February 25, 2003 -- Muller Martini is the latest recruit to The Web Offset Champion Group (WOCG) and they will close the best practice process loop from pre-press to printing to post-press. WOCG was formed in 1998 to “champion” best practice in the web offset printing industry as a tool to improve productivity, quality and safety. The Group is a joint project of international suppliers working with other industry specialists, printers and associations throughout the world to identify and promote generic best practice. Its core membership now reads like the “top 10” of the web offset industry equipment and consumables suppliers: Aylesford Newsprint, Kodak Polychrome Graphics, KPG MacDermid Printing Solutions, MAN Roland, MEGTEC Systems, Muller Martini, Nitto-Permacel, QTI, SCA , Sun Chemical. Professional and efficient “The Group’s best practice tools offer our customers an extremely valuable guide in their daily operations and to transfer knowledge to the global printing industry”, says Gerhard Tschan, Vice President Marketing of Muller Martini Print Finishing Systems. We have already contributed to two guides and attended a WOCG workshop. We are impressed by just how professional and efficient this group of specialist are in addressing the total printing process.” WOCG at PIRA conference WOCG will participate in PIRA’s 10th Web Offset Conference and Exhibition in London (March 24 and 25). The session on ‘improving efficiency and cost reduction’ will be chaired by the Group’s Managing Editor, Nigel Wells and coincides with the release of the latest guide “Productivity Maintenance...How to run leaner, longer, faster”. Member companies will also participate in the exhibition area. Josef Aumiller, head of MAN Roland Web Products Marketing comments that: “We decided to participate because of the excellence of the PIRA 2003 conference programme and its speakers – we see this being of very high value to European printers.” PIRA will be working closer with WOCG in the future, both as a content reviewer and to distribute guides internationally. They will join GATF and IFRA with whom the Group has had a long working relationship. The Group has also just completely revised and extended its first guide “Roll to Web Processing” and is already working on a fifth subject for release later this year. Focus on total process The Group’s objective is to improve web offset productivity. This requires a cross-industry and cross-process approach because no single company can provide answers to all the variables of the press line and its consumables. Best practices are a tool to improve overall performance without making any capital investment. The potential returns are extremely high as each guide identifies ways to reduce processing costs, improve quality and reduce accidents. All web offset printers - irrespective of the brands of equipment or consumables that they use - can apply the generic content of guides. Each guide is reviewed by a world-wide panel of industry specialists, printers, other suppliers and associations to improve their content and to ensure that they represent practical industry best practice. Guides are published in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. They cost EUR 12 each and are available from GATF (www.gain.net) and PIRA (www.piranet.com).