TECHNOLOGY: A BLESSING OR A THREAT TO
NIGERIAN PRINTERS?
ABDULRASHEED AFOLABI
Department of Mass Communication
University of Lagos
e-mail: afolabirasheed@yahoo.com
Tel: +2348023543605
A paper presentation at the 4th National Symposium on Nigerian Art held from Sunday 29th November to Thursday 3rd December, 2009.
Organized by the National Gallery of Art in collaboration with Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos
Abstract
The printing industry, a subset of the graphic communications industry in Nigeria has witnessed profound technological changes. The industry remains one of the top contributors to the nation’s economy, as well as contributing immensely to the socio-cultural development of the nation. From a purely mechanically driven industry from inception in 1846, it is now hugely driven by information and computer technology (ICT). Consequently, there has been a technological dilemma that necessitates changes in skills requirement and loss of jobs for those who cannot meet up with change. Interestingly, updating skills and knowledge about the graphic communications industry has offered challenges as well as opportunities.
The opportunities that hi-tech printing technologies have brought to Nigerian printers are immense, some of which include: streamlined workflow, quality print products, enhanced profitability, job satisfaction, career fulfillment e.t.c. Thus, it is obvious that technology is not altogether a foe to printers. Apparently, the onus falls on Nigerian printers to move with the wind of change like their contemporaries in other climes, particularly the more advanced countries.
Without any doubt, resistance to technological innovation is a foregone issue. Therefore, I put forward the proposition that the way forward to maximize the gains in modern technology development is training and retraining of printers using a curriculum and pedagogy that resonate with industry trends as well as hi-tech equipment that have become...