Applying the rigour of an ISO quality standard to print output is a step that is good for the numbers and good for the sanity, writes Laurel Brunner.
So which is your production workflow? Will it meet the demands of a rigorous certification scheme? If so, you are probably making decent money on every job. But if your workflow is instead undermining tight margins and sending you quietly round the bend, you are probably just scraping by, running a business that is going nowhere and wondering what you can do to salvage your sanity.
Take heart – all is not lost! Based on conversations we have been having of late, the printing companies who are doing well are those implementing standard processes, either their own or ISO ones. And a rare few have even implemented the BPIF Guidelines for Colour Quality Systems.
In-betweeners
Maybe, and most likely, you are somewhere in between the two extremes. You fix problems as they come up, persuade clients the colour is as good as it gets, that their proof was not accurate, that it is impossible to match offset print on a digital press, and so on. This is the usual lot for many printers, the day to day of the business and customer relations.
However, more printing companies are starting to get the quality management message, often because they fight to hang onto increasingly demanding customers. Many are looking at the BPIF scheme, plus the various ISO standards it implements, in the hope of getting back on track. They are working through the numbers and looking at software tools such as Mellow Colour, Bodoni Press Sense and Alwan Colour, or suites such as GMG’s ColorServer or Fujifilm XMF. They find numbers adding up to a decent return if quality controls are properly implemented. And if printers are not doing this of their own volition, they are doing it because customers want to know how they control colour quality.
Answering the quality question has traditionally been along the lines of ‘we are quality printers, we know what we are doing, trust us’. However, bluster and showing off exquisite samples is no longer enough. The market is too competitive, with over-capacity in all sectors and customer expectations of fast, automated and gorgeous output at the right price. Digital printers have an advantage because they can capture market share in short run on demand work. Increasingly they have opportunities to steal work from their offset rivals. Bigger printing businesses have digital and offset and increasingly compete on the basis of their quality management and data handling. In all cases, process automation and quality control can provide an edge. Compliance to standards is a means to that end, but it takes commitment and, for many people, a new way of thinking.
It is all about the data
No longer is output quality controlled on press. Fiddling with ink keys and blanket pressure is not enough to meet today’s commercial and production expectations. These days quality control comes down to data management as well as control over the press and business practises. The BPIF certification scheme is grounded in ISO 9001, the standard for quality management. This standard is used throughout industry, from plumbing to manufacturing and a surprising number of printing companies are ISO 9001 certified. Should they choose to go for certification to the BPIF’s scheme, they already have a head start.
Scheming
The BPIF scheme is pretty flexible, allowing the printing company to define the standards, such as ISO 12647-2, used to guide its colour management processes. In the UK a rising number of printing companies are going for certification, which may in part be because Charterhouse, the international print buying company, has had its prepress certified to the BPIF scheme with 12647-2 as the reference.
Based on ISO 9001, the scheme has seven elements. The first is to define context and who and what are involved in standards compliance. Defined leadership for the colour quality policy is required, along with support and competence to execute proactive quality control. Planning and operations require the development and implementation of process controls throughout the organisation, ensuring that everyone is engaged in quality assurance. Performance evaluation and improvement are the final pieces of the puzzle and are intended to provide constant process improvements for the business.
The BPIF scheme is robust and demanding and is helping printers throughout the UK to produce better quality print, and to run more profitable businesses. It is the only certification scheme worldwide backed by the government, in that scheme auditors must be recognised by the UK Accreditation Service. The scheme is being put forward as an ISO standard to be used as a model for print certification schemes worldwide.
