Sold Out adopts Vio Certified Soft Proofing

Advertising agency Sold Out, specialising in advertising entertainment events, has talked about its adoption of Vio Certified Soft Proofing (VCSP).

Advertising agency Sold Out, which specialises in advertising concerts, record releases, music festivals, theatre and other entertainment events, has been talking about the positive impact that the adoption of Vio Certified Soft Proofing (VCSP) has had on its business.

Sold Out's art director, Elliot Clapp, explained: "We work in an extremely stressful environment with very tight deadlines".

"As we're often offered late space in the daily press, we can find ourselves having to turn around an advertisement within half an hour or so".

"When Associated Newspapers told us last year about a new system they were using for colour ads delivery and contract soft proofing - VCSP - we could immediately see the huge benefits the system could offer us".

"We looked in to it and signed up in October 2005." He continued: "Until then, we had been using the gatekeeper system for delivering ads to Associated".

"This was not only costly, it also meant sending couriers around to get things approved and having to trust a third party to deliver the correct ad to the correct place, at the right time".

"Now we have complete control over the entire process and know for certain where each ad goes, and that it is 100 per cent correct." Clapp said that since the agency has been using VCSP it had not experienced a single error.

In addition, Sold Out saves costs in repro and courier fees, as well as being able turn around an advertisement in 10 minutes, thanks to the soft proofing function, no longer needing several hours to generate hard copy proofs and send those to the relevant people.

Vio Certified Soft Proofing is claimed to allow users to generate accurate soft proofs of colour advertisements using remotely calibrated monitors.

Advertising pre-press suppliers can collaborate with their colleagues and clients on advertising creation and be assured that only correctly pre-flighted and certified material is proofed and that only approved advertisements are submitted to the publisher, together with all the relevant submission information.

Vio will shortly release a streamlined new version of its software, providing further automation and easier integration of the system in to existing workflow systems, added the company.

Clapp continued: "Over the last couple of years we have seen a significant increase in the volume of ads we process on a weekly basis".

"Our industry is growing, with ever more concerts and festivals taking place each year".

"New music technology, such as the iPod have given the industry a fresh boost, allowing more people access to music at an affordable price and generating interest in popular as well as more obscure bands and musicians." And he added: "This has increased demand for live events".

"Currently we generate approximately 200 ads per week, 20 per cent of which typically go through VCSP.

I hope that we will be able to send more and more ads through VCSP.

It is simply so much faster and easier and everyone in the advertising supply chain benefits - the client, the agency and the publisher." He explained that Sold Out holds the environment close to its hearts and it tries to be environmentally aware in everything it does.

A system like VCSP has the added bonus of contributing to the environment in a positive way, so the company needs less paper and toner for printing proofs, and less couriers are polluting the streets of London.

Sold Out has been established for 15 years and its 22 employees are based in Islington, North London.

The agency handles all aspects of music advertising, from designing outdoor posters, flyers and ads, to booking outdoor as well as magazine and newspaper advertising space.

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