For the first time since its launch in 1994, the WAN-IFRA’s International Color Quality Club now open to all newspapers and magazines. The worldwide quality printing competition, 2018–2020, now includes magazines printed in sheetfed offset, heatset or gravure and applications are open until 31 December 2017.
Printing higher-value products and periodicals has become a global trend. From Canada to Australia, newspaper printers are bringing the production of magazines into their portfolio. With the current industry trends, it was only logical to include magazines in the International Color Quality Club in WAN-IFRA’s bi-annual competition. In the last decade, newspapers from India have generally been the most numerous member of the ICQC apart from German news publishers.
With the incoming competition, the International Color quality Club is open to the following categories of participants:
- Newspapers that print according to coldset standard (ISO 12647-3)
- Newspapers using dryers or UV systems
- Newspapers with exceptional production conditions (tinted or dark paper, flexographic printing, inkjet printing, etc.)
- Magazines printed in sheetfed offset, heatset or gravure
Registration is now open for the next session 2018–2020. Early registrants benefit from a free Pre-Check in the autumn of this year. Publications from Belgium, Brazil, Colombo, Finland, Germany, Malaysia and Panama are already registered. The next test period will run under the motto ‘Fly higher by proving your great color printing’ from January through March 2018. Results will be announced in June, and club members will be honoured in October 2018 at the IFRA World Publishing Expo in Berlin.
About the International Color Quality Club
Once every two years since 1994 the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, WAN-IFRA, has offered newspapers worldwide an opportunity to demonstrate their colour printing excellence by organising a print-quality competition. The International Quality Club is an initiative powered by WAN-IFRA’s World Printers Forum.
Newspapers that succeed in qualifying for inclusion in the list of the world’s best printers can draw on this distinction to optimise their work processes, motivate their personnel, improve their standing among their readers, and impress demanding advertising customers. The list of winners announced in June 2016 for the period 2016-2018 is available at the following link: www.wan-ifra.org
Successful newspapers and magazines are awarded membership for a two-year period in the exclusive club of top-quality titles. The world contest is based on objective measurement and the judgement of international industry experts. ISO printing standards are the foundation of the evaluation. Club membership is open to all companies that show they can produce high quality publication consistently over a time period of three months (January through March 2018). Achieving a given number of points is all that is needed for attaining membership in the exclusive Color Quality Club.
Registration is open until 31 December 2017. Test prints will runt from January through March 2018. You will receive an individual performance report after each competition month. The new club members for the period 2018–2020 will be confirmed in June 2018. They will be awarded during the World Publishing Expo 2018 (Berlin, 9 to 11 October 2018).
Contact and Inquiries For more information visit www.colorqualityclub.com or contact Manfred Werfel +49 69 24 00 63-281 (Manfred.Werfel@WAN-IFRA.org) or project manager Prabhu Natrajan +91 44 42 11 06 40 (N.Prabhu@WAN-IFRA.org).
