Ricoh UK achieves UKAS accredited ISO 12647

Print Solutions

Print and Media Certification (PMC) has issued the first ever UKAS accredited ISO 12647 certification for a digital press manufacturer to Ricoh UK Products at its Customer Experience Centre in Telford. The certification covers the company’s digital toner based production and continuous inkjet production at the centre. The certification was for the ISO 12647-2:2013 standard, with latest version of the BPIF ISO 12647 scheme now taking in all the ISO 12647 print standards, production methods and pre-press processes, thereby enabling certification for all the various print production technologies.

Ricoh UK Products’ colour quality management systems and operations were audited by PMC’s specialist audit team at a two stage initial audit, which included product tests for two different digital presses at the site.

PMC’s colour/certification manager Jon Stack commented, ‘PMC is delighted to have issued certification for the BPIF ISO 12647 colour quality management certification scheme to Ricoh UK Products Ltd, which therefore has the distinction of achieving the first UKAS accredited certification for ISO 12647 to have been issued to a digital press manufacturer, and only the second ever accredited ISO 12647 certification to have been issued for digital print production. PMC's audit team was highly impressed by the sophisticated integrated management systems implemented by Ricoh in its operations at the Customer Experience Centre, and its performance in the audit’s product tests.’

Jon added, ‘The current version of the BPIF ISO 12647 certification scheme now gives the opportunity to all printers, including digital, lithographic and flexographic, as well as suppliers of reprographics, design agencies and print managers, to demonstrate colour quality through a recognised and independent third party certification.

‘The scheme is simply a bolt on to ISO 9001 requirements, and the requirements of the scheme can be integrated easily into an existing ISO 9001 system, or indeed any ISO management system, as the management system structure has now been harmonised across standards by ISO.

‘The ISO 12647 scheme has taken a global lead in putting together a set of colour quality system requirements, which can be applied in all printers, and an accredited certification approach, which gives customers real confidence in the certified printers supplying them. Printers are even able to make claims of product colour compliance on specific jobs to their customers, with the backing of a UKAS accredited product certification, which is therefore fully recognised on a global basis.’

BPIF membership director, Dale Wallis, commented: ‘Printing as a matter of course takes place across a range of different substrates, using differing printing technologies. ISO- 12647 provides assurance to customers that there will be consistency of colour, especially important in ensuring that brand requirements are met, and are for printers, that there is a systematic controlled process to deliver to customer’s requirements across different print technologies, reducing waste and avoiding problems later on. Congratulations to Ricoh’s Customer Experience centre in achieving this important accreditation.’