Wan-Ifra’s World Printers Forum has announced the opening of registrations for the International Color Quality Club (ICQC), the global print quality contest for newspapers and magazines.Â
The 16th International Color Quality Club contest for newspapers and magazines (ICQC) primarily aims to enhance the overall quality of reproduction and printing. This is achieved by acknowledging publishers consistently maintaining a high standard in their printed products.Â
Additionally, the contest aims to foster healthy competition among participants, inspire and motivate the workforce, and promote awareness and understanding of technical standards such as ISO 12647-3 and ISO 2846-2. By doing so, the ICQC strives to contribute towards continuous improvement in the field of color quality within the publishing industry.
Eligibility and Evaluation
The ICQC is open to all newspaper and magazine publishers worldwide.
The contest evaluates printed newspaper/magazine products. The evaluation is based on a set of ISO standards measured on the cuboid printed during the contest period, which cover various technical aspects and process capability parameters such as news shade, dot gain, color conformity, color space and grey balances.
The evaluation is carried out by a panel of experts, who evaluate the visual print quality from the reader’s perspective, which covers general printing quality, such as printed color accuracy, image sharpness and contrast and color registrations.
Categories
The contest has five different categories:
Category 1: Â Â For Cold set offset on newsprint
Category 2: Â Â For Heat-set offset or UV-curing offset on newsprint (Semi-commercial)
Category 3: Â Â For Heat-set offset or UV-curing offset on SC or LWC paper (Semi-commercial)
Category 4:Â Â Printing under standard or non-standard conditions, like printed on tinted paper through offset, flexography or digital printing.
Category 5:Â Â Magazines, printed in sheet-fed offset, heat-set offset, gravure or digital inkjet
Registration for the 16th International Color Quality Club is open until 15 April 2024
