For too long, OK has been ‘good enough’ when it come to colour quality. But these days, brand owners, print specifiers and even local retailers have been lured by the idea of printing to a standard – ISO 12647. Some leading Australian print businesses have now achieved ISO 12647 thanks to the help of Colour Graphic Services director David Crowther.

One of the benefits of standards-based production is that you will have a known target for which to aim. This can save valuable time in terms of makeready. If proofs have been supplied and they have been produced according to the standard, they will provide an accurate prediction of the final printed result. Further savings will flow as clients start to appreciate the consistent quality that is delivered, generating increased customer loyalty.

So who is using ISO 12647 to help drive success and efficiencies in their business?

GEON

With the recent consolidation of sites, some new staff at GEON Sydney underwent the complete ISO 12647-2 re-implementation program with Colour Graphic Services. The three days of intensive on-site training and press runs gave the team an expanded range of skills and knowledge. This colour know-how integrate with GEON’s continuous quality improvement initiative.

With sites across Australia and NZ, GEON has a clear need for standardised quality. Only through adherence to ISO 12647 can such a multi-faceted printing and communication organisation hope to hit the mark time and time again.

GEON systems compliance manager Anthony Green says: “We challenged our colour quality and established a project to build in superior and streamlined control mechanisms that could be replicated across the group. Colour Graphic Services worked with us to build a more efficient, faster and more accurate colour manage­ment system that has been successfully implemented throughout GEON.

“The minimum delta component of the software has allowed GEON to achieve preferred density/delta-E easier for the ink set we use within the group. The time reduction in finding the preferred density and delta-E has an underlying benefit for our cost of operation and speed to market which ultimately benefits our customers.”

Over many of its sites, GEON uses ISO 12647 to ensure it can achieve its claims of offering full suite of integrated print and communications services . With Mellow Colour PrintSpec, supplied by Colour Graphic Services, it can achieve reporting and pass bi-annual audits, which is the compliance part of meeting the standard.

Complete Colour Printing

Complete Colour Printing in Cheltenham, Victoria, is a Mellow Colour ISO 12647 Proficient Printer. Late in 2011, Complete Colour restructured and revamped its business and this required PrintSpec ISO 12647-2 training for new staff members and re-implementation.

PrintSpec reports allow them to track, evaluate, maintain and fine tune colour systems to ensure offset and digital print hit ISO 12647, which is a common objective for printers and clients alike.

Because it improves colour consistency in an organisation while reducing make­ready times and waste, PrintSpec is the ideal tool for colour professionals with an interest in producing high-quality output that complies with the targets and tolerances of ISO 12647.

PrintSpec allows printers to generate comprehensive ISO 12647 pass/fail reports from the small press control strip placed along with production CMYK printed work.

Complete Colour director Geoff Lawyer says: “Working closely with David Crowther is an absolute pleasure. His expertise and attention to detail is what makes our implementation a success. He is very strict with guidelines and passing the requirements for ISO certification; this keeps us on the ball and certain that we meet the appropriate standards.”

Webstar

Webstar is Blue Star’s specialist web printing division. Webstar, which produces ProPrint at its Silverwater plant, offers state-of-the-art magazine, catalogue and commercial print operations with a focus on quality and efficiency.

With the help of Mellow Colour PrintSpec and X-Rite scanning solutions, Webstar can audit each print run to the required standards, which is important to the magazine publishers who own the prominent mastheads seen on every shelf at the newsagents across the country.

Colour Graphic Services continues to provide high-level ISO 12647 advice, support and audits Webstar sites in Silverwater and New Zealand.

Webstar pre-press manager Stuart Trueman said: “We found that through the use of PrintSpec and understanding our colour process, a lot of efficiency was gained throughout the whole process from pre-press to print. Colour was far more predictable, and good copy was achieved quicker with reduced waste. “

PrintSpec gave Webstar the ability to objectively measure and view colour, taking away the subjective opinions when analysing colour. It improved buy-in for the colour and quality process from pre-press and print room, removing some long established barriers between departments.

Trueman continues: “PrintSpec provides a comprehensive set of tools for working with colour, but is very easy to use and understand. The support from Colour Graphic Services also adds to the complete experience, with fantastic knowledge and back up support. Colour Graphic Services also provides six-monthly audits, which help enormously with the ongoing develop and maintenance of our colour program, making sure that we continually strive to improve the process.”

IBS Design Resources

The clients of this Gold Coast-based company demand consistency and require repeatability with their print work. In the short-run offset market, this can be hard to achieve. With this in mind, they wanted an easily recognisable and independent accreditation that showed its commitment to colour accuracy, while providing the tools and skills to monitor and adjust their pre-press equipment and colour reproduction out on the press.

Having recently expanded and installed a second KBA Genius 52UV within the past 12 months, IBS decided it was time to fine tune its existing ISO 12647-2 procedures and get the printers on the floor more involved. Early in 2012, Colour Graphic Services was called in to provide an intensive ISO 12647 training program and consult on the required critical process control points in the print process.

IBS general manager Michael Culver­well said: “We were able to improve our print quality, offer our customers reliable and repeatable colour reproduction, as well as through ongoing monitoring of plates and print work, locate and remedy any issues that may have arisen in the pre-press and the press room.

“We achieved this with software and hardware applications, and with the ease of use in the new software and the ability to maintain colour consistency, between print runs and between presses. The software is easy to use and reports are easy to understand and the fact that a third party now verifies that our colour accuracy is up to international standards.”

Hannapak

Quality assurance is important to Hannapak with commitment to customers through investment in quality assurance systems, process and test equipment. Hannapak already held ISO 9001 for quality , and is now ISO 12647 compliant through Mellow Colour PrintSpec .

It uses an X-Rite product across its fleet of presses known as IntelliTrax automated scanning. Ultra-fast, IntelliTrax automati­cally scans the colour bar of a typical press sheet in less than 15 seconds with the ability to measure special colours, Pantone colours, non-process colours, and paper colour. IntelliTrax instantly reports these results on-screen, so press operators can quickly make adjustments and reach approved colour faster.

Sam Hanna, Hannapak director of sales and marketing, says: “After implementing the X-Rite IntelliTrax devices and the Mellow Colour PrintSpec software solution, we have seen faster makeready, improved quality control, the ability to have extensive results reporting and a prompt ROI for the system. To say the least we are very happy with the solution.”

Egoprint

A preferred partner to many of Melbourne’s largest advertising and creative agencies, Egoprint has  a reputation for superior quality print, specialised finishes and delivery that is second to none. Its facilities are state-of-the-art, its product exceptional.

In late 2011, Colour Graphic Services was able to provide a thorough, one-day on-site consultation for ISO 12647-2 procedures. The consultation covered set-up of CTP dot gain to suit press conditions, press tests and PrintSpec report software training for analysis and evaluation of press results in production.

The implementation of Mellow Colour PrintSpec for ISO 12647 is another feather in the cap at Ego. Printing to the numbers allows the most efficiency across their business and helps quickly identify the reason for any problems.

Egoprint’s Haydn Breheny says: “Print­Spec pinpoints the problem in one swift scan. We can tell if our press is right up to standard or not and if there is a problem matching the proof. We do not waste precious production time arguing where the fault is. We can rapidly look for other causes, such as poor proof or file issues.”

Rather than wait on client press approvals, Ego can print to an ISO standard from correctly profiled proofers, resulting in perfect proof matching. Breheny says this equates to major saving because its operation is 24 hours “so we can print when they like”.

When press conditions alter due to weather or consumable changes, accurate plate curve changes can be made with confidence. Quality control of consumables is a real bonus with PrintSpec being a well-respected tool.

Breheny says Ego would recommend PrintSpec and has done on many occasions. “It is a first-class business tool. A program like PrintSpec is only as good as the backup and after sales service. I have dealt with David Crowther on Print Spec since August 2006. Prior to this we were doing eight or nine press OKs with client per monthly. I hate to think of how much money has been saved in costly flights and accommodation from interstate clients since then.”

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