A 19-site remote proofing installation is saving the Financial Times a "six-figure sum" in courier costs for its international issues.

It has also improved colour quality and consistency with the benefit of reduced compensation claims for adverts running with inaccurate colour.

"All sites get a colour-accurate proof on the night of printing standardised on FT stock," said colour quality manager David Nicholass.

Previously, clients supplied the FT in London with up to 19 Digital Cromalin proofs that were despatched around the world. It took two hours to pack up all the proofs for couriers and up to five days for them to reach their destinations.

All of its print sites have two Colorbus RIPs driving a pair of Hewlett-Packard DesignJet 1050C wide-format proofers, which proof onto its distinctive stock.

Proofing using the Colorbus RIP and HP printer takes three minutes per page compared to 20 minutes for a Digital Cromalin.

Story by Barney Cox