PRESS RELEASE
17 April 2007
TSO (The Stationery Office) has been acknowledged as a quality service provider by gaining the prestigious Kitemark® for Print Services for its premises in Mandela Way, London.
The Kitemark® for Print Services licence covers pre-press services, web offset lithographic printing, sheet fed lithographic printing, binding, digital printing, finishing and inserting operations, packing and delivery.
Using results from industry surveys the BPIF and BSI developed an objective standard that defines excellence in print production and services which was published in December 2006 as a Publicly Available Specification (PAS 75). From this and to allow print providers to demonstrate their compliance and dedication to quality, BSI Product Services launched a Kitemark® scheme for Print Services. Once a printing company has been assessed and shown to meet or exceed the Kitemark scheme criteria they are awarded the Kitemark – the world’s most recognised and trusted symbol of quality. To ensure that standards are maintained Kitemark licensees are subject to continuing surveillance by BSI.
TSO was privatised from HMSO (now OPSI) in 1996 and has a 200-year inheritance of secure, no-fail delivery to HM Government and Parliament and is the largest publisher in the UK by volume, publishing over 15,000 titles a year. In January 2007 TSO was acquired by Williams Lea, the leading global corporate information solutions provider.
“TSO’s heritage means we have an unrivalled understanding of the processes required when providing official and regulatory information. Our clients benefit from the experience and expertise, which enables us to offer them a superior quality, professional range of document and publishing services which deliver impact as well as cost-effective solutions, which can achieve increased revenues. As such the Kitemark’s values wholly reflect our own and the print services scheme allows us to demonstrate our commitment to quality” says Mike Linsdell, Head of Compliance at TSO.
Head of Kitemark Services at BSI Product Services, Ian Harper, also offers his congratulations to TSO, “It is great to see such a high-profile and well-respected organization like TSO demonstrate its commitment to the Kitemark for Print Services scheme. I feel sure that they will immediately notice the benefit in their business and customer satisfaction.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
TSO (The Stationery Office) has 200 years' experience in official print and publishing and provides document and publishing services to the public and private sectors, is Britain's largest publisher by output, publishing 15,000 printed and electronic products each year, has clients that include the UK Government, Parliament and Assemblies, the Office of Public Sector Information (formerly HMSO), the Office of Government Commerce, the Driving Standards Agency, the Home Office, Network Rail and the British Retail Consortium, employs 600 people throughout the UK at locations including London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and Norwich, was formerly part of HMSO, privatised in 1996 and now has revenues of £70 million per annum, and was acquired by Williams Lea in January 2007.
TSO is certified to the standard ISO 9001: 2000 for its organisation-wide Quality Management System. Specific services are also registered to ISO 27001 for Information Security and to ISO 14001:2004 for Environmental Management. In October 2005 TSO was awarded the Cabinet Office's prestigious Charter Mark for its customer service and is the first printer in Europe to be accredited by Pantone for the accuracy of its colour reproduction.
About the Kitemark®:
The Kitemark is one of the most respected product quality marks in the world, demonstrating that a wide range of products from lighting to fire extinguishers conform to standards, ensuring that vital safety and performance requirements are met.
The word Kitemark and the Kitemark logo are registered trade marks of BSI. A combination of a quality based system, such as BS EN ISO 9001 or a similar quality system, with advanced product/service testing provide the basis for a Kitemark scheme offering trust, integrity and quality.
BSI Product Services:
With its Global HQ in Hemel Hempstead, BSI Product Services is the testing and certification arm of the world-renowned British Standards Institution (BSI). BSI’s testing and certification capabilities are amongst the most highly-rated in the world. BSI provides product/service testing and certification to UK, European and International standards and is the UKAS accredited Notified Body for 17 of the New Approach EU Directives.
The British Standards Institution, an independent, non-governmental body established more than 100 years ago, has tremendous experience in the creation and implementation of all types of standards, both in the UK and globally. BSI currently operates in over 100 counties and has been recognised as a Business Superbrand since 2005 acknowledging that it is an organisation with the “finest reputation in its field… offering its customers significant emotional and/or tangible benefits over its competitors.” (Source: Business Superbrands council criteria for judging)
Contact: Claire Lynam, Marketing & Communications Manager, BSI Product Services, Tel: 01442 278527 or claire.lynam@bsi-global.com
