2nd Expert Meeting of the Printing Standard Network: standardisation to ISO 12647 provides clear benefits to the entire print supply chain

The second Expert Meeting of the Printing Standard Network was held on November 23rd and 24th 2009 in Milan, Italy. The conference focused on international standards in print production. 52 experts from 11 European countries presented and discussed current standard applications and perspectives of future development.

Standards are increasingly important to printers and prepress service providers for process control, quality assurance and customer relations purposes. Despite the great progress in recent years, still a lot remains to be done for an even larger implementation and better understanding of international standards in print (e.g. ISO 12647). In order to address the issue, Intergraf invited experts from around Europe to discuss international standards in print production and review the latest progress and future perspectives. The presentations touched topics such as new standard applications in offset, gravure and flexo, paper properties and national reports on implementation of standards in Europe.

Some speakers said that small printing companies often perceive the standardisation process as too burdensome and expensive, destined at large enterprises only. However, experts noted, standardi¬sation brings clear benefits to all types of companies. It increases efficiency and profitability through process optimisation, and also brings environmental benefits through waste and energy reduction. Examples of considerable economic, environmental and quality improvements achieved by the use of ISO 12647 based PSO were presented by Elie Khoury (KEE consultants).

Today, the majority of printers in central Europe is running standard-based operations (ISO 12647 ff.). Off¬set printers have been using ISO-based data and workflows on a regular basis for many years. Only a fraction of the com¬pa¬nies have chosen to get certified to ISO 12647 (some 400 in Germany and abroad by bvdm/Fogra). In gravure publication, all printers are handling standard workflows. More than 80% of catalogue and magazine data are “PSR” (Process Standard Rotogravure, ISO 12647-4).

Despite the obvious advantages, standardisation seldom comes at the top of the priority list in printing houses. The incentive often comes from outside via customer demand. A clearer and more effective communication towards clients on the benefits of standardisation is still needed in some cases. Also, printers themselves need better information about standard application and how to gain certification. In addition, challenges on the organisational side of standardi¬sation should be addressed. For instance, no unified administrative rules exist at present for certification bodies, auditors or consultants. This sometimes creates insecurity amongst printers and print buyers. Participants have been invited to contribute to a newly established work item on the issue of certification in ISO TC 130 Graphic Technology. 

In the presentations, it became clear that awareness levels on the standard vary between the member states. In order to address the communications needs, organisations in several countries informed about their efforts. Pascale Ginguené from the French federation UNIC reported about a tool box for companies on how to gain a certification. UNIC also works closely with education bodies to raise awareness about standards. Karl Michael Meinecke from the German federation bvdm informed the audience about the latest standard printing conditions to ISO 12647-2 (Offset 2009), the new, updated Process Standard Offset (PSO) manual and the Altona Test Suite 2.0 Application Kit bvdm will be released in both English and German in summer 2010. New, publicly available documents supporting the application of ISO 12647 were introduced by speakers from Spain and Italy.

 
A part of the conference was dedicated to the importance of paper properties for standardised printing. For this reason, Intergraf had invited representatives from the paper industry to join the meeting. Luc Lanat from Stora Enso reported the views of “Paperdam Group” and highlighted the importance of an even closer coordination and cooperation between paper manufacturers and printers in standardisation development regarding definitions and measurements, paper categorisation, paper shades and fluorescence.

Martina Flink from Intergraf presented the achievements of the Printing Standard Network since its creation in 2007. She pointed to the dedicated website which provides information and documentation as well as links to organisations in different European countries dealing with standardisation support and certification.

In the discussion on the future developments, participants expressed their willingness to closer cooperation with schools and universities on the topic of ISO 12647. They also agreed that benefits of the standard need to be communicated more widely to printing companies in a number of European countries, making them aware that work according to ISO 12647 brings clear improvements to performance efficiency. 

For more information on the Printing Standard Network go to www.printing-standard.net