The Hampton Hill-based company is using the grant to investigate the feasibility of a web-based system that could be used by all potential print customers to get accurate quotes in a matter of seconds.

The industry's existing costing system is "long-winded, inefficient and unavailable on the internet," claimed Printpak managing director Norman Marks.

Printpak has been working on the system for 11 years. Marks said that the funding would enable it to expand and improve the system's reliability and security, to create a simple to use interface and to develop an intelligent and accurate model of the printing industry that would be capable of analysing print methods. All results from the system will be JDF-compliant Marks said.

"[The grant] will enable us to offer this facility to a much wider audience," he added. "We have the skills and tools to create an intelligent engine that has an accurate model of the printing industry and all its categories and that will be simple to understand for any printer or customer."

Printpak is working on a complete revamp of its existing product and anticipates its completion in October. It will be tested with print customers and suppliers and is likely to launch in finished form before Christmas.

Contact: www.printpak.com