Inkjet & Digital Printing
FograCert Validation Printing System awarded to two HP Indigo presses
Thursday 17. September 2009 - HP announced today that the HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press and the HP Indigo press 5500 have received the FograCert Validation Printing System certification under ISO 12647-7:2007[8].
The recognition of the performance qualities of these two presses by FOGRA, a German-based research and standards association funded by the graphic arts industry, follows the first-ever GRACoL contract proof certification for digital production presses awarded to the same HP Indigo presses in February. GRACoL specifications and FOGRA standards are industry-recognised measures of colour reproduction; GRACoL is predominantly the reference in North America while FOGRA is used in Europe and Asia Pacific.
ISO 12647 has become the standard that printers and manufacturers wish to present across the whole range of printing methods including offset, flexo and screen-printing. The ISO 12647-7 certification deals with the proofing process working directly from digital data.
Validation Prints were developed to provide quality standards in the creative process and reflect a high quality validation of the proposed job content. Typically, Validation Prints are used between the client and the designer. However, if the final job is being printed digitally, the Validation Print may be used as a colour reliable reference by prior agreement of all parties, meaning that it represents the reference for the production and in case of dispute.
“The achievement of FOGRA certification provides clear assurance that prints from HP Indigo 7000 Digital Presses and HP Indigo press 5500s can be used as reliable references for onward digital production,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo Division, HP. “The FOGRA and GRACoL certifications offer customers and end-users an enhanced degree of confidence in the quality of products printed on these systems because they are based on internationally recognised objective criteria and measured by independent parties.”
Versatile quality
Both presses were tested using CGS (CGS Publishing Technologies) ORIS Press Match Pro 5 and GMG (GMG GmbH & Co. KG) ColorServer 4.5 software. Printing was carried out on three substrates: CGS Pearl Digital; Digi Gold Matt and Digi Gold Gloss coated, both from coated Papyrus/SchneiderSoehne.
The use of different software and paper stocks illustrates the versatility of HP Indigo printing technology, as customers are not dependent on solutions or substrates from a single supplier. This gives print service providers added production and business flexibility and the ability to better respond to customer demands.