January/February 2016

Print or Digital, more please!

New year…same format. Call me old-fashioned, but POND Trade is diving into 2016 via the same platform we employed last year: bright, glossy paper and brilliantly colored ink.

Don’t get me wrong: POND Trade has a strong digital presence that puts our awesome content in front of more visitors every month. Each issue is available via the ISSUU digital publishing platform and PDF, and analytics show that our readership is growing by leaps and bounds. The Internet is a key avenue for that growth. As our tech-savvy industry writers have demonstrated, websites and apps are vital tools that can’t be ignored.

But there’s just something special about the printed page, isn’t there? The joy of opening the mailbox to find a shiny new issue inside. That first taste of delicious eye-candy jumping off the cover. Leafing through beautiful paper pages is a visceral, authentic experience that no mouse click can match. It’s an experience our readers enjoy … and demand!

But don’t take my word for it; check out the numbers! When subscription requests come in via the website’s Subscribe button, the majority of people want either the print version or both print and digital. When I have a booth at a trade show, approximately 80 percent of people want print only, while the other 20 percent want digital or a combination of both. So for now, we’ll keep sending our world-class stories and mind-blowing images to your (physical) mailbox.

Speaking of mind-blowing images…how about that cover! We’re dedicated to bringing you fresh and exciting stories from the water feature world, and Tim Anderson’s magnificent creations certainly fit the bill. Tim has spent the last few years honing a truly ephemeral art form: stones precariously balanced atop one another! Turn to Page 38 or  click here.

Rocks are also a key part of Kent Wallace’s keys to concealing equipment. A well-designed filtration system is a vital part of any pond, but that doesn’t mean you want to see it! Kent shares — click here to read — how to hide the technology to boost the naturalistic charm.

Animal lovers will find plenty to love in this issue, both on land and underwater. Aaron Burchett highlights the unique requirements of a pond built for a wild animal — an African serval, to be exact — on Page 28. And you’ll find some adorable baby pictures no koi lover could resist in Shane Stefek’s story on Tosai on Page 24.

Whether in pixels or on paper, the POND Trade mission remains the same: bringing you the best information, ideas and images about this wet and wonderful industry we all love so much.

Happy PONDering!