CAD User Online Article Archive

CaseStudy

The Right Pitch

From CAD User AEC Magazine Vol 22 No 11 - NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

HOK maintains its position as one of the world's leading design practices by investing in high quality printers and colour management from Hewlett-Packard

Current economic woes have caused every company to reevaluate and streamline its ways of doing business - not only in its workflow and internal operations, but also in the hardware and software it chooses, and the way in which it will help to present itself to its clients.

A case in point is provided by HOK, the well-known building design company, wanting to speed up its production processes and improve print quality as part of a wider objective to equip the business for challenges brought on by the current economic environment. Their solution was to invest in three HP Designjet Z6100ps Printers and an HP DreamColor Monitor, installed at its London office, and providing HOK employees with consistently high print quality and faster print speeds. To support them, they use HP Inkjet Paper for everyday draft plots and HP Premium Instant-dry Photo Paper for presentation documents.

With an eye to environmental concerns, they committed themselves to HP's Planet Partners Recycling Program, whereby they are able to return ink cartridges for free and convenient recycling. As a result of which, they now have improved print quality with higherstandard presentation documents, aiding the pitch process for HOK employees and playing a part in winning new business, with the bonus of reduced wastage, resulting in cost-savings in supplies.

HOK

HOK is one of the world's largest and most diverse design practices for the built environment and has a reputation for innovation and high-quality services. The firm's London office identified the potential for its own internal processes to be improved by investing in new HP technology. In purchasing three HP Designjet Z6100ps Printers, the company looked to improve the efficiency of its pitch and production processes, easily create high-quality materials for clients and better adhere to the businesses wider environmental objectives.

IMPRESSING NEW AND EXISTING CLIENTS

Chris Ansell, reprographics manager, HOK comments, "Given the current economic downturn and its effect on the building and construction industry, pitching for new business is extremely competitive. The high print quality provided by our new HP Designjet Z6100ps Printers allows us to present our work in the most professional and dynamic manner possible, which really supports the sales process."

In addition, presenting high-quality printed documents to existing clients is equally important to HOK. During the design and development stages of a recent project for a Magistrate's Court, the HP Designjet Z6100ps Printers proved to be invaluable for the team. Stephen Herbert, project architect, HOK, explains, "The design brief was for a four court facility, incorporating custodial, judicial, public and support areas. The building itself needed to be a landmark civic statement, in keeping with the plans for regeneration in the surrounding area and the reputation of the judicial system in England and Wales.

"The new HP Designjet Z6100ps Printers were incredibly helpful during this complex and important project. Their speed and quality enabled us to produce amended designs, even in the middle of client meetings, providing updated documents to clients on the spot. Working to a very tight deadline, this CASEstudyHP Designjet Z6100 PS helped to significantly speed up and simplify the approvals process throughout the project."

Ansell adds, "HOK's architects serve a vast customer base, covering an extensive range of markets. Of course, our clients' individual needs are extremely varied, so we require a flexible printer that can produce high-quality prints for different applications.

"For some of our teams, colour accuracy is invaluable and it is critical to match the colour image created on screen, to the real product - be it a brick stock, paint or fabric swatch. Also, in map production, ensuring that a distinction is made between one colour and the next is key. For these types of colour-critical jobs, the HP Designjet Z6100ps Printer’s wide colour gamut and in-built HP DreamColor Technology is complemented by a new cutting-edge HP DreamColor Monitor."

HP DreamColor Technologies equip the HP Designjet Z6100ps Printer with HP Professional PANTONE reproduction, HP's closed-loop colour calibration and automatic ICC profiling with embedded spectrophotometer and software. This pioneering technology, coupled with eight Original HP Vivera pigment inks, produce vivid, accurate colour prints.

Ansell explains, "HP DreamColor Technology ensures calibrated colour from monitor to monitor, and provides the exact product colours to be applied later in the production cycle. This takes the

guesswork out of colour selection and colour matching, ensures customer confidence, simplifies the design process and removes potential costly mistakes."

STREAMLINING OFFICE PROCESSES

"By using the HP DreamColor Monitor in conjunction with our HP printers, we expect to significantly increase production efficiency at the London office. We can now have complete confidence in the accuracy of colours displayed on screen, saving time and materials by eliminating incorrect colour on printed documents. Reducing print waste has a two-pronged advantage for the business - one being the clear benefits to the environment, but the other being the added bonus of saving time and money on ink and paper."

"We will also have the assurance that the newly installed HP printers are working together to deliver consistently accurate prints, time after time and from one printer to the next. The issues created by everyone waiting to use the high-spec office printer to produce important documents is a thing of the past. We can now simply change the media in another HP Designjet Z6100ps Printer and create exactly the same high- quality document," continues Ansell.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

In addition to the high standard of services it provides, HOK is also well

known as an environmentally responsible organisation. Not only does it offer its clients sustainable design solutions, HOK is also committed to ensuring that its own operations are as environmentally friendly as possible.

Before reaching the decision to install the HP Designjet Z6100ps Printers at the London office, the HP technology had to undergo stringent analysis at HOK to ensure it was aligned with the company's environmental policies. Details such as power consumption and recyclable and environmentally friendly supplies were considered, and deemed in line with the organisation's environmental standards. HP's Planet Partners Recycling Program was also of particular interest to HOK, now enabling the business to return ink cartridges for free and convenient recycling. This scheme is available in more than 47 countries and territories.

Ansell concludes, "Having worked with HP printers for about 15 years now, I know that I can expect a smooth installation process, on-demand technical support and a high-quality, reliable machine. The HP Designjet Z6100ps Printer delivers exceptional print speeds, ideal for those last-minute requests. However, I think most people in the architectural field will always choose quality over speed, and in my opinion, HP remains the market leader for print quality."

CaseStudy

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