Version 2 of BPIF ISO 12647 printing certification released to include digital printing

Sadly it may have passed you by, but in October the BPIF released v2 of their ISO 12647 Colour Quality Management certification scheme.

But it is a very important and timely upgrade to the scheme that should be investigated. It incorporates the comments and suggestions from the many printers who have gone thought the first versions gap analyse and audit and include extensions to the technical scope of the scheme.    

However keeps its basic core values in that it is a product standard and is third party audited by UKAS accredited certifying bodies in the same manor as standards as like ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.

The main areas of change and improvement include:

• The scheme refers to ISO 9001 rather than quoting directly from it and adds specific requirements for the colour quality system and product conformance. This should make the documents needed to manage the scheme easier to integrate within ISO 9001.

• The scheme expands its scope to cover all ISO 12647 standards e.g. flexo, screen etc.

• Digital processes are included in the scope, and can be certified against for example, ISO 12647-2 aim values and tolerances.

• The possible scope of certification is expanded to include all combinations of pre-press, press, proofing, and outsourced printing.

• The scheme allows production compliance to be determined against the ISO 12647 standard itself or using the defined % scoring system methodology

• Sampling requirements for day-to-day production are specified for different run lengths and processes and for where reel-to-reel production is used or where there are practical constraints on sampling.

• The certification body product/audit test specifies some tolerance for failure of measurement readings, in relation to the size of the press being tested.

• The scheme no longer requires jobs, for which a compliant claim is made to be printed on presses, which have passed a certification body product/audit test. So only one press for each printing process will be tested by the auditing body.

• The scheme now allows certification for a defined customised printing condition, defined as ‘a CMYK printing condition that uses a combination of substrates, inks and printing methods, that are not referenced by current ISO 12647 standard printing conditions’.

The scheme offers the possible for a printer using differing printing processes, say offset litho, small format digital and wide format digital, the ability to prove to their clients that they can achieve results across processes that will match each another.

In addition the inclusion of the use of ‘customised printing conditions’, say, based on an amended ISO ICC profile to allow for an non ISO paper type, or a ICC profile created for a specific process, substrate and ink combination will allow many specialised printing applications to be certified. The standard ISO 12647 tolerances will be used to control these ‘customised printing condition’ when used.

Areas that may benefit from this include specialised packaging, wide format digital and offset litho on the very bright uncoated papers now being used that are not covered by an ISO paper type or ISO ICC profile.

If you require the new v2 scheme document and are a BPIF member these are available free as a PDF, via the BPIF web site.

Printed copies are also available at a small cost, also from the BPIF.