The Bright Promise of Publishing in Developing Countries

Publishing in Asia and Africa has a bright future, due to a number of factors, ironically including the present state of underdevelopment. Few hostages have been given to fortune, and there are not nearly as many vested interests opposing progress in the developing countries as in American society. Usable “critical masses†exist in the languages, and the built-in growth factor is almost dreamlike in business terms. The future promises significant improvement in manufacturing methods, including much wider use of photocomposition (but also more extensive employment of typewriter composition), offset presswork, and so-called Perfect binding. One of the most useful developments, in both educational and business terms, may be the integration of publishing with electronic media. “Joint runs,†especially for color illustrations, are likely to be greatly multiplied. The most critical publishing need, however, is development of nationwide distribution systems for mass marketing at low prices. In the scholarly publishing field, Asia and Africa hopefully will avoid some wasteful American practices and perhaps will use on-demand publishing as an economical method for some specialized materials with low sales potential.