at a respectable number eight in a recent British survey of the best Christmas gifts of all time.

Indeed, Filofax is more than holding its own, despite having its demise predicted many times since the arrival of those upstart PDAs (personal digital assistants).

Parent company Letts Filofax Group based in Edinburgh said last month that pre-tax profits rose 19.8 per cent this year, to £10 million, although the figure represents mostly operational savings and a modest 3.5 per cent rise in sales.

John Fitzgerald, owner of Dublin's Pen Corner shop on College Green, says sales of print diaries have remained steady over the years. They can be a bit of a pain for retailers to carry because the corporate freebies kills some of the market, while wholesalers do not take back unsold stock, with its limited shelf life.

Fitzgerald carries a French and an English line of diaries, but the bulk of sales are from Filofax. These are a seller's favourite too, because the diary is actually a selection of separate products - the binder, the calendar and any range of extra-purchase add-ins such as address books, notepaper, maps and special schedules.

Only the annual calendar has a limited lifespan and he notes that users get a permanent address book and don't have to transfer all their contacts each year. In a truce between digital and print, Filofax even offers software to print out contacts from a PC on to Filofax-sized pages for the print diary.

What is the attraction of a print diary?

"I think it's speed," Fitzgerald says. "You want to have a piece of paper so you can write something down right away. Writing something also helps personalise it and fix it in your mind."

Perhaps it is also idiot-proof. He notes that he has had many customers buying a print diary after accidentally deleting all their digital information.

Those who only use a digital diary seem elusive. The Irish Timesspoke to a range of people and couldn't find anyone who only used a hand-held device or an online diary program (see panel).

"I love gadgetry, but for 'diarising', nothing beats the feel of a pencil and smooth paper pages to bring a bit of civility to our electronically infused lives," says Denise Cox of Newsweaver, an e-mail newsletter company in Bandon.

"Call me a Luddite worry-wart, but what if there's no electricity and no place to recharge a dead battery? You could lose access to everything."

Even hardcore technologists admit that sometimes, atoms are better than bits and bytes.

"I use a paper diary as my main source. I use Google calendar for shared projects worldwide, but my paper diary is king," confesses Dr Chris Horn, co-founder and vice chairman of software company Iona Technologies.

Although he has used a hand-held device and has tried out digital writing accessories like digital pens, Fitzgerald says there's just something about writing on paper that works better for most people. "Whatever it is, paper and pen seem to do the job. I guess it's not for new technologies to replace it."