Sydney-headquartered printer The Bright Print Group (BPG) has achieved Mellow Colour ISO 12647-2 Proficient Printer certification through Colour Graphics Services, Australian region distributor for the Mellow Colour software suite.
Director John Bright is the fourth generation of the Wetherill Park located firm which has origins going back to the 1960s. Even before then, the great-grandfather of John and his sister Debbie (also a Director in the business), William John Bright, had established a Linotype setting business in 1928 at nearby Fairfield, eventually becoming a newspaper proprietor and selling his masthead known as 'The Biz' to Rupert Murdoch's News Limited.
It was 1962 that saw the establishment of WR Bright & Sons and from that time on the business, now known as Bright Print Group , has never ceased to grow, adapt to change and expand by acquisition of other printing concerns.
As John Bright says: "We have looked to enhance our offering to market about every three or four years, whether that be via acquisition of existing businesses or new equipment for entering new markets. Our last acquisition was Print National in 2013. Before then, in 2011, we merged Newcastle Camera Print of Newcastle into the group, which extended our reach to the second largest city in NSW and the dynamic Hunter region. Most recently, in fact only this week, we shook hands on a wide format machinery deal with Agfa Graphics. A deal which will most definitely bring a whole new product mix to the table and expand our offering to market."
Two locations now service the needs of BPG's customers, the spacious Wetherill Park headquarters and the revamped Newcastle site which relocated in 2013 into a purpose-built and environmentally sustainable new building at Mayfield West.
The Importance of Colour
With business acquisitions and new equipment comes the challenge of maintaining a high standard for colour . Since 2011, Colour Graphic Service's David Crowther, has been attending to colour standardisation for BPG but with the settling in of new premises and new presses at both Wetherill Park and Mayfield West, the time came for official ISO 12647-2 certification. This was achieved in July 2015 following a week's testing and measuring and was followed by a sales training session for the marketing team to fully appreciate the sales benefits of ISO.," says John Bright. "It has been a gradual process but we are now a certified ISO 12647-2 'Proficient Printer' and have invested in the tools required to keep it that way."
"Our main goals were to match colour across all machines over our two sites and to ensure repeatable, consistently high quality printed results ," says John Bright. "It has been a gradual process but we are now a certified ISO 12647-2 'Proficient Printer' and have invested in the tools required to keep it that way."
David Crowther performed calibrations using Mellow Colour's PrintSpec software to interpret the measured results and identify where adjustments were needed. In doing this he worked on the Screen PTR-8600 and 8800 computer-to-plate setters, four Epson proofers running Screen LabProof colour management software, a Komori LS1040P ten colour press and a Heidelberg XL75 five colour with coater which came along with the Print National acquisition.
Other press equipment at BPG Wetherill Park includes a B2 Komori five colour, several GTOs and digital equipment from Xerox - a Docucolor 5065 and Colorpress 1000. At NCP Newcastle, the press inventory includes a 2013 Komori Lithrone A1 five- colour with coater, A Heidelberg 74 perfector and three GTOs including a five- colour . NCP's digital assets are also from Xerox, a Docucolor 5065 and a Colorpress 800. Prepress and bindery at both locations is extensive and highly versatile.
"We have purchased our own copy of Mellow Color's PrintSpec from David," says John Bright, "and together with his training, this will enable us to produce our own ISO 12647-2 profiles for Newcastle. Once fully embedded into Wetherill Park we will be taking everything we have learnt from David to Mayfield West and implementing the same procedures there. Ultimately having ISO colour standards throughout the group, across all presses."
Selling the ISO Message
One very important aspect of Colour Graphic Services' work with BPG is training - both for production personnel such as Prepress Manager Brent Titus and Press Operators such as Sam Plachecki, and also the sales/marketing team.
With this in mind, Crowther followed-up the ISO certification by conducting an intensive training session to clearly explain the benefits from the customers' point of view. Taking an engineering-approach to colour, he explained that the process of measuring and controlling the many variables in offset printing such as ink, paper, pressures, water, blankets, humidity, temperature and mechanical movement; permits predictability and consistency - something that all brand owners seek to maintain their corporate image.
"Matching a standard enables a printer to deliver guaranteed consistency," says Crowther, "and what we hear from print buyers worldwide is that they want predictability and repeatability. ISO 12647-2 is the way to go for this. It also saves time and money since the need for onsite press checks is either greatly reduces, or eliminated altogether. Using our ImpressionProof, a print buyer can approve a job 'by numbers' in the comfort of their own office, secure in the knowledge that the end result will meet their expectations."
He compares measuring colour and analyzing results with PrintSpec to: "monitoring respiration, blood pressure and heartbeat in medicine."
"For the sales team, this can mean an end to customer dissatisfaction and reprints due to colour quality. It boosts morale as the representative can proudly proclaim 'we are ISO 12647-2 certified and audited' - many major print buyers will only place work with such an ISO qualified printer today."
For Bright Print Group , the future can only look brighter as this very well resourced and managed enterprise adds ISO 12647-2 to its already significant array of awards and other ISO-category capabilities.
