Blue Star’s Victorian plant has used Heidelberg’s ISO assessment to get its credentials on paper. The company ticked the boxes for ISO12647-2, process control for the production of halftone colour separations, proof and production prints. Neil Pratt, prepress technical support manager with Blue Star in Victoria, says the site has been printing to the ISO standard for six years.

Certified, l-r: Brad Hoffmann, general manager of Blue Star Victoria; Neil Pratt, technical support manager Victoria; and Dierk Wissmann, product manager for prepress, CtP and digital with Heidelberg

He says, “We are confident our processes are robust, but until now we have never been independently assessed. Heidelberg is qualified to undertake official ISO audits and we felt it worth our while to attain official certification.” Dierk Wissmann, product manager for prepress, CTP and digital with Heidelberg, says, “Achieving certification requires all the machinery – CTP, proofer, printing press – to be in proper working order and adjusted for best performance. “ISO requires that both proof and press sheets conform, within tolerances, to the values specified in the 12647-2 standard.” Heidelberg says its ISO certification service is dedicated to the print and proof processes and focuses in particular on achieving reliable print results through technology. During the Blue Star certification Heidelberg worked closely with Hanno Van Dyke, the group’s key colour management specialist. Pratt says, “We achieved a ten out of ten result in our final assessment which is gratifying for everyone involved.”

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