Printing higher-value products and periodicals has become a global trend. From Canada to Australia, newspaper printers are bringing the production of magazines into their portfolio. It was only logical to include magazines in the Color Quality Club in WAN-IFRA's bi-annual competition.

With the incoming competition, the International Color quality Club are open to the following categories of applicants:

• Newspapers that print according to coldset standard (ISO 12647-3)
• Newspapers using dryers or UV systems
• Newspapers with exceptional production conditions (tinted or dark paper, flexographic printing, inkjet printing, etc.)
• Magazines, printed in sheetfed offset, heatset or gravure

Applications are now open until 31 December 2017

Registration is now open for the next session, International Color Quality Club 2018–2020. Early registrants  benefit from a free Pre-Check in the autumn of this year. Publications from Belgium, Brazil, Colombo, Finland, Germany, Malaysia and Panama are already registered.

The next test period will run under the motto “Fly higher by proving your great color printing” from January through March 2018. Results will be announced in June, and club members will be honoured in October 2018 at the IFRA World Publishing Expo in Berlin.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL COLOR QUALITY CLUB

The International Color Quality Club (INCQC) is the only worldwide quality printing competition for newspapers. The goal of the International Color Quality Club is to raise day-to-day quality in reproduction and printing. It has been held every two years since 1994. Newspapers and magazines that participate with success are awarded membership for a two-year period in the exclusive club of top-quality titles.

Club membership is open to all companies that show they can produce high quality publication consistently over a time period of three months (January through March 2018). Achieving a given number of points is all that is needed for attaining membership in the exclusive Color Quality Club.

Registration is open until 31 December 2017. Test prints will runt from January through March 2018. You will receive an individual performance report after each competition month.

The new club members for the period 2018–2020 will be confirmed with the mailing of the final evaluations in June 2018. They will be awarded at World Publishing Expo 2018 in Berlin (9–11 October 2018), Germany.

ABOUT WAN-IFRA

WAN-IFRA is the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. Its mission is to protect the rights of journalists across the world to operate free media, and provide its members with professional services to help their business prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in open societies. With formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe, it derives its authority from its global network of leading news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from its 80 national association members representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries. More on www.wan-ifra.org

The World Printers Forum within WAN-IFRA is the central knowledge-sharing and networking platform of the international news media print community. The network includes printers, materials suppliers and equipment manufacturers for the print production value chain from prepress to press and to product finishing and delivery. It addresses all print related questions, facilitates applied research. Its objective is to encourage innovation and productivity as well as product development that can be instrumental for publishers to exploit future oriented news media products. It promotes the power of print and the sustainability of print production. More on www.wan-ifra.org/worldprintersforum