The challenge of getting the right textbooks to the right schools has become perennial in South Africa, especially in hard-to-reach rural schools. New print-on-demand technology from Riso Africa has the capability to help solve this crisis in South Africa’s schools – and transform the publishing industry as well.
“Print on demand has been talked about for years, but only now has it become a practical and cost-effective option for schools, churches, corporate training departments and the like,” says Sonia Anderson, marketing manager at Riso Africa.
“With technology like this in place, we could help the education department solve the textbook crisis with relative ease.
“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,” she explains.
“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.”
Anderson goes on to say that Riso intends to work with publishers to ensure their copyright is fully protected.