FlightCheck User- (UK goverment) Central Office of Information
Going through my literal stack of print media, design and publishing titles on my desk, I came across a very interesting article titled, “Careless print costs money“. This was within the U.K. magazine named PrintMedia Management (June 2008, pg. 28, 66). It highlights how this key United Kingdom government department, COI or Central Office of Information, is taking the matter of print buying very seriously. They are doing what any advertising agencey, corporation or marketing company should also be doing, however may not be…
‘Philip Brimley, head of publications for the COI explains: “The principles of our procurement are that we do a good spec that is sent to suppliers in plenty of time so that the suppliers have a fair amount of time to generate a quote, and competition rules must always be in place. We should also promote innovation, and should encourage SMEs to work with us.”
To procure print, COI uses three frameworks: one for printing, which has 76 companies; one for paper supply with six suppliers (although this is set to change); and a framework for typesetting with five companies.
There is also a framework for design work, with half of the COI’s creative work being put through the framework, and half of the design produced in-house. For internal prepress checking either the Adobe CS3 preflight software is used or Markzware’s FlightCheck.’
SOURCE: http://www.printmediamag.co.uk/market-sector-interviews/216.aspx
It is fantastic to see more and more print-buyers taking responsibility for their own digital creations destined for the printer. Using FlightCheck Professional or even other preflight measures is of course a no-brainer, however some may be surprised to learn of how many do not perform a quality assurance check on the native or final press-PDF file before sending. (FlightCheck can check both the open or native source files as well as the resulting PDF or PS/EPS.) Lastly, it is even more encouraging to see governmental agencies doing things by the book, saving time and money and in the process operating greener, which of course it great for the environment- for if a bad digital layout or brochure goes to print with problems, you have to print it over again, costing inks, solvents and of course paper. Naturally, the printer’s prepress or repro department should also be using FlightCheck before getting that far- at least in a perfect world!
Want to learn more about how FlightCheck can improve your design process? Check out this video demonstration located here on YouTube.
Tags: Central Office of Information, COI, Design, environment, FlightCheck, flightcheck pro, flightcheck professional, greener, InDesign, Markzware, Markzware News, paper, preflight, Preflighting News, print buyer, print media, print-buying, printers, publishing, UK goverment, waste