Topic of your interest
A cross-process, objective assessment of print quality is a response by print service providers both to the increasing demand from print customers and brand owners and to increase productivity and improve sustainability. The large number of different and thus not or only poorly comparable quality indices confronts many print service providers with major problems.
This is because an increasing number of print buyers are demanding a concrete index and thus a special software solution for evaluating their products. This means an additional investment for many print shops, most of which already use a solution. In addition, there is the financial outlay for software maintenance as well as for extra hardware and necessary staff training.
Solution steps
The first focus is a systematic collection of the current metrics. These are implemented so that an analysis can take place in the same development environment. In addition, a sample collection of practice prints will be built up, which will have a subjective quality rating. The aim is to understand the mapping properties of the different methods in order to take them into account in the best possible way for the development of the new index.
The second focus is the data analysis. In a first step, the colour evaluation is examined. The aim of this second focus is to develop an assessment method ("ISO index") that correlates as best as possible with both the established methods and the visual assessments.
The last focus is to make the metric known to users in practice and to obtain their feedback. For this purpose, a web application is to be programmed that calculates both the new "ISOIndex" and the existing quality indices on the basis of measurement protocols, thus enabling a simple comparison for users. Furthermore, a guide that is available free of charge and a proposal for an ISO standard are to be developed.
Targeted results
In the present research project, a uniform, modular evaluation method ("ISO score") is to be developed, according to which a sensitive, one-dimensional quality index from 0 to 100 is calculated from different image quality attributes, in particular the colour values of the print control strip. It is to be introduced as an ISO standard and will thus benefit all printers who carry out or plan to carry out a metrological print evaluation. A gradual evaluation variable in the sense of established percentage values enables print service providers to have an objective quality history - even in the case of print productions that lie just outside the tolerances of common ISO standards.
The envisaged standardised assessment procedure and the planned web application allow the mutual conversion of each proprietary index to the new "ISO index". This enables clients to compare the score values of different solutions with each other. Print service providers can thus dispense with the purchase of additional software, which is usually redundant in many areas, as they can simply convert the required index into the new one.
Publications and Intermediate results
| Title | Description/abstract | Version | Date | File type | File size | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development of a cross-process print quality management system | Presentation of the project within the Technical Committee Offset Printing on November 22nd 2022 | 1.0 | 01.12.2022 | 897 KB | Download | |
| support research project | Letter requesting support for the research project with measurement data | 21.03.2023 | 60 KB | Download | ||
| 35.007 ISO Score: Offset print experiment (2023-06) | Draft of experiment plan for the offset print experiment to produce diverse (quality) variations. | 0 | 16.06.2023 | 2 MB | Download |
Meeting Materials
| Title | Description/abstract | Version | Date | File type | File size | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video recording - 2024-07-2 | 09.07.2024 | youtube | 11 B | Download | ||
| Meeting Slides - PA Meeting 2024-07-02 | presentation slides "Development of a cross-process print quality management system" 2022 | 09.07.2024 | 8 MB | Download | ||
| Agenda PA-Meeting 2024-07-02 | Agenda regarding the PA (Project Advisory) Meeting for the research project “Development of a cross-process print quality management system” | 09.07.2024 | 101 KB | Download | ||
| Minutes PA Meeting 2024-07-02 | minutes of the PA Meeting 2024 "Development of a cross-process print quality management system" (35.007) | 09.07.2024 | 438 KB | Download | ||
| PA Meeting Presentation 2022 | presentation "Development of a cross-process print quality management system" 2022 | 09.07.2024 | 894 KB | Download | ||
| PA Meeting Presentation 2023 | 10.07.2024 | 3 MB | Download |