Glass rained onto the pavement from a broken 11th-storey window.

A 3-in-1 printer, scanner, copier flew gracefully towards the ground, landing in tiny pieces. It was an HP Officejet, I think. That detail feels important.

I ran over to the printer before it went to the great stationery cupboard in the sky and shouted, “Why?! Why did they do this to you?” It wasn’t fair. A single tear rolled down my cheek.

The printer looked up at me and told me not to cry. The office was going paperless. All digital. And that was okay. It understood.

I’m sure this exact thing has happened to you before. In financial services especially, going “digital only” can feel like a badge of honour. A step towards a clean, uncluttered future. But is it really that simple? When you’re dealing with clients who still prefer to hold an annual review in their hands, and others who prefer to zoom in on an iPad, the truth is less about extinction and more about balance.

So, before you grab your own printer by its paper tray and hurl it through a non-opening window, let’s see what the research says. That’s enough nonsense from me. Let’s be serious for a second while we explore an important question: what communications can be made digital, and what should be kept on paper?

Digital only: Good in practice or just in theory?

There are strong arguments for why digital comms should become the default, as it’s:

• Faster
• Cheaper
• Measurable

Send a brochure or annual review by email and you can see who opened it, who didn’t, and who clicked through to your website. With physical mail, all you can do is hope the dog didn’t eat it.

Digital comms also solves logistical headaches. It removes postal delays, allows instant updates when regulations change, and lets you personalise at scale. For advisers and planners who send hundreds or thousands of client comms each year, those positives compound.

When designed well, digital collateral adapts to people rather than expecting people to adapt to it. Clients can zoom in, change contrast, or use screen readers to hear content aloud. A Frontiers in Psychology study of people aged 57 to 85 found that digital reading can match print when text is adjustable and clearly presented. Other research shows that many over-50s engage confidently with digital formats when accessibility needs are met. For older clients or those with visual impairments, that flexibility isn’t just convenient, it’s crucial.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows on the digital front, though. The same study also highlighted that many older adults approach screens with a fair bit of technophobia. Some worried about pressing the wrong thing, whereas others felt disoriented by scrolling pages that shift around compared to the stability of print. The researchers also noted frustrations with navigation, from tiny tap targets to losing their place mid-paragraph, and even physical issues like hand tremors making touchscreens fiddly.

So, what does this mean for you? Ask your clients what they want. Offer digital collateral for those more tech-minded (and print for those less so). I speak with a wide range of advisers and often hear that their preference is to go all-in one way or the other. Creating assets for both print and digital is something we can easily do, so collect the data from your clients and then follow it.

Accessibility and inclusion, or else!

Accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a core part of good communication.

According to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), more than 2 million people in the UK live with sight loss, and around one in five have some form of disability that affects how they consume written material. Digital communication, when built correctly, can reach everyone.

That might mean:

• Increasing text size or using high-contrast colour palettes for ageing eyes
• Adding alt text so screen readers can describe images
• Providing text-to-speech tools for clients with dyslexia or sight loss
• Offering translation or simplified language options for multilingual households.

These are all principles outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 accessibility standards, which define what inclusive design looks like online (cough cough, “Text is not justified (aligned to both the left and the right margins)” cough).

Research published in Reading and Writing in 2023 supports this. Findings show that readers process information faster and more efficiently when using digital formats that allow customisable display settings.

So, if you are putting lots of eggs in the digital basket, make sure that your documents stay as accessible as possible, or you lose a lot of the benefits that digital documents come with.

The emotional edge of print

Of course, tangible print still has its strengths. Or tangible anything for that matter. Think of the last time somebody handwrote you something. It’s special, it means something.

And bringing that into a more relevant scenario to your clients, there’s something quietly reassuring about holding a physical object that represents your financial plan. It feels deliberate, permanent, and trustworthy.

A review by Intergraf in 2024 examined more than 70 studies, and found that readers often remember and focus better when reading from print. Physical documents encourage deeper reading and stronger emotional responses.

That makes print powerful for moments that need gravity and focus. A printed client agreement or annual review feels official in a way that a PDF arguably never quite manages. The Intergraf review also notes that digital excels in speed, accessibility, and sustainability, so understanding the trade-off between emotion and convenience can help you decide which format to use for each type of client-facing document.

The hybrid model: Print and digital working together

Think of print and digital as two assets you have access to. They’re not the competitors some people make them out to be.

For example, a client receives a printed review summary that feels personal and professional. A few days later, they get a digital follow-up email with interactive charts, an accessible web version, and a short video message from their adviser.

That combination covers every base. Print delivers trust and attention. Digital adds accessibility, convenience, and interactivity. Both reinforce each other.

An article published in the snappily named Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction journal looked directly at financial adviser-client relationships. It found that blending high-touch physical gestures with high-tech digital tools builds trust and improves client understanding.

In other words, digital works best when it’s combined with something human and tangible.

Our seasonal example of digital done right

Each year, Yardstick offers a digital Christmas mailer to our newsletter clients. It’s a simple, beautifully branded email, featuring your firm’s logo, banner, and a warm message for clients.

Because it’s digital, clients can open it on any device, zoom in on the text, or use assistive technology to have it read aloud. It’s fully accessible, immediate, and trackable.

For you, it’s quick to deploy, compliant, and a great way to end the year on a personal note without buying hundreds of stamps. Bonus points for directing your stamp budget to a local charity.

And if you still send printed cards, the digital mailer complements them beautifully. The inbox message lands first, the printed version follows, and your clients get two gentle reminders that you value them.

Click here for more information.

Phew, that was academic, wasn’t it?!

Some of the most dangerous sentences in marketing start with “I think”, “I reckon”, and “I prefer”. Hopefully, my efforts to trawl through lots of research journals will inspire you to follow the data. Whether that be researching it yourself, or by starting to ask your clients what they value.

There’s no single right answer to the print versus digital debate. And the wrong answer, of course, is assuming one has no value at all.

Research shows that print still leads for focus and recall, but digital wins for accessibility, engagement, and speed. It also allows you to adapt to every client, regardless of their needs or preferences.

For advisers, the best communication strategy uses both. Let print handle the moments that need gravity, and let digital handle the moments that need inclusivity and immediacy.

For more information, email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300. And if you’d like to take that first step towards better digital connection this Christmas, our festive mailer offering is here to help.