bvdm/Fogra certification for your four colour printing

Certification on compliance with the ProzessStandard Offsetdruck ["Offset printing ProcessStandard"]

Fogra offers every company an opportunity to gain ProcessStandard Offset [PSO] certification based on ISO 12647-2. Externally, this certificate provides proof of the quality a printing or media company is capable of and internally it ensures smooth production that helps to avoid complaints.

ProcessStandard Offset certification by Fogra and the member associations of the Bundesverbandes Druck und Medien is based on the same foundations. In addition, the institutions support each other as co-certifiers.

For printers with in-house prepress, the following modules are checked:

Expert colour management
Proof production
Platemaking
Print job makeready
Print run

For printers without in-house prepress the following modules are checked:

Platemaking
Print job makeready
Print run

A Fogra employee will be on site whilst the programme of checks is carried out. This person will not only check the achievement of the required target values but will also establish that the necessary quality controls exist to ensure consistent production over the long term.

The requirements are specified in the bvdm/Fogra “ProzessStandard Offsetdruck“ handbook, ISO 12647-2 and the “PrintMedia Standard”. They are discussed in detail in Fogra’s “Prozesskontrolle im Offsetverfahren” and “Vorbereitung zur bvdm/Fogra-Zertifizierung ProzessStandard Offsetdruck” seminars. Participation in these is not mandatory but strongly recommended. In addition, the “Farbmanagement in Druck-vorstufe und Druck”, “Farbmessung in der Drucktechnik”, “Qualitätssicherung bei Computer-to-Plate” and “Farbverbindlicher Softproof” seminars are useful supplements.

If you are interested ...

in certification please complete the

Questionnaire [PDF to print with 300 KB]

together with the responsible persons in your company. It provides you and us with a starting point from which to determine further steps. At the same time it provides a check of the process sequences and components that will be tested during the examination. Send the completed questionnaire via fax or post to Fogra. A Fogra employee will then contact you to finalize the certification agreement and set a date for the examination.

The examination ...

will require about one full day to carry out. Since the programme must be carried out separately for sheet-fed and offset presses, alomst two days should be allowed if both types of press are operated.

At the beginning of the examination there will be a brief introductory discussion, which should be attended by those responsible for every production stage. They will be asked to briefly present the structure of the company. The production sequences and quality controls will then be checked on the basis of the questionnaire. During the subsequent tests the correct performance of the working steps will be checked. The final assessment will be made at Fogra.

Expert colour management

A test data set [InDesign] and individual pieces of reflection copy or transparencies that are scanned in will be used to check the existing workflow. The focus here will be on the correct handling of colour space transformations with ICC profiles.

Proof production

Digital proofs will be printed from a PDF test file. The Ugra/Fogra media wedge will be used to check their suitability for use as a contract proofs for standardized printing conditions.

Platemaking

Proof will be required that appropriate control aids are used to ensure consistent platemaking through visual checks or measurements. Appropriate tonal value correction tables must be integrated into the RIP of the CtP system in order to achieve the required characteristic printing curves.

Print job makeready

The acceptance test forme will be output and printed on a press in accordance with the PSO guidelines. The substrate will be chosen by the printer. For sheet-fed or continuous stationery presses a coated paper [PT 1/2] and in the case of heatset web offset presses an LWC paper [PT 3] should be chosen. During printing the required solid colouring, tonal value increases [characteristic printing curves] and register deviations must be adhered to.

Print run

Samples from a short print run will be used to assess consistency over the run. For sheet-fed presses the run must extend to at least 5,000 revolutions and for web presses at least 10,000.

Certificate

Upon the successful conclusion of the test programme you will receive a certificate and a special logo to display on your letterheads or other promotional material. The certificate remains valid for two years. After one year you must send six standardized, printed specimens from any run with appropriate print control strips to Fogra for monitoring purposes. In addition a contract proof for the same paper type is needed.