Seventeen newspapers and their print sites have met print production criteria to join WAN-Ifra’s International Color Quality Club, 2026-2028.
The biennial print-quality ‘competition’ for newspapers and magazines has been held since 1994, and recognises companies that meet international printing standards and consistently produce high-quality newspapers.
They are:
–ABP for Anandabazar Patrika, and The Telegraph (Kolkata, India);
–Bennett Coleman & Co for The Times of India (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Mumbai, Sahibabad and Gurugram, India);
–Delo for Delo (Ljubljana, Slovenia);
–Druck Carinthia for Kleine Zeitung Kärnten (St.Veit/Glan, Austria);
–Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Kassel, Germany);
–Jagran Prakashan for Dainik Jagran (Noida, India);
–MHS Print for Stuttgarter Zeitung (Esslingen, Germany);
–Printing Partners Paal-Beringen for Het Nieuwsblad (Paal-Beringen, Belgium);
–Sakal Media for Sakal (Kohlapur and Pune, India); and
– The Printers (Mysore) for Prajavani (Bangalore, India).
Evaluation included objective measurements from the WAN-Ifra ‘cuboid’ printed for a full week during May this year. Technical capabilities including dot gain, grey balance, and colour space were assessed and a panel of industry and technical experts checked visible print consistency and overall appearance by assessing the defects on printed newspapers submitted (general print quality), with the reviews providing useful feedback to participants and an industry benchmark for improving print processes.
World Printers Forum director Sarah Lesting said qualifying for the Color Quality Club showed strong process control and gives advertisers confidence in consistent quality.
ICQC project manager Prabhu Natrajan said more publications were meeting tougher standards, “although ISO newsprint quality remains the main challenge”.
The programme also recognises repeat and consistent print excellence built over decades through ICQC membership (one star) or ISO 12647-3 certification (two stars). Members achieving ten or more stars join the prestigious Millennium Club and a print site enters the ‘Star Club’ by gaining five stars in a lifetime.
Nine sites have now qualified for the Milennium Club. They are Aschendorff Druckzentrum (Münster, Germany; Delo, (Ljubljana); Masar Printing and Publishing (Dubai, UAE); ABP, for both The Telegraph and AnandaBazar Patrika (Kolkata); Druck Styria (Graz, Austria); Heilbronner Stimme (Heilbronn, Germany); St. Galler Tagblatt (Winkeln, Switzerland); SDZ Druck und Medien (Crailsheim, Germany)
Winners will be honoured at the World Printers Summit in Rotterdam on October 5, with South Asian winners receiving their certificates at the Indian Printers Summit on September 9.