Cost out of the repro chain
Consolidating artwork, repro and imagery with one provider removed duplicated handling between agency, tradeshop and converter.
A UK converter was buying artwork from one supplier, repro from a second and imagery from a third. Each handover meant a file was opened, checked and charged again, and each supplier held a different idea of what the brand colour was.
The resultConsolidating artwork, repro and imagery with one provider removed duplicated handling between agency, tradeshop and converter.
Where it started
A UK converter was buying artwork from one supplier, repro from a second and imagery from a third. Each handover meant a file was opened, checked and charged again, and each supplier held a different idea of what the brand colour was.
The cost was visible in three invoices. The duplication was not: it sat in the hours between them, and in the press time spent settling disagreements that should have been settled on a proof.
We consolidated all three into one chain with a single colour reference, and committed the saving up front rather than estimating it afterwards.
How the programme ran
Six months to transferMap the handovers
Every point where a file changed hands was logged with the hours and the checks it triggered. Three of them were pure duplication.
One reference, one workflow
A single measured colour reference per brand, and a native PDF workflow in PACKZ so nothing is rebuilt between stages.
Transfer and report
Volume moved across in stages with consolidated reporting per brand and per converter.
“The saving was not a discount. It was work that stopped happening twice.”
Operations Director, packaging converterWhat changed in practice
One provider, one file
Artwork, repro and imagery run in the same chain, so the file is never reopened to be re-checked by the next supplier.
Colour is settled before press
One measured reference and a contract proof with a control strip means the press has something objective to hit.
Native PDF end to end
No conversion between stages, so no rebuild, and no risk introduced by a rebuild.
Reporting is consolidated
Volume, turnaround and error categories reported per brand and per converter, from one source.
What we carry forward
Read the full cost consolidation case study
Fourteen pages: the handover map, where the duplicated hours sat, the colour reference we set, and the six-month transfer plan.