Stream’s standard bearer: Print 21 magazine article

The region’s largest print management company, Stream Solutions, is helping to drive the push towards standards-based printing by launching its own compliance program. Print21 spoke to the man in charge of making sure that the ink on paper makes the grade.

As expected, the move to introduce a common standard for offset print in Australia – AS/ISO 12647-2 – has generated a lot of interest and debate within the industry. So much so that, at times, the ‘how’ of achieving compliance has tended to obscure the reasons as to ‘why’ it should be done. While there are differing opinions as to the best way to implement standards-based printing, in the end the reason for doing so is all about giving customers what they want.

This is the approach taken by Stream Solutions which, in dealing with many of the largest print media customers in the country, recognised early on that what was needed was a reliable, consistent and predictable means of achieving a quality print result. The company first introduced the concept of a colour compliance program for its suppliers at its annual conference two years ago, and since the beginning of this year it has begun auditing its top 60 offset suppliers to assess their compliance with ISO 12647-2.

Dave Mann, design studio manager at Stream Solutions, is in charge of overseeing the compliance program and with ensuring that, over the coming year, Stream’s major suppliers achieve conformity with the standard. As part of this program, every three months, each printer will have to supply a number of printed sheets taken from any job (it doesn’t have to be a Stream job) which carry a colour bar supplied by Stream. These sheets, taken from the beginning, middle and end of the print run, will then be analysed at Stream’s head office to determine how the individual supplier measures up.

While some printers might baulk at the idea of having to submit their work for scrutiny on a regular basis, Dave Mann says they should have nothing to worry about. The compliance program is not about telling printers how to do their job or forcing them to do things differently.

“We’re not going to be heavy policemen about it. The most important thing is to be happy with the group of suppliers that we have and to communicate that to the customer. We’re not about putting significant pressure on printers. We’re saying to them ‘Come on board’ because if you’re not, eventually Stream is to going to say we only want a quote from compliant printers.”

In fact, Mann says a lot of printers contacted to date have shown interest in having their work assessed to find out how well they are printing, even among printers who are already compliant with ISO 12647-2.

Catching up with Brits
Originally from the UK, Mann travelled back there last year to inspect a number of printing sites where the implementation of standards-based printing is much more advanced than in Australia and where print management companies began their own compliance programs four or five years ago.

“There was a lot of scepticism among UK printers back then about compliance but the benefits, in terms of ink and paper saving, faster make-ready times, a significant reduction in press checks etc, are now well-documented. Being asessed for compliance is no longer a big issue, so it was important that I brought that message back to Australia where the industry is now in the same situation as the UK was four or five years ago.”

As part of his role as program manager, Dave Mann also sits on the TC130 committee which has worked so tirelessly to formulate and promote the Australian standard. His role there, he says, is not to act as another technical expert but rather to represent the interests of the consumer. Having worked in publishing and production environments, as well as managing Stream’s in-house design studios with major clients, he understands the print buyer’s desire for consistent, repeatable offset print results.

“There’s always pressure to do better, and internally, within Stream, there’s an expectation that our suppliers should be able to attain a certain quality and hit an accepted target,” he comments. “I wouldn’t say that customers have come back to us in the past with any particular complaints about specific jobs, but there is certainly internal and external pressure to get it right.”

“As such, it’s important that our supplier base comes up to a standard that is now well-publicised and achievable.”

Going your own way
From his involvement in the technical aspects of the standard, Mann also has first-hand experience of the different processes involved in achieving compliance and an understanding of the various vendor systems available on the market to help printers reach that goal. And although he says he has a personal preference as to which system he considers the most appropriate, he is scrupulous in not favouring one over another and, in response to requests for information, strives to act as an ‘honest broker’.

So is it possible for a printer to achieve compliance with the ISO standard and Stream’s requirements without investing in a vendor-specific process?

“Yes and no,” he states carefully after a pause, pointing out that there are indeed a lot of very well qualified prepress staff in the industry capable of driving compliance, but what the vendors bring to the table is a ready-made expertise and the necessary technology. There are other considerations too, he says. ISO implementation is a top-down process, he claims, and requires high level management support. It is also a ‘whole business’ process and depends on everybody’s commitment and involvement, not just prepress.

With the Stream compliance program still in its early days, Mann says there have already been a dozen or so suppliers who have undergone and passed the auditing process to demonstrate that they can print to ISO 12647-2. By the end of the year, he hopes to have the top 60 suppliers compliant and says that if that target can be achieved then it will go a long way towards ensuring that Stream’s customers receive the highest quality, consistent product from the industry.