The Printing Occupation In Sierra Leone

INTRODUCTION

From the surf shorelines of the south-west, the Republic of Sierra Leone rises in a flight of irregular steps to the wide plateau of the ill-described Atlantic/Niger watershed at the north-jap frontier.
She is found in between the Republic of Guinea to the North, the Republic of Liberia to the East and Atlantic Ocean to the West with an space of 71,740 square kilometers and a inhabitants of 4.9 million, significantly of which is city based mostly.

Printing is the art of reproducing originals which could be textual content, drawings or pics, either black and white or colored, by diversified printing techniques, innumerable periods. The technique of production could either be Relief (lifted surface), Planography (flat floor) or Gravure (recessed surface). During both procedure ink of any color is transferred onto a vast variety of printing inventory these types of as paper, bottles, plastic and paper generally known as ‘substrate (Intellect,1986).

Printing has experienced its origins for several years (dated back all-around 768-770 variety Japan) but modern printing could be traced to the 15thcentury next the creation of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg. In Sierra Leone, printing started subsequent the foundation of the colony but the push was burnt down when the French attacked the colony in 1794. In 1796 another printing press was set up. At the first levels of the business, the printing press was confronted with a lot of troubles amongst which was that of housing as it had no creating. For this reason it was to start with found at Drinking water Road, presently Wallace Johnson Avenue, then relocated to Fort Thornton in which the current State Property is and finally to the Secretariat creating. All over again for want of ideal web site it was moved to George Road in which it was named Authorities Printing’. About 1808 it grew to become an independent device whereby typesetting was carried out by hand composition applying foundry styles with printing equipment operated manually by foot (Davies,1997). The industry started producing into entire gear when on the 26th October, 1927 it was electrified and electricity pushed mechanical composition and letterpress printing devices were being set up. Through this period the Department was operated underneath the Colonial Secretary’s Business but soon after a series of administrative adjustments it was transferred to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting beneath which it operates to day. E.A.F. Brandon was appointed as its first indigenous head in 1950(Davies,1997).

Albeit the field has had a really gradual progress since its inception and right until not too long ago the field was purely a authorities issue. Having said that since the 1940s private people today began investing in the industry by jogging printing homes engaged in common jobbing and newspaper production. Noteworthy had been Humble Noble Printing, the Guardian Press and Bangmolo Press, the Bunumbu Press, Oduntor Push, New Era printing, the Professional Printing Firm, the Day-to-day Mail and Atlantic Printers started. The functions of some of these presses was small-lived due to money constraints. Notwithstanding the Authorities Printing Section continued to improve steadily with improved modern day technology. In addition to the printing of governing administration publications, the sector started printing textbooks, work out books notebooks and other professional careers for enhance income, hence minimizing the country’s dependence on imported printed matter.

The spread of Printing in Sierra Leone took a distinctive sort there is the Authorities Printing Office, owned and funded by the federal government the non-public sector, owned and funded by people today and In-plant printing units owned by corporations purely for their own printing needs this kind of as the Financial institution of Sierra Leone, the Bunumbu Push and that at Njala University Faculty. Fourah Bay College or university has a Bindery. Presently the private sector has outgrown the Governing administration Printing Section even though the latter is the major solitary printing press, using the greatest selection of personnel. There are virtually 30 (30) privately owned presses the major variety being concentrated in Freetown. In get to bring some advancement in the career, printers received together to form the Sierra Leone Association of Printers on the 27th November 1992,with the late Mr Lissa O. Duramany as initially President. In pursuits of their aims the Countrywide Institute of Printing and Know-how was recognized for the training of printers

Problems Dealing with THE Field

Substantial Money Outlay
Printing presses are beneath-funded. Printing is very technological and mechanic and requirements funds. The expense of equipment and devices is substantial and requires ample foreign exchange. This has remaining numerous eager and extremely professional printers handicapped in creating printing presses.

Profiteering
The profession is a person that is the very least guarded both from the legislative position of see or from the printers themselves. There are numerous back street and portfolio printers in Sierra Leone these days who in most situations delight in the viability of the Printing Industry more than the specialist printers who do the job for the training course. The resultant effect is that there is no plough-back into the marketplace. The introduction of the Indigenous Trade Protection Act of 1969 has finished pretty minimal to shield the sector from infiltration by foreigners, who have extra economical ability, and can effortlessly acquire entry to financial institution financial loans than the citizens.

Spare Parts and Components

1 big problem facing the industry is the unavailability of spare pieces and materials. There is no graphic art company for offering spare parts and materials. This usually means that the alternative of spares and even supplies just take a pretty very long time as they have to be imported. Complementing this trouble is that of sustainability due to deficiency of servicing of machines and experienced employees to undertake the task. What is more there are hardly services for additional teaching to improve the large amount of printers.

Authorities Regulations
About the decades, the authorities had introduced actions that have just about crippled the sector these types of as the significant import duties, sales tax, surtax on turnover and financial institution fee on acquisition of international trade. These have left importers with no substitute but to lessen, or even halt importing. As a result, many printers now rely on petty traders who invade these polices but at a higher cost. Over and above there is recurrent lack of energy provide from the National Electric power Authority which deters the completion of work. What is a lot more the career is characterised by lack of coordination and cooperation amid printers deficiency of fascination in the advertising of the trade absence of levels of competition as the awareness of what a “very good printing position is”. This has led to greed and selfishness, therefore opening the door to exploitation by ‘portfolio printers’ non-printers and foreigners.

Some Remedial Measures

In get to increase the printing field, the pursuing are deserving of observe:

o The institution of a National Printing Institute in which persons from in and outside the house the career could have access to schooling services. Printers ought to pull their means in help of this Institute .
o A graphic arts store should really be founded exactly where printing materials and spare components could be availed.

o Ready finance and international trade must be obtainable for the invest in of spare elements and supplies.
o There need to be cooperation amongst printers to bolster the Printers’ Affiliation.
o Printers need to make certain continual electricity offer with the provision of electricity vegetation to complement the companies of the National Power Authority. Only by means of the implementation of the aforementioned could the market be revived and sustained for posterity.

Printing is a person of the most essential means of mass conversation alongside radio, motion photographs and tv. In many nations around the world primarily formulated types, printing is a major organization in phrases of annual gross sales and the selection of institutions. In Sierra Leone, nevertheless, the printing field is a reasonably small company. The most popular products the marketplace is engaged in are textbooks, publications, newspapers, calendars, souvenirs, article cards dominated crafting tablets and replica of artwork will work. Invariably this report seems to be at the origins of the industry in Sierra Leone, the various types of industries that have been founded over the years and the problems confronted by the sector,.