Heidelberg has undertaken its first ISO 12647-2 colour certification on an LE-UV press. The Speedmaster XL 106-5+L LE-UV press at Superior in Melksham, England has passed the ISO specification with ease. Stewart Powell, Production Director, says, “I think it was easier to achieve ISO12647-2 with this press because there was no dry back to consider. Sheets come off completely dry from the press and so they could be tested immediately. Two Heidelberg specialists attended to benchmark the press and to oversee the evaluation.
Stewart Powell, Production Director at Superior.
“We wanted to have colour accreditation for our own peace of mind but also because some clients require ISO12647-2 as a prerequisite to placing work. As a company, we like to run to standards and to optimise our processes – we also hold ISO 9001 quality, ISO 14001 environmental and FSC Chain of Custody certification.”
The Heidelberg ISO 12647-2 certification scheme has been running for seven years and has proved popular with customers and has helped raise the bar in terms of the industry’s understanding of colour issues because its programme is about education as well as machine optimisation.
Sheets are first examined on site by a Heidelberg Print Colour Management (PCM) specialist and then sent to a colour laboratory in Germany for appraisal. They are rigorously checked with analysis of factors such as homogenous ink, solid colour values, dot gain, fit, register and dot reproduction quality. Customers subsequently submit sheets at six monthly intervals for checking and verification and Heidelberg also supports the customer with an annual on-site visit.
Paul Chamberlain, who heads up the PCM team, says, “It was good to work with the Superior team and on what was the first Drupa specification Speedmaster XL 106 delivered in the UK. It features the Prinect Press Center XL2, including wallscreen XL, as well as Inpress Control 2, Autoplate Pro and Pressroom Manager. But, of course, it was the fact that it was our first LE-UV press that made it interesting and we are pleased that the process was very straightforward.”
Superior is a £20m turnover business with 170 staff. It specialises in the retail POS and packaging sectors.
