The challenge of getting the right textbooks to the right schools has become perennial in SA, especially in hard-to-reach rural schools.
However, according to Riso, print-on-demand technology has the capability to help solve this crisis and transform the publishing industry as well.
Sonia Anderson, marketing manager at Riso Africa, points out that print on demand has been talked about for years, but has only now become a practical and cost-effective option for schools, churches, corporate training departments and the like.
"With technology like this in place, we could help the education department solve the textbook crisis with relative ease," says Anderson.
The enterprise notes its new-generation ComColor+ printer uses Riso's high-speed printing technology - up to 150 pages per minute - to produce bound copies within minutes. This means that it is possible to produce a 600-page perfect-bound book in full colour in less than six minutes. Additionally, Anderson points out, Riso's "business colour" technology means that full-colour printing is now affordable, explains the company.
"Because we take into account the coverage of colour across the whole print job, as well as the volume, the average cost for full colour can be as little as 35c a page," she says.
According to Riso, the ComColor+ unit has a small footprint and only occupies around three metres of floor space. It's also remarkably energy-efficient, and is being successfully run on solar power at a school in Kempton Park.
Anderson explains that all of these factors mean one school could take on the role of print hub for all the schools in its area, creating a separate revenue stream for itself and allowing each school to print the exact number of textbooks it needs. "Our software also allows for each copy to be personalised with the pupil's name or other information, which would help cut down on book theft - not to mention logistics costs and challenges."
She goes on to say Riso intends working closely with publishers to ensure that their copyright is fully protected. Riso's print management software would enable the print jobs to be tracked for this purpose or, indeed, could be set up to print only the number of copies corresponding to a payment made to the publisher, with the digital file delivered via the cloud.
"We are eager to work with the publishing industry to use this cost-effective and powerful technology to transform not only the educational publishing landscape in South Africa but also, potentially, the book retail one as well," notes Anderson.
"Now, for the first time, it is practical to order a book via a Web site and have it printed at an outlet such as PostNet for the customer to collect. There is also obviously a solid business case for companies that print out significant volumes of training material."
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