PRINT MANAGEMENT


The importance of print


Print management may not be the first thing which springs to mind when thinking about efficiency in local government but there are many areas where it can increase efficiency and improve services, reports Richard Mackillican


T


he huge volumes of documents and paper which councils get


through - think elections, the benefits system and housing – makes effective print management an important weapon in the war against waste.


“Because of the public spending cuts which we keep hearing so much about, staff numbers may drop below desirable levels, whilst demand on council departments continues to increase,” says Andrew Pearce, chief executive of the Independent Print Industries Association.


In these cases it makes good business sense to partner with a print management company.


“For example, one of the Association’s members who works a lot with councils has staff who are specially trained in managing print runs for elections. This means that they are specially trained in legislation, timetabling, along with product requirements and any security features which are needed. They know what kind of data is needed and how it should be supplied along with the appropriate methods of proofing from start to finish.


“They can also provide assistance to council staff and are able to supply many sundry items such as ancillary print jobs and products. Of course, all of this has to be conducted within extremely short timescales with absolutely no room for error.


“You can imagine that in elections, if there is a misprint in the wrong place, then lots and


Nov/Dec 10


lots of printed material can be rendered invalid. This means that when jobs have to be turned around very quickly and the pressure is on, it is good to have a specialist on board who deals with all of these issues.”


Apart from the highly specialised nature of local authority print requirements, there is also the issue of cost. The purse strings of local government are as tight now as they are anywhere else and this means that any efficiencies which can be found are greatly appreciated.


“Although some print management companies will specialise in certain areas such as elections, there are others who can cover general print management requirements such as general marketing material. These can be used to either complement or replace in-house print departments.”


So if a local authority did decide that they wanted to use a print management company, what should they look for?


“If I was a local authority manager looking to procure the services of a print management specialist I would look for a business which has a wide portfolio of products. The company should also have a good IT infrastructure in place, along with a good account management structure.


“The specialist should also have the ability to hold on to stock because one of the advantages of using a print manager is that local authorities can pay on delivery, meaning that items can be produced but not necessarily paid for until they are delivered, which can help local authorities with cash flow issues.


“Again, from an IT perspective the company should have a good web to print ordering system. This is useful for local authorities which have products which need to look basically the same but have different content such as business cards.


Andrew Pearce


“This means that there will be a basic template with all the rules around branding already programmed in which anyone with the right level of clearance can access, input their details


and then order themselves some new stock.


“I would also be looking for someone who will do more than just what I am asking them to do. I would want a proactive specialist who will be able to be innovative and propose new ideas to me which are going to add value.


“A good print manager should also enable you to carry out accurate reporting, particularly around stock, to ensure that local authorities never run out of essential items. The company should be able to help with brand management, covering issues such as the tone of voice of documents and with compliance. A skilled print manager will not only proof read the material for things like grammar but also use the knowledge which they have gained to ensure the documents are compliant with local government regulations.


“Additionally they need to have good contingency plans in place – especially if they are a specialist dealing with election related material. If a piece of marketing material is late, although this is inconvenient, it is not the end of the world. However, if that happened in an election, then it would be a different matter.”


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