A key advantage of a newspaper when compared with other news media is that it presents news items to the reader after preselection and processing by a qualified editorial team and positioning on well-organised pages, complemented by advertising. Many studies have revealed that readers absorb information much more efficiently from a printed newspaper page than any online medium. The drawback of a newspaper when compared with online media, however, is the fact that breaking news cannot be integrated immediately into the page. The reader compares competing media according to preparation and information content, but also on the bases of optical presentation, legibility and the colour content of images.

To retain market share in the long term, it is essential that a newspaper adapt to meet customer requirements and that the materials and production quality are in line with the increased demands of readers and advertisers. All relevant specifications are listed in detail in an easily understandable form in the ISO12647 standard and can be integrated into the daily production processes. The criteria, especially for paper brightness, are clearly described: The reader-friendliness of a newspaper page and the attractiveness of images are considerably greater on brighter paper.

Decisive for the reproduction of colour images in print is that it should be possible to use the inks supplied by the manufacturers to achieve in print the colour gamuts in accordance with the ISO standards with a standard colour density. That is of major importance because it is the only way the graphic designer and advertiser can simulate the colour effect on the printed page. For the printing plant, the first priority is to stabilise production and on this basis to set-up dot gain, mid-tone spread and grey balance by adjusting the RIP curves in accordance with the ISO criteria. In the case of modern presses, maintaining the correct register should be a matter of course.

A check of all those criteria can be executed simply and repeatedly at any time by using the free WAN-IFRA Service Self Check. This can be accessed on the website www.colorqualityclub.org. As a test element, use the IFRA Cuboid print target in the 42 x 28 mm format, which is designed in the style of a colour ad. Position this element anywhere in the newspaper. Record the measured values online via the website www.colorqualityclub.org. You will then receive the evaluation report immediately in electronic form.

The 2012 version of the IFRA Cuboid includes test fields that record, among other measurements, the mid-tone spread and the dot gain in several places. In the evaluation report, the properties and quality of the paper are assessed and the conformity of the individual inks to the corresponding ISO standard is calculated. Thus there are outstanding possibilities to optimise the production materials supplied and the job execution – and especially also to motivate personnel by defining targets.

The free-of-charge Self Check was used more than 10,000 times during the last 18 months and the results are highly informative. Naturally, the measuring instruments must be calibrated and must measure exactly. If this is not guaranteed, WAN-IFRA can be commissioned (for a minor fee) to do the measurement.