PAS 75:2005

Specification for the service and provision of printing services

In a competitive market place, customers are looking for more than just keen pricing from their print suppliers. Quality, reliability, customer service and services that add value for customers are of critical importance.

Print service providers need to be able to demonstrate that their businesses are managed efficiently and responsibly, that the services they provide are reliable and of high quality, and that they are committed to adding value for their customers.

This Publicly Available Specification, PAS 75, forms part of a system of reference relative to specifying and providing print services for a customer.

For service industries, it is necessary to make a distinction between the service definition or specification and the provision and delivery of the service:

• The service definition: all the services agreed upon between the print service provider and the customer within the framework of the contract; includes characteristics that allow these services to be assessed
• The service delivery: all the means engaged by the print service provider in carrying out the services, which includes personnel, the equipment used, the organizational arrangements and the budget.

The system of reference constitutes a beneficial means of achieving the following objectives:

• To create a dialogue with the customer which adds value to both print service providers and their customers
• To permit customers to identify and compare the services offered by print service providers in order to benefit from the positive spin-off of fair competition in an open market
• To protect customers against any provision of print services that does not comply with industry standards
• To allow print service providers to conduct their business with the aid of technical specifications that are clearly defined by a mutual understanding
• To allow the printing industry to position itself efficiently in order to meet the needs of customers by having at its disposal, in particular, harmonized general

   conditions of contract.

This service specification includes a framework of performance measures that focus on service quality aspects identified as important to the customer.

It is intended that this Publicly Available Specification will form the basis of a service conformity certification scheme to provide assurance to potential customers of print service providers that their print production and service has been independently evaluated and that the service provider’s controls are in accordance with stated requirements. It is the print service which is the subject of conformity with the requirements of this PAS.

PAS 75  has been developed in order to provide an objective standard that that can be recognized by suppliers of printing services, and by their customers, as defining excellence in print production and service. It is applicable to any supplier of printing services that is concerned to improve, or to demonstrate to others, the standard of the services it provides to its customers.

PAS 75 has been developed by BSI in consultation with the British Printing Industries Federation, printing companies and print purchasers to provide a service specification for print production and services.

Acknowledgement is given to the following organizations that have been involved in the development of this Publicly Available Specification (PAS):

• British Printing Industries Federation
• BSI Consumer and Societal Policy Unit
• BSI Product Services
• BSI Technical Committees
• Bovince Ltd
• Independent Printing Industries Association
• T J International
• Pira International
• Vision in Print
• West Ferry Printers