And that’s true.

As well as being able to see more colours than your average human – or so they claim! – our prepress folks have years of experience in colour management. They know exactly how to build–up a file so that it is perfectly optimised and media–ready.

They know everything there is to know about materials (substrates) and ink and plate technologies too. Their single goal in life is to help the printer perfectly recreate your concept 100% truthfully on your printed package.

Creating stunning visuals is enough to make our clients very happy indeed. But it’s not the full story. Many people underestimate – perhaps even undervalue – the full role of prepress in transforming a fantastic concept into fantastic packaging.

Our prepress team have impacts on quality all the way through the packaging chain. They help shorten cycle times. Improve workflows, help manage costs. They help printers get better results more efficiently – and much more.

But perhaps their biggest value is that great prepress management safeguards quality and consistency right through the brand packaging chain.

Let’s take a closer look.

To read the entire article, please download this PDF: “The FroQ Prepress team: much more than just stunning visuals!“

But some things are worth changing for. Such as decoupling.

Simply put, decoupling means splitting the creative aspect of packaging design from the execution and production.

Decoupling allows brand creative agencies to do what they do best: develop great creative concepts that trigger consumers to buy.

And, it allows companies that execute packaging design to do what they do best: execute great brand packaging design concepts; translating creative concept across different SKUs in a line – all the way through to print.

Decoupling gives brand owners more revenue from the point of sale, lower production costs, quicker time to market and better brand quality.

So why aren’t more brand owners doing it?

To read the entire article, please download this PDF: “Decoupling in packaging design: the background, challenges and benefits.“

At least half the work is in a good briefing. A good briefing means making sure that you brief all the right information – right at the very start of the project!

You could jokingly compare it to a construction worker who would also not start with the bathroom when he is building a house.

A good briefing helps us successfully manage your project every step of the way. It contributes to the optimal execution of the packaging design process. It guarantees a structured process and avoids a lot of going back and forth. So that both the FroQ team – and you, the packaging manager, are happy with what’s on the shelf at the end of the day.

So what makes for a good briefing?

• The product and packaging type
• The number of SKUs
• The design template for a new SKU (or reference to a package if it will need restyling)
• A packaging sample
• Full printer specifications, such as print technique, number of colours available, etc.
• Complete details of the printer and supplier
• Diecut
• Detailed timings

and of course …

• The full and complete texts!

A last thought: our job is to make sure that every packaging manager gets exactly what they want. But to do that, all this information needs to be in place – up front. Trust us, filling in the blanks later only leads to disappointment!

Richard Veldhuizen, our operations director, is a lucky man. When he doesn’t hear anything out of the ordinary from our team in Chennai, he knows there are no problems and we have very happy clients. And when Richard does hear from them, it’s most likely because they have found a new way to improve our processes.

That may sound like a million miles away from your typical ‘India, branch office’ story. And it is. But then again, Richard and the Chennai team have worked really hard over the past four years to make things this way.

Today, FroQ Chennai is made up of dedicated Brand teams consisting of traffic managers, graphic operators and graphic specialists

The office has an employee attrition rate of around 10%. That’s as opposed to the more typical 30% in India. Their productivity is great. And FroQ Chennai is as important to the FroQ quality operation as any other FroQ team anywhere in the world.

We grabbed Richard off the shop floor to ask him how he helped shape the Chennai team. He claims that most of it is just common sense. But we think there’s more too it than that.

To read the entire article, please download this PDF: “FroQ Chennai, India: building a team to be proud of“

We thought it was about time that we started letting you know more about what we are up to, let you know more about how we work and introduce you to some of our people too.

So welcome to the FroQ blog!

In the next few days we will publish our first article!

Hope you like it!

Yellow Dress Retail B.V., MAKRO design partner for this assortiment in the Netherlands, does the creative design for the fine food assortiment. FroQ focuses on the process of translating that design across all SKUs.

FroQ is responsible for the execution of MAKRO artwork – from technical input on the design brief, through design adaptation, artwork and lithography, print and aftercare.

Edgar van der Velde, FroQ managing director said, “We’re pleased to be helping MAKRO reach their brand and marketing goals for their fine food assortiment in the Netherlands. Together with MAKRO we’re already working hard to help MAKRO raise both the quality of their artwork and improve their time to market.”

FroQ will fully support the improvements in the MAKRO packaging design execution process through project management of all parties and best practice knowledge transfer.

So whenever we start working with a new client, one of the first things we do is gather all the historical data for SKUs across the lines – and find out exactly what file contains what data.

And that’s exactly where we started with HEMA recently when we were commissioned to execute all their Private Brand packaging.

The HEMA range is close to 10.000 SKU’s. And stretches back years. That’s a lot of data. And HEMA needed access to it. We helped HEMA solve their challenge through a combination of data identification and scripting to structure the old files. We then developed a database and portal solution. That portal keeps the HEMA packaging managers completely free from hassle and lets them search the full historical database of old their old files – easily, quickly and accurately.

Why China? Well, we believe that there is some work to do there. And some fantastic opportunities for ourselves, and our clients.

We see that the European folks in retail are starting to ask for more quality from China right across the whole packaging design process – in both food – and non-food.

As you know, we can’t resist a quality challenge. Or an opportunity. So, over the past year Edgar, Richard and Marcel (our operations director, managing director and project manager) have been checking out potential partners throughout the full packaging design process.

They’ve been talking with some very nice printers. Making new retail friends. Doing lots of research. Developing plans. And, of course, taking time for tea with colleagues in the packaging design industry in China.

We’ll let you know more on FroQ Shanghai soon. Meanwhile, here’s a little fact for you;

In China, the Frog is a symbol of prosperity. According to Feng Shui lore, it is believed to drive away evil, protect wealth, and increase income. Sounds like a promising start to FroQ Shanghai.

It’s the 1st January 2010 and the FroQ office in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua is fully operational.

We have built a great team of graphic production people that are helping the full FroQ family in our drive for quality in packaging design. And the time difference has helped us get even closer to a 24 hour working day for our clients. Also it opens up a gateway to the North American market.

The FroQ office is in the new ‘Discover’ building just 3 minutes away from the city centre and the commercial centre. Which means that it’s also really handy for both our employees, the local business community and the lucky few clients who want to visit us.

If you want to know more about our operations in Managua, Nicaragua – feel free to contact us!