Antarctica New Zealand

Working in bitterly cold conditions in a fairly featureless environment where the weather can change for the worst in a matter of minutes having the right information on hand is life-saving. Precision Group has for a number of years produced and printed a comprehensive range of Antarctic guides and survival manuals for the scientists and support staff who spend their summers on the ice.

There are quite a number of guides, handbooks and manuals produced each season, from maps showing the research areas, how to survive a snowstorm or falling in to a crevasse, to flying a helicopter in such extreme conditions. Lives depend on this information so it has to be detailed and extensive … it also has to be updated every season as research areas are developed, the environment changes and new survival techniques are discovered.

Antarctica New Zealand and Precision Group have developed over the past seven years a design and production method for these manuals that’s able to survive in the harsh environment as well as be handled and used by cold hands in sub-zero temperatures. AntarcticaNZ is also very aware of protecting the environment so all items are produced on recycled or sustainable forest papers and boards.

Many of these booklets are pocket-sized and well over a hundred pages, but as there are a limited number of personnel who go to Antarctica each season, the runs are very small. This makes Precision’s digital printing, processing and finishing services ideal for their production as we can print any given number quickly and at a much lower unit cost than traditional methods. Also, as space is strictly allocated on the US Airforce flights to Antarctica we can produce copies to meet their deadlines in a matter of hours, not days, so the very latest information is immediately available to the people who need it.