We have computer that can help balance color for you instead of you looking at it and say we have to add this and that here- computer technology helps you to mix it the proper way and then set. That is the opportunity and of course there are some jobs that before now, like annual report on papers but suddenly people prefer CDs. Though you can’t produce CDs, they still have to be put in a jacket which is a printer’s job. So if you are not having technology to produce jacket, the opportunity now presents itself to start producing jackets for the CDs. If you also look at the CDs, some of them still need to be labeled which is still an opportunity for printers.

For instance, if a customer said ok you are doing annual report for me on paper, now I want CD, you don’t have to say no, all I do is print and label. The customers do not want to go through the process of looking for another person to do the CD. You take it. We are investing in CD production. It is not our core area but we have an IT sector so we are producing CD and at the same time we are producing jackets and labels. So the advent came with threats and opportunities. It’s both ways

Experts have predicted printing will cease to exist in years to come. I will like to have your opinion and what you foresee the future of the industry will be?

If there is a printer who at this stage is not giving it a thought, then such printer is still living in the past. Yes, the way things are going, printing industry is not going to be the same and there is nothing else other than the advent of technology which we just talked about. Like I said, the more civilised countries are ahead of us, in terms of technology, and what affects the printing industries. But my opinion is that printing in Nigeria is going to exist for a long time to come but not at the same level as it is, but it will be affected by technology on gradual basis and subsequently experience some decline.

But the traditional prints which are books, pamphlets and things like that will still exist but on a declining rate. Maybe in the next ten years we might not see much change but after then, we begin to see serious decline because by that time, maybe textbooks will be on tablet more for students to read which is already happening. But that is one category of printing. Another area is packaging. Packaging is going to take over printing because the technology is more or less the same so we are likely to find printers moving into that because human being will continue to make use of products and items, no matter how much computers you have. We still need those things and they are not going to come in another form but by being packaged and delivered to the consumers and to that extent, printing will continue to be. Those areas will become more developed while the use of books- hard copies – will go down.

For printers, the fear they need to have is not that they will go out of business but they should be ready to move along with this change to sustain their business.