True, I tend to notice things more that come in snail mail now that my email is overwhelming.

I wrote an article in MarketingProfs earlier this year about this topic. My research turned up some interesting data.
http://www.marketingprofs.com/9/print-collateral-remains-relevant-fogel.asp

I believe that as marketers, we need to ask our customers what their communication preferences are. But, I also believe that a mix of print and digital can cover all the bases and can integrate very well.

I like catalogs, read many and order based on the catalogs, but also read and respond to e-mail marketing.

The catalogs I tend to enjoy are like upscale magazines, with good photography and layout. The catalog and magazine experience don't yet translate well on computers or e-readers. (For more about various e-readers, see this column at http://www.foliomag.com/2009/e-reader-revolution-isnt-revolutionizing-magazines.)

If electronic media can come up with a visual experience as satisfying as a well-designed magazine or catalog, then electronic media will take over as the generations that prefer paper media die out.

Most of the marketing e-mails I receive have attractive front pages, but they link to utiltarian sites. There's not much incentive to linger.

I don't think people will necessarily want to see two juxtaposed pages as they do in catalogs, but they may want a full image at a 16:9 aspect ratio, for instance, with a slideshow option for viewing instead of the jerky-slide-up-and-down method of viewing a pdf with multiple pages.

The catalogs I like have value to me because the design is attractive but the product presentation provides an element of discovery. Things I am interested in are juxtaposed with other items for a serendipitous shopping experience. Many online sales websites don't offer window-shoppers the satisfying experience of discovery because the online site is organized like an encyclopedia. That's a useful shopping device, but not such a useful marketing device, because it doesn't engage the shopper who likes to explore.

When an electronic device can offer a presentation that piques the shopper's or reader's curiosity and offers a combination of a visual experience, a satisfying reading experience with interesting text, and well-organized product information, then paper catalogs may become obsolete.

Video may come to play a part in this, but it might just be that -- a part.

Whether sound will be an important component of e-marketing visuals is another question. If cubicles and work computers without headphones remain the norm, then B2B marketers will probably have to eschew sound or make it optional to retain the goodwill of their customers.

It's more a both-and question, than either-or.
Some readers prefer print versions, others digital versions. As a marketer I would hate to cut off potential audience by limiting my channels. My own preference is online - I throw out almost all direct mails I receive before reading it.

I'm with Elaine here: If you are in doubt what channel to choose, simply give your audience the chance to choose. Most people actually like getting a such option.