Technological Development Trends and Adoption by Offset Lithography Printers in South West Nigeria

The sequence in the improvement drive in any discipline is a vital concern. This has become a mindset to printing practitioners. The special consideration accorded some brands of machine is as a result of peculiarities in terms of suitability, affordability, maintenance capability, ease of operation, durability among others. The excitement for better means of achieving printing goals has always prompted manufacturers to develop successive equipment to enhance offset printing practitioners in their daily activities. The aim of the study is to trace, identify and examine the brands of machine in use, and their impact on the practice of offset printing in South West Nigeria with a view to encouraging practitioners for better productivity and sustainability. The objectives of the study are to trace the trends in the technological development of offset printing in the offset printing industry, Identify brands of machines adopted in South West Nigeria, and examine reasons for the use of such brands. The sample size for each study area was selected at random from registered offset lithography printing establishments as follow: Somolu-274, Akure36 and Ibadan-192. Both primary and secondary data were employed. Survey Design was adopted and the data were gathered through structured questionnaire and subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistical tools for analysis. Findings from the study revealed that there were developments in both quantitative and qualitative aspects in the industry. From the quantitative aspect, the acquisition of additional machines, offices/buildings and staff were always on the increase, despite the use of old machines and reliance on on-the-job training of operators. From the qualitative aspect, the hypothesis postulated was tested using chi-square to test significant relationship. The analysis showed that the null-hypothesis was rejected in favor of the alternate hypothesis, implying that although developments were remarkable, it would have been more pronounced if not for the impact of the high significant relationship between the variables as indicated by x2 (4) = 144.289, p = 0.000. The study also revealed that old technology machines are durable, easy to manipulate and maintain, cost effective and affordable. Furthermore, spare parts are always available, operators with little education rely mostly on apprenticeship/on-the-job training. However, lack of surplus fund hindered the procurement of new machines. Some offset printers only adopted digital process as complementary for short runs and print-ondemand purposes, while some held the belief that digital machines are not as durable as offset printing machines. Since new offset machines are costly and not conveniently affordable to printing firms, the study recommended that two, three or more offset firms can embark on collaborative efforts for the procurement of new machines that would enhance better performance in productivity and profitability.