Lyon - In their ongoing effort to help the printing industry understand and successfully adopt ISO 12647 standards, Alwan and KEE Consultants will team up at IPEX to educate visitors about ISO 12647 conformity and certification requirements, and to offer UK printers the chance to win a free in-depth gap analysis audit of their printing process.

Since 2006, the adoption of ISO 12647 standards has gained momentum both in Europe and worldwide. UKAS and BPIF recently defined a certification plan enabling printers who wish to work in accordance with standards to assess their production processes and bring them up to the ISO 12647 standard level.

Alwan Color Expertise and KEE Consultants carried out a successful "Standardize to Survive" educational tour across Europe in 2009. To help pave the way for continuing standards adoption and implementation, the two organizations are joining forces again at IPEX. Joint forces of knowledgeable experts and efficient software solutions will enable faster and more cost-effective ISO 12647 implementation. To date, Alwan solutions and KEE Consultants have helped more than 50 printing sites worldwide gain ISO 12647 certification.

Elie Khoury, President of Alwan Color Expertise, comments: "We are very proud to be at IPEX and able to offer automated and cost-effective standardization solutions to the British industry, as we've done successfully in the European, Asian and American markets. The Alwan suite of Color, PDF, Proof and Print conformance software solutions provide a high level of assurance to customers and partners that their ISO 12647 implementations will be effective without significant time or cost investment. By offering the chance to UK printers to win a valuable gap analysis audit, we hope to increase awareness of ISO 12647 at IPEX, and contribute to the adoption of these necessary standards in the UK and worldwide."

Visitors to the Alwan booth at IPEX can enter to win a free audit by one of the UK's most experienced professionals in this area, Paul Sherfield of Missing Horse Consultancy, and member of KEE Consultants as well as PSN, an international network of standardization experts. The one- or two-day audit (depending on the size of the winning company) will cover a wide range of operational areas. The audit will also include a detailed report with analysis and recommendations as to systems and practices that need to be improved and /or implemented to gain ISO 12647/2 BPIF/UK UKAS certification.

Paul Sherfield adds: "The UK certification scheme for ISO 12647 is a great opportunity for British printers to assess their production processes and ensure that they meet international standards. Simple – yet very efficient – working practices and tools can enable printers not only to match standards, but also to make money again, thanks to the improved productivity and profitability that problem-free printing provides. KEE Consultants as a group has been very influential in promoting and implementing ISO 12647 worldwide, and I hope to share the same benefits with the British industry."

Audit areas to be covered:

Technical
Measuring devices, calibration and certification methods
Colour measurement systems and policies with prepress
Use of ICC profiles
Viewing conditions including lighting and screens
PDF specifications
PDF pre-flighting
PDF repurposing
Proofing to ISO 12647/7, verification and control methods
Measurement ISO 12647/2 process control systems and software, inline and offline
Staff knowledge in this area

Records and documentation
Current systems for recording the above
How ISO 9001/14001 is structured to reach ISO 12647/2 certification

Cultural issues
Current staff responsibilities and upward reporting systems