Melbourne print powerhouse Rooster IMC has become the first B1 offset printer, in Melbourne, to achieve ISO colour certification across all of its platforms - offset, wide format and digital. David Crowther of Colour Graphic Services conducted the training, implementation and auditing, which has resulted in Rooster IMC's certification as ISO 12647-2 for offset and ISO 12647-8 for wide format and digital cut-sheet.
Owned by entrepreneur Naresh Gulati's OCA Group, Rooster IMC is the re-branded combination of former Print Bound, BPO Link and OCA's Rooster design agency, from where the name was chosen. OCA also owns the nearby Bindery trade finishing operation.
Steering the ISO initiative was Operations Manager Daniel Aloi, working closely with Crowther over many months at the new Mount Waverley headquarters - a showpiece of print media marketing covering all the bases.
Daniel Aloi notes: "The objective was to unite all of our colour output devices, to produce consistent and predictable colour for our clients. ISO 12647 is the only practical way to achieve this so we called on Colour Graphic Services, who have extensive experience in ISO implementation."
He continues: "Phase one was to make sure all of our in-house procedures were aligned to ISO 12647 cultures, involving measuring, analysing and keeping records for each device in the production chain. Phase two is to market the benefits to our clients who can now source all of their print needs from a one-stop ISO-certified shop. For the analyzing we have our own copies of Mellow Colour PrintSpec software, which provides very detailed reports and can identify any variance precisely and quickly."
The scale of such an undertaking can be appreciated by looking at Rooster IMC's plant list, which includes:
- Heidelberg XL106 - 6 colour with HUV coater
- Heidelberg SM102 - 12 colour
- Heidelberg CD74 - 5 colour with aqueous coater
- Heidelberg Suprasetter B1 CtP running Fujifilm lo-chem plates
- 2 x Fuji Xerox iGen150 digital presses with CP Bourg inline finishing
- 2 x Fuji Xerox CP1000 digital presses
- 1 x Fuji Xerox Nuvera (mono)
- 1 x EFI VuteK 3200 flatbed & roll 3.2 metre wide format printer
- 1 x EFI VuteK GS3250LX Pro flatbed & roll 3.2 metre wide format printer
- 1 x Roland Soljet Pro4 xr640 eco-solvent roll printer
"All in all a dozen or more output devices, their Rips and workflow had to be profiled and aligned to print the same colour," says David Crowther. "It is not just a case of a one-off project but a persistent culture change within the company to keep everything under control. With ISO 12647 implementation, six-monthly audits are mandatory to keep an operation within the specifications. Rooster is the first B1 multi-press operation, in Melbourne, with both cut-sheet and superwide format inkjet to attempt total ISO 12647 quality assurance and I congratulate Naresh and his team for their bold stance on colour."
Rooster IMC's philosophy is clear, as Naresh Gulati notes: "We are a marketing services provider first and foremost. We can take virtually all of an organisations' marketing needs - both print and online/mobile - and deliver a fully integrated service, using our own inhouse-developed programmes, design and production. By taking the variables out of colour reproduction I believe we offer a unique range of services that disrupts the accepted view of what a 'printer' must be."
Gulati's vision is exemplified by the number of IT personnel present at the swish Mount Waverley premises. Not many 'printers' would boast their own Chief Information Officer and yet, this is Kulbir Tumber's role, following on from a lengthy career with IBM. "We have our own software developers and can tailor e-marketing and social media campaigns, tied in with print and direct mail, to suit individual clients' needs. I am not from a print background, so I still marvel at what can be achieved with ink and paper, and how it complements online and mobile marketing."
OCA Group is already eyeing Sydney as its next field for expansion and no doubt it will feature end-to-end ISO 12647 certification once that happens.
