The Telegraph's order for the technology came as Quickcut launched its  remote hard-copy proofing set-up, AssureProof, which it has developed in conjunction with EFI.

VCSP, which uses calibrated screens at the publisher and advertiser to produce a colour-certified soft proof at both ends, is already running at Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, the Evening Standard and Metro.

Peter Green, Telegraph Group operations director, said that VCSP would reduce costs for advertising agencies from around 300 per Cromalin proof to a charge of around 15 for a VCSP proof. "The more important advantage is that changes can be made very quickly," he said.

Meanwhile, Quickcut's AssureProof allows agencies to produce hard copy proofs which can be verified against publishers pre-press and print specifications.

The AssureProof workflow combines Quickcut's QuickPrint and Q-Automate software packages, which enforce publisher specifications at the design stage and create a PDF/X file, with EFI's proofing products including Colour Verifier and Colourproof XF.

EFI chief technology officer Ghilad Dziesietnik said: "AssureProof marks the first time that a hard copy proof can be verified as
conforming to the specifications of the destination publication."

Story by Josh Brooks