Government print chiefs desperate to keep up with technology are aiming to enlarge their army of suppliers to tackle around 15m of work a year.


The print roster review is intended to create a chain of supply for jobs ranging from 25m door-drops for Euro elections to bumper BSE reports in 15 volumes, or 10,000 exam sheets for schoolchildren.


COI Communications, which was formerly the Central Office for Information, said it was reviewing its roster to ensure the best value for money, rather than to simply drive down the price.


This involved looking at quality and service as well as price, said the department, which has 400 staff handling the print needs of every ministry. It has a turnover of over 200m.


"We are extending the list by around a quarter to make sure we cover the whole range of new printing methods, such as CTP and digital," said Michael Reid, director of publications and digital media.


"We want to be more inclusive as the industry changes and wont go for large printers for the sake of it. The roster will be open for smaller specialist firms, such as pre-press companies."


One of the biggest recent jobs was for the census, which produced over 2.5m worth of print. Other jobs, such as glossy DTI conference reports, run to little more than 1,000 copies.


Reid would not reveal how big the supplier list was, and said e-communications could affect future demand.


"However, we have not seen a downturn in printing so far," he added.


COI Communications hopes to complete its new roster by October. Companies must submit tenders for a roster period lasting five years.


Story by Jez Abbott