The switch, which could affect up to 8,000 ads per year, marks the next step in BBCM’s Smart Repro project to bring all repro in-house by June 2007. The first phase, in which repro for all editorial pages was brought in-house, completed last month.

The announcement follows several months of trials with Adstream’s PageStore software, which enables receipt of advertising created using another Adstream product, QuickPrint.

Adstream director of print publishing operations Mike Palmer said: “QuickPrint has plug-ins for InDesign and Quark, from which the designer is able to access a database with full production specifications for of all of the BBC’s titles.

“Using QuickPrint, designers can create, validate and deliver ads to BBCM, where they are then automatically routed to the correct production team.”

Around 60% of those who place ads with the BBC on a regular basis already use QuickPrint, according to Adstream, and BBCM now hopes to drive more of its advertisers towards digital delivery.

BBCM production director Mal Skelton said: “As publishers look to increase efficiencies in their workflow, a move towards receiving ads digitally is inevitable.”

Palmer added: “What this is doing for BBCM is bridging the gap between editorial and advertising.”

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ADSTREAM
• 11,000 publishers worldwide on the QuickPrint database
• 2.2m print adverts received per year using PageStore
• Clients include News International, Trinity Mirror, Financial Times, Emap, BBCM, Condé Nast