Printing industry can become major forex earner - Minister Anura Yapa

Sri Lanka's printing industry should aspire to become a major foreign exchange earner, Enterprise Development Investment and Promotion, Media and Information Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said.

Addressing the Awards Ceremony of Sri Lanka Institute of Printing at the BMICH on Thursday, Minister Anura Yapa said several leading local printing firms have received foreign orders, which was a healthy trend.

"In recent times some of our larger Printing establishments have received orders from foreign countries. This is a very healthy development. We are well placed to become a hub in this part of the world for printing. Geographically we are easily accessible. We have advanced technology and good infrastructure. If we work hard we can make our printing industry a big foreign exchange earner," the Minister elaborated.He noted that local printing today is of a very high quality standard comparable to even developed countries. It has the potential to provide quality employment to more youth as there is a shortage of trained and qualified personnel in the printing industry.

"Because of the high tech nature of today's printing in most positions in this industry there are young people working. This is a very healthy sign. An industry attracting so many young people will be a strong industry one day," he remarked.

"We must give these young people an opportunity to participate in a dynamic industry which will benefit both themselves as well as the country."The Minister drew the attention of the audience to latest technological trends and challenges facing the printing industry. "In the past 20 years or so, due to incredible developments in computer science and electronics the way we read and write has changed in a revolutionary way. Today more and more people lock to the internet for information. Most of the information we possess can be stored as soft copies which has changed the way we look at libraries now. We don't need to have many book shelves at home. All these rapid changes must be kept in mind when we talk about the printing industry. It is an era of tremendous changes."

"Printing as you know has a long and interesting history. From crude stone carvings of the ancient man to the beautiful printings of today is a story we must all be familiar with. It is the story of our human civilization. Much later in the 15th Century, Gutenberg's invention of the movable print advanced the science of printing tremendously. In the 18th Century we saw the development of rotary printing, again a major milestone."

The Minister lauded the efforts of the Sri Lanka Institute of Printing to develop the industry. The main purpose in creating this organisation in 1984 was to advance and develop scientific and technical knowledge in printing in Sri Lanka. It helps in modernizing the industry in order to meet the ever expanding demand.

He said the Sri Lanka Institute of Printing - University of Colombo tie-up to conduct diploma programs in Printing Technology was a step in the right direction. Several certificate level courses in various aspects of printing like Web Design, Digital Animation, Computer Graphic Design, and Book Binding & Finishing have been launched. These are all vitally important in developing this industry, he added.

Secretary to the Ministry A. Dissanayake, President of the Sri Lanka Association of Printers Darani Weeraman, members of the Sri Lanka Institute of Printing, Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo Dr. M. Selvakumar, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Printing (SLIOP) and Government Printer Lakshman Gunawardena, former Government Printer and former Chairman of SLIOP Neville Nanayakkara and the Board of Governors of SLIOP were also present.