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Extra services provided to ensure best possible re-production of your Hard-Copy originals

When choosing a print supplier, please remember that NOT ALL COPYING AND PRINTING SERVICES OFFERED BY PRINTERS ARE EQUAL!

The information provided on this page is to explain the extra production steps we include in the processing of  Paper Originals submitted as "hard copy" jobs.

We take this extra care to ensure that the printed material produced at Document Services and made available to UniSA students and others is always of the HIGHEST POSSIBLE PRINTING QUALITY.

Document Services is your own UniSA specialist in-house printer, dedicated to providing the best possible quality printed material for UniSA Students, Staff and other clients.

Over many years, we have invested heavily in specialist equipment, systems and skilled staff  to service the diverse printing needs of the university community.

Individual pages are corrected at the scanning stage

Some printers will simply re-produce your "Hard Copy" original "as is", which means that any faults present on the original document are reproduced on EVERY copy. The end result is often a significant drop in quality to the end user of the reproduced document. Examples abound where documents produced in this fashion are demonstrably very difficult to read, to the serious detriment of our most important clients, the students of UniSA.

In contrast. at Document Services, the combination of our specialist equipment, advanced systems, trained staff staff and stringent quality control processes ensure that EVERY original hard copy page is individually scanned and CORRECTED at the "pre-press" stage. At this stage many problems are detected and corrected BEFORE each page is stored in the "print ready" final version of the document ready for submission to the printer.

Descriptions follow of some examples of the problems on individual pages which, at  Document Services, are routinely corrected before any Hard Copy job is printed:

  • black marks at the edges of each page, which are often present on poor quality  hard copy originals supplied to us.
  •  "gutter marks" at the centre of each page which can occur when the original has been photocopied from a book.
  •  "faint" or "very light" originals are adjusted and "darkened" to ensure that they are readable in the final copy
  •  "skewed" pages (which are the result of original photocopies being produced without proper care) are "de-skewed" so that the image is "square" on the printed page.
  •  any "landscape" pages are "rotated" as appropriate to ensure a consistent appearance between consecutive pages in the final printed document.
  • originals printed on coloured or tinted papers are adjusted at the scanning stage to ensure that the reproduced pages are readable.
  • correct and consistent "margins" are set throughout the document, and the images of individual pages are "shifted" as appropriate to fit these margins. This ensures a professional quality appearance and presentation to the finished document.
  • a correct and consistent "binding" margin is applied which ensures suitability for the chosen binding method.

Added value "hard copy document" services

In addition to the above, we also provide many additional "added value" services to our clients. These include:
  • "number up" printing. Depending upon the size of the original and the size of the output stock, the same page image can be reproduced 2, 4, 8 or 16 times on the output.
  • Booklet making - your paper original (any size) can be converted and printed as a saddle stitched booklet as part of our process.
  • Individual placement of separately supplied colour or black and white photographs, line art images or other graphics into the correct place on each page. All  such images are enlarged or reduced to ensure the best possible fit within the page.
  •  original colour photographs, which can be notoriously difficult to reproduce adequately in "black and white", are adjusted at the scanning stage to ensure the best possible B&W reproduction.
  •  page numbering can be added to every page, so that originals from disparate sources can be properly numbered for reference throughout the final document.
  •  special "page headers and footers" as specified by the client can be applied to every page, or selected pages of the finished document.
  • "hard copy" originals as provided by the client can be combined with other originals provided electronically. The collation of the "finished document" is accomplished at the "pre-print" stage, ensuring that the final printed document has a consistent and professional "look and feel".

Document Services unique job re-printing service

  • Every job printed at Document Services is initially stored within our unique "job re-print" repository.
  • Depending upon a client specified "purge date", these jobs can be held for as long as required.
  • Held with the job are full details of exactly HOW the job is to be printed, including details of any coloured pages, tabs, covers or different stocks which are to be used.
  • This means that when an exact re-print of a job is required by the client in the future, it is available for instant retrieval and reliable and consistent re-printing.
  • The need for the client to re-assemble and re-submit original documents is completely removed.
  • This facility has proved to provide significant benefits in both cost and time savings all of our customers who avail themselves of this service. (see FAQs -  Print job Re-print services)

Document Services "hard copy document" re-purposing services

Document Services also provides services which allows jobs held in our re-print repository to be "re-purposed" in alternative formats to the original "Print" format.

Current examples include:

  • Production of CDs containing PDF documents (see FAQs - CD / DVD production )
  • Conversion of  re-print repository jobs or even "Hard Copy" originals supplied by the client to a variety of different file formats. (Please note that this kind of services is of course subject to copyright compliance regulations. Such conversions include, including:
    • PDF creation (both "image" and text searchable)
    • TIF images
    • TXT files
    • DOC files (MS Word in various formats)

For further information on any of the above, please contact one of our Sales Executives.

Services for students with special needs

Document Services works closely with the Disability Liaison Officer in the UniSA Learning Connection to provide print materials in alternative formats where these are required for students with special needs. For more information on how to make use of these services, as a first step  please contact Learning Connection. Relevant information is also provided on the Learning Connection website.

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