Recent ISO TC130 meetings in Paris were attended by David Crowther of Colour Graphic Services, representing Standards Australia (SA).

A comprehensive review of the widely adopted ISO 12647-2 offset lithography colour standard is nearing completion and is expected to be publicly released in early 2027. The Lithographic Institute of Australia (LIA) is encouraging local graphic communications businesses to adopt the revised standard to ensure alignment with international colour reproduction requirements.

Crowther commented:

“This is a very important update because the last major revision was almost 13 years ago. Print service providers, graphic designers, print specifiers, brand managers and print managers should adopt the new standard, along with the new characterisation datasets and ICC profiles, which will be freely available after the standard is released. Compliance with this latest update will become essential for serious sheetfed and web offset printers.”

He added:

“Although ISO 12647-2 is the colour standard for offset printing, the associated ICC profiles are widely used by digital, grand-format and wide-format print manufacturers and dealers around the world as a benchmark for standardised colour output. As a result, the new standard and ICC profiles will need to be embraced across all areas of prepress and print production.”

The TC130 Working Group meetings also included discussions and progress on a range of other graphic communications and print standards, including:

• Rotogravure printing (ISO 12647-10)
• New datasets for ISO 15339-2
• Flexographic printing (ISO 12647-6)
• A revision of ISO 12636, covering blankets for offset printing

Among other standards-related initiatives.

JWG7 (Joint Working Group 7) also held detailed discussions on emerging iccMAX technology and a proposed review aimed at reducing the size and improving the efficiency of ICC profiles.

Participation in the periodic ISO TC130 meetings is voluntary and provides an excellent opportunity for industry professionals to collaborate with print experts from around the world, including representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, European nations, China, Japan, Brazil and many other countries.

Crowther said:

“Australia may be a relatively small print market compared with other countries and regions, but maintaining standards across all areas of print—including prepress data exchange, process control, media and materials, safety, colour management, security printing, sustainability, post-press operations, conformity assessment and quality measurement methods—helps printers, suppliers and manufacturers remain aligned.

We are generally familiar with ISO 9001 quality management systems and the significant benefits they bring to print production. The broader family of print standards—currently numbering around 112 published standards for print technology—helps printers maintain consistency, drive continual improvement and remain internationally competitive.”

David Crowther’s Colour Graphic Services provides colour standardisation services, print certification, colour management training, ICC profiling, and a range of specialist colour software and hardware solutions. He also volunteers his time as a member of the Australian TC130 Committee and, whenever possible, attends international ISO TC130 Working Group meetings to represent Australian industry interests.

Website: www.colourgraphicservices.com