Among the new standards published by TC130 this year is ISO 19301, full title “Guidelines for schema writers - Template for colour quality management”. The standard combines the ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems with a number of other ISO-standards to achieve a robust quality- and colour management system for publishers and printers.
There are many printers around the world who successfully use the quality management standard ISO 9001 to check the overall quality in their processes in a systematic way, but for different reasons do not apply the different standards for print production available from ISO. Some of the most well-known print production standards are those in the ISO 12647-series, specifying process parameters and aim values for different types of print production. Included in the series is the ISO 12647-7 standard for digital proofing processes, but there is a suite of other standards that are essential in order to establish and maintain a colour-managed print and publishing process from design to print or digital publication. The ISO 19301 standard is intended to show how such a complete quality management system is to be set up.
Since the ISO 12647-series was published, several certification schemas have been brought forward that provide a framework for printers to be audited for compliance to the standard(s) relevant for their production. By far the most common certification is for adherence to ISO 12647-2, first published in 1996. However, since there were several certifications offered, in 2008 a group of print associations turned to TC130 and asked for some kind of guidance on what constitutes a complete and robust certification according to ISO 12647. Representatives from several of the certification schema owners accepted the invitation, for example bvdm, Fogra, GFF, Vigc and Ugra, but it took a while to get the work organized, and a special working group was set up within TC130 for this task. Eventually a first draft of a sample schema was presented in what had become WG13 of TC130 and, after several iterations and edits, it was finally approved for publication this year (2020).
The ISO 9001 standard for Quality Management Systems is at the core of the suggested certification schema, but a range of ISO-standards specific for the different sub-processes in print- and publishing production have been added, for example which inks to use, colour-managed image retouch and soft proofing. There are also references to suitable standards to ensure that the measuring devices used are compliant with the recommended technical specifications.
When it comes to electronic file delivery it is recommended that preflighted files according to the PDF/X-standard (the ISO 15930-series) are used.
TC130 cooperates with several other technical committees within ISO, as well as with established organizations in the industry, for example ISO TC42 (Photography) and ICC (the International Color Consortium), so standards have been developed for viewing booths and ICC-profiles are specified in an ISO-standard. All in all, most aspects of print and publishing production can be quality controlled using a selected suite of ISO-standards, to the benefit of both the printing industry and its customers – the print buyers and different types of publishers.
If you are interested in establishing or using a quality- and colour-managed print and publishing workflow, you can contact any of the national printing associations or federations in your region and ask which printing certifications they recommend for your type of business. There are certifications available that comply with the recommendations in ISO 19301.