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

How to register for the prize draw?
UK companies interested in entering the prize draw should register at www.alwancolor.com or visit the Alwan booth during Ipex in Hall 11 - Stand E234.

About the Missing Horse Consultancy Ltd
Paul Sherfield runs the Missing Horse Consultancy, whose main goal is to maximise the possible savings and increase the efficiency of graphic arts digital workflows. Reinforcing its inherent expertise through constant communication with hardware and software vendors, attending conferences, seminars and workshops and through personal contact with leading figures in the graphic arts industry, the consultancy ensures that clients are given advice and information based on the latest developments within the industry. With organisations taking more responsibility for their own page creation, content and production, it is important that their systems be compatible with their suppliers’ prepress departments and print methods. Only by achieving this will potential savings and improvements be made.

Ensuring that digital files produced have ‘data integrity’ and are completely fit-for-purpose will result in ‘print predictability.’ This will save time and money! The areas that provide this include color management, the correct digital images, the correct page workflow systems for your needs, and the right file format, including the ISO 12647/2 standard printing conditions.

These areas need to be integrated within a process control system at the printing stage. Again the consultancy can provide the correct process control systems for printers of all type and sizes.

As well as industrializing the prepress and printing processes, important at a time when the business model is becoming more commoditized, good process controls ensure quality and provide systematic tools for technical problem solving, thus saving time and increasing production efficiencies.

Missing Horse is an independent consultancy with no ties to equipment or software suppliers, and thus able to offer an unbiased solution. We will work on new “greenfield’ projects, or with hardware suppliers of your choice to provide an independent overview of workflow and vendors. This relationship works in a similar way to employing an independent surveyor to oversee building work. We look for and provide measurable returns on investments with a sound ‘value added’ rationale to validate projects carried out on behalf of our clients.

Alwan ISO 12647 Compliance and Certification Solutions
The Alwan ISO 12647 compliance and certification suite consists of four independent software modules that can be used either separately or in conjunction with each other to ensure total ISO 12647 compliance throughout production:
· PDF production with PDF Standardizer 2.0
· Color separations and Ink Reduction with CMYK Optimizer 3.8
· Press and Printer Calibration: Print Standardizer 2.0
· Proof and Print Production Certification: Print Verifier 1.0

Alwan solutions offer the unique ability to check, correct and report on any operation conducted on color data, PDF files, or printer/press dot gain. Alwan’s software suite brings an unparalleled level of control to the print production workflow as well as a high degree of security made possible by the common settings used within the suite.

About PDF Standardizer 2.0
PDF Standardizer offers a simple and reliable way to check and produce PDF that complies with PDF standards such as ISO 15930-1 PDF/X1-a and Ghent PDF Workgroup specifications as well as with color standards such as ISO 12647. PDF Standardizer is an Alwan Color Expertise product, combining technology from Alwan and Enfocus, and is sold by both companies. PDF Standardizer has been designed for publishing and printing professionals who need full control of the PDF production process and guaranteed quality of the files they receive, deliver or print. Designed to be a simple out-of-the box solution, it caters to PDF creators as well as PDF receivers.

About CMYK Optimizer 3.8.0
Alwan CMYK Optimizer is a universally applicable color server with integrated Dynamic DeviceLink technology for print service providers. It is adapted to all types of printing devices, including offset and digital presses, as well as large format printers which can see as much as 30% in savings in expensive inks. In contrast to other color server solutions, Alwan uses a dynamic approach. Every file is analyzed and its color preflighted before further processing takes place. This guarantees that all necessary parameters for good color transformation are understood in advance of actually printing the job. Depending upon the output settings, and based on the color analysis of the job, a Dynamic DeviceLink profile is calculated. This allows color transformation to be implemented in such a way that ink consumption is reduced without visual changes in the color impression and/or measurement, maintaining PDF color integrity. CMYK Optimizer also delivers exceptional transparency management, maintaining color integrity of transparent objects. In addition to English, it is also available in French and German.

About Print Standardizer 2.0
Print Standardizer was developed in response to the fast-growing need for standards in the print industry. This solution provides printers with an easy and affordable way to achieve ISO 12647 conformance on both digital and conventional presses. When connected to an auto-scanning device, Alwan Print Standardizer ensures that presses conform to the three requirements of ISO 12647 compliance: solids (CIELAB colors), dot gain (TVI), and mid-tone spread. With Alwan’s unique dynamic dot gain compensation technology, ISO conformance is automatically achieved in production. It eliminates the need to conduct costly, time-consuming and often insufficient test or calibration print sessions.

About Alwan Print Verifier 1.0
New at IPEX is Alwan’s Print Verifier, print verification and certification software for handheld devices that Alwan Print Standardizer users will be able to offer to print buyers. Unique to Print Verifier is its ability to hold a number of important quality control settings in its "Settings" manager. This allows users to save, export and import quality-control analysis conditions including: Target, Instrument, Control strip, Measuring conditions, and Certification method. This unique capability guarantees printers and print buyers that they are performing quality control measures in identical conditions, hence avoiding mistakes and inaccuracies that can lead to false results, disagreements, and other potential conflicts that can now be avoided.

About Alwan Color Expertise
Alwan Color Expertise was founded in Lyon, France, in 1997 by the current President Elie Khoury. His vision - to demonstrate how important it is to standardize and control color throughout every stage of production - has resulted in the company becoming a world leader in standardization and color management implementation.

Today, Alwan provides software to key players throughout the graphic arts industry, from printers to publishers and from software developers to hardware manufacturers. Alwan Color Expertise offers a choice of four full-featured software solutions within the Alwan CMYK Optimizer product family. Each delivers specialized capabilities that enable all partners along the graphic production line to guarantee the color accuracy of their work, while ensuring optimum production further down the line.

Alwan has recently established very strong partnerships with many graphic industry players who are involved in standardization worldwide. They include research organizations, universities, software publishers and OEMs.

The outcome of these partnerships is the recent release of two new and unique ISO 12647 out-of-the-box standardization solutions:

PDF Standardizer, developed in partnership with Enfocus, offers a simple and reliable way to create PDFs that comply with ISO 15930-1 (PDF/X1-a), Ghent PDF Workgroup specifications, as well as with ISO 12647 color printing standards.
Print Standardizer, developed in partnership with X-Rite, provides an affordable and easy-to-implement G7 and ISO 12647 standardization in the press room.

Alwan Color Expertise has appointed specialist distributors for each of the targeted market segments. An ever-growing number of leading prepress manufacturers are either bundling Alwan software with their products or recommending it with their systems, such as Compose System, Dalim, Enfocus, Nazdar, X-Rite and others.