Atlanta Journal & Constitution / IPS � Case Study

North Canton, OH, October 1, 2006

The AJC chose IPS (Internet Proofing System) to streamline workflows and gain efficiencies in this process. IPS decreases the time it takes to deliver a proof, improves quality and ultimately, increases customer satisfaction.

"Pagecheck (a previous version of IPS) was being used by the Digital Media Services department for the purposes of troubleshooting problematic files. In an effort to streamline delivery of proofs to our Sales executives, to decrease the approval process time, to control missing hard copy proofs and to improve quality measures, we recognized that online proofing offered the solution we needed. We are currently handling a limited number of hard copy proofs due to other workflow constraints, but our overall goal is to completely eliminate them altogether," said Kelli Newman, Ad Central Manager.

With only one newsprint color proofer shared between three different departments, hard copy proofing caused bottlenecks during peak proofing times.

"With backlogs during critical times due to increased volume, time is wasted because employees are waiting for their proofs," said Larry Pitts, Digital Media Services Manager. "The cost of maintaining hard-copy proofers is expensive and online proofing decreases those expenses a good deal."

Maintaining hard copy proofer consumables and overall equipment maintenance is cost prohibitive. Hard proofs were often times lost or delayed in transit from one department to another. IPS eliminated that possibility for AJC. IPS logs all actions taken on an ad, so it's very easy to report on who viewed and proofed an ad. This centralization of proofs allows anyone in their advertising production department to view a proof whenever necessary.

IPS provides multiple check points for quality control. Designers can check the quality of their work before a proof is delivered to the Sales executive or customer. Prior to IPS, designers in the satellite offices could not generate hard copy RIP proofs and were unaware of ad related problems.

"Anyone can access it through the Internet and it looks the same. You are able to view it more accurately without having to worry about a printer and online proofing replicates how it will actually look in the paper," said Colleen Keogh, Quality Assurance Specialist.

The Quality Assurance department has the ability to monitor errors earlier in the advertising production process, as well. IPS has decreased the amount of time it takes to process digital press-ready files within their Digital Media Services department and it has made it easier to approve ads for final output.

An additional benefit for AJC is that IPS archives approved proofs. This eliminates the need for physical storage space and provides a centralized access point to reference past ads.

Simply put; online proofing makes AJC more efficient while increasing processing speeds without compromising file integrity or quality.

"Our long-term plans do include extending IPS to advertisers, but it is a bit premature to say exactly when this will happen. We still have a large number of internal users to roll into the current workflow reconfiguration plan," said Newman.

The AJC is currently capturing metrics that will quantify the benefits achieved as a result of IPS. Faster processing times, increased accuracy, fewer output issues and less charge-offs related to advertising production are some immediate benefits AJC has seen since its installation in October 2005.

For more information, contact Denise Oates, doates@presteligence.com

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