Government information people try their hands
on the cutting edge of print production technology

Government publications in the ASEAN region could be greatly improved through the latest in computer technology that saves time by dramatically cutting the production cycle and yields better printing results. They could also be further improved through more detailed editorial planning and skillful editorial opinion leadership.

This was demonstrated last December to a group of government print production managers and information officers from the ASEAN member countries who attended the ASEAN Training Workshop on the Application of Pre-Press Technology in the Production of Specialized Government Publications in Semarang, Indonesia last December.

The training was in fulfillment of a decision reached during the 32nd Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information in Langkawi, Malaysia in July 1997. It was aimed at enhancing the skills of government information officers and government print production managers in the production of specialized publications and provide them with special skills in pre-print technology.

Aside from acquiring new print technological skills, the participants also took an overview of the regional media situation which, although now dominated by television and the Internet, still has an important place for the print media. Moreover, resource persons pointed out that electronic distribution of print editorial material is now very much possible.

Information Ministry TVRI Director-General Dewabrata, chairman of Indonesia's ASEAN-COCI, stressed that the print media remained the most stable, cost-effective and reliable means of communication in the world today.

Vergel Santos of the Philippine Press Institute recommended a number of strategies to enable the print media to compete, including "nicheing" or serving a special market, publishing at lower frequency, building a lean, multi-skilled staff, and contracting out jobs whenever practicable.

Between lectures and workshops, the participants visited the PT Pura Barutama Paper Mills at Jepara where they were briefed on the mass production of paper for various industrial and commercial needs, and the Multi-Media Training Centre in Yogyakarta where they observed training of media personnel.

Divided into groups, the participants tried their hands on the latest computer software that was specially made available for the workshop. Each group wrote and produced a two-page newsletter on ASEAN themes.

Making a critique of the results of their efforts, Santos cautioned the participants against overuse of technology such as the use of too many colours, typestyles and other distracting tricks that stood in the way of effective communication. In the end it had to be acknowledged that the computer was just a machine in the service of man and not a deus ex machina. (by R.L. de los Santos).