Examination day! Who can ever forget this day? A day, that props up every year, and more often than not many times a year. A day when students are all set to prove themselves, teachers keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that their young protégés make them proud, and parents, as always, anxious that all goes well. The bell rings, and all (no matter what grade or level of education) wait anxiously for that one sheet of paper that will put paid to days, weeks sometimes even months of sweat and hard work.
Yes, the most crucial factor in this entire ‘exam scenario’ is the exam question paper. A simple sheet of paper that has journeyed a long way in its appearance, from the handwritten question papers created by teachers not so very long ago. Even today, in several institutions, question papers are manually written and then photocopied. Answers are checked manually. Besides, one has to ensure that the exam papers are kept secure and do not fall into the hands of miscreants who will go to any extreme to cash in on the situation. The consequences; postponement or rescheduling of examinations, delayed results, unfair rankings, postponed college reopenings, all leading to undue stress and demoralisation of innocent students. As a result, the entire process of preparing these papers and conducting the exams is labor-intensive, time-consuming and very expensive.
Down the years, several schools and educational institutions have tried their best to put systems in place and improve this process. Teachers type out question papers in word documents, which are then photocopied. However, the rest of the requirements remain more or less the same. And, creating and printing an examination paper continues to be a tiresome, worrisome, time-consuming process for schools, colleges, and educational institutions alike.
Now here comes the solution! A solution, to ease this problem, is readily available! A quiet revolution in the examination paper printing industry has happened in the UAE, thanks to the wisdom and foresight of the educational departments in UAE and progressive solutions provided by Atlas Printing Press.
With the help of design, technology and software solutions, educational institutions are now able to customise examination paper templates as per grade, subject, language, etc. Each question paper can be printed with the name of the school, the subject being tested and all the student details on it. The question papers arrive with added security features making the entire printing process significantly cost-effective rather than photocopying or printing them on local office printers.
Life gets simplified for schools and educational institutions, which are now left with only the task of providing a template and student details. These details are then automatically incorporated into secure software programs, and the output is, printed question papers with full variable data of the student directly on the paper.
Besides being a highly cost-effective method of printing, it can also be carried out with great efficiency and speed. The result, students are presented with a clear, ‘state-of-the-art’ question paper – a totally new concept in question paper printing. Truly an innovative technology for future generations to cash in on.
What may come as a surprise is that Atlas has not just started this revolutionary printing ,but has been carrying out this unique style of printing, for ADEC (Abu Dhabi Education Council), for over five years. It has been printing and supplying examination papers in full variable data to more than 300 schools and had these question papers not only printed but packed per school, grade and subjects in an unprecedented error-free fashion for over 10,000 students.
Also admirable is the fact that being a UAE based company; it has been a pioneer in this type of printing, along with the logistics for a groundbreaking product like this.
With an error rate of less than a fraction of a single percentage, Atlas’ machines are able to print at speeds of nearly half a kilometer of paper a minute in full variable data and 4 colour printing.
