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In the Home Information Pack Regulations 2006: Procedural Guidelines, Regulation 5 requires that ‘the home information pack must be composed of original documents or true copies of them.’  The regulations recognise that there is no definition of “true copy,” however it is interpreted that the copy ‘should be reproduced with sufficient accuracy to enable the copy to be understood, and the meaning of the  document should be unaffected in the copy. In the case of a map, plan or drawing in which colours mark boundaries or other features, those colours must be reproduced accurately (e.g. green must be green) but some variation in colour tone is acceptable provided this does not affect the comprehension of the document.’

Therefore, how these documents are digitally acquired is very important. The latest digital multifunctional colour copiers are capable of scanning multiple page documents via their high capacity document feeders, at speeds up to 50 pages-per-minute (A4); catering also for double-sided documents and up to A3 in size.

The resolution of the scan is also important; the higher the resolution, the better the image quality is. A higher image resolution is useful when a particular document contains line drawings or hand written notes, such as on plans. Not only can enhancements be made at the copier interface (such as changing the contrast or brightness), but the document can also be previewed on a full colour LCD screen  (depending on the machine model).

Once a document has been scanned and checked for its suitability, it can be sent for editing in one of many formats e.g. PDF, JPG, or TIFF. Because the paper documents have now been digitised, you can send them to your PC, your network server, or even to another recipient via email, all from the copier’s control panel.

Edit

Today’s multifunctional colour copiers use powerful, easy to use applications to simplify the process of working with scanned and native electronic documents (such as Word or PDF files). Files can be previewed as thumbnails, converted to image files, then dragged-and-dropped to create entirely new documents.

Documents can be digitally straightened, have borders/page numbers removed, and despeckled (to remove noise from the image). You can also use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to perform full-text searches by tags, keywords, annotations, or dates.

When your document is combined, you can add page numbers, headers, and footers to complete the professional presentation.  Finally you can move on to the next stage, and either print the document or convert it to a PDF ready to email.

How this applies to the HIP

The Home Information Pack comprises of a number of “ required” and “authorised” documents, which include: index pages, sales statements, commonhold information, leasehold information, home condition reports, cover notes, warranties, search reports, photographs, maps, plans, drawings, energy performance certificates...and many more.

Whether the documents are provided in paper or digital format, you can use the scanning facility combined with the editing software to digitally collate all pages, in the right order, quickly and easily from your desktop. Furthermore, if a pack document needs to be updated, it can be easily swapped with the old version in just a few clicks of a mouse.

Print / email

Once you have created the Home Information Pack by using the editing software, it is now ready for production either via email or print.

Email

The editing software is capable of automatically producing PDF documents that can be easily emailed to anyone who uses Adobe Acrobat Reader. The PDF can be encrypted with a password for enhanced security, and is compressed to a much reduced file size when compared to the original files. Therefore multiple HIPs can be sent in one email without any concerns that a client’s mail server will reject the email. Security settings can also be set to limit the ability to edit the document.

Print

The production of professional quality Home Information Packs is possible from the multifunctional colour copiers from Ricoh and Konica Minolta. With speeds ranging from 10 to 65 pages-per-minute, there is a machine for every company.

Both manufacturers have developed toner that provides sharp b/w text and bright colourful illustrations, at low cost and with low environmental impact. Helping to save costs, and benefit the planet.

The Home Information Pack can be printed with or without cover sheets or back sheets, as the user requires. Such sheets are automatically fed from one of the paper trays and can  include card up to 256 gsm in weight. Pre-printed covers can also be used on certain models.

Print costs and “job accounting” can be easily managed. Each colour or black page is produced at a fixed cost (inclusive of all parts, labour, and toner—irrespective of page coverage), making it easy to budget for this new print overhead. Using the job accounting features, each HIP that is printed can be associated with a particular client’s account number. Therefore, at any given time a report can be printed showing how many colour or black pages have been produced for a particular client, or list of clients. This report can also be downloaded for use with a spreadsheet or database.

Finish

Option 1

Multifunctional colour copiers such as the Konica Minolta bizhub C450 (shown right), can be configured with a booklet finisher. This can automatically produce stapled and folded A4 and A3 booklets, with covers, in under one minute.

Alternatively, if you wish to automate the process but don’t require booklet making, you can choose from a wide range of finishers that can single staple, dual staple, and hole punch. All copier attached finishers provide easy and automated production that can be picked, packaged and sent with great ease.

Option 2

If you are happy to finish the Home Information Packs manually, there are a wide range of products to suit your needs. These include: thermal binders, comb binders, wire binders and coil binders. Which you choose depends upon: the size of your document, whether you want the open pages to lie flat, whether you want to be able to swap pages easily once the document is bound, and how many you’ll be producing per day.

All the scanning, editing, copying, printing, emailing, and finishing technology discussed in this guide are available from Transcribe Thames Group. If this guide has been helpful to you, and you would like to investigate further, then please contact our sales team. One of our professional and friendly account managers will be happy to meet with you to help you decide which equipment and software will be best suited to help you produce the perfect
Home Information Pack.