Indian publishers' huge commitment to print quality is demonstrated in the massive proportion they make of the 54 to have achieved membership of WAN-Ifra's International Color Quality Club for 2020-2022.

They, and winners in the South Asia 'best in print' awards - judged on evaluation of an ICQC entrant's printed cuboid and "general quality" - were announced on Thursday at the end of the virtual 2020 Printing Summit.

New members in this year's twenty-fourth ICQC edition - in which the competition was also opened to magazines - had to meet quality standards over a period, printing a cuboid test element on five days, and pass a visual inspection by an international jury.

World Printers Forum director Ingi Olafsson says successful participation demonstrates ability to produce outstanding quality and offer readers and advertisers high-quality products. "The Color Quality Club is more than a technical printing competition, as it offers participating companies the additional possibility to benchmark their printing quality against recognised international standards and improve it," he says.

South Asia 'best in print' awards were divided into categories for above and below 150,000 copies circulation, winners were honoured

Winners were: less than 150,000 copies: gold-Apple Daily Printing for Apple Daily (Hong Kong); silver- Bennett Coleman & Co, Ahmedabad for The Times of India; bronze (tie) Bennett Coleman & Co Lucknow for The Times of India, and United Printing & Publishing, Abu Dhabi for The National.

More than 150,000 copies: gold- Bennett Coleman & Co, Mumbai for The Times of India; silver- Bennett Coleman & Co, Navi Mumbai for The Times of India; and bronze Bennett Coleman & Co, Ghaziabad for The Times of India.

The new Asian members of ICQC are:

ABP, Kolkata for Anandabazar Patrika and The Telegraph;

Apple Daily Printing for Apple Daily (Hong Kong);

Apple Daily Publication Development for Apple Daily Taiwan;

Bennett Coleman & Co (Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Ghaziabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Haryana, Pune, and Hyderabad) for The Times Of India;

Jagran Prakashan, Noida for Dainik Jagran-Rashtriya Sansakaran;

Times Group subsidiary Metropolitan Media Publications, Kottayam for Vanitha;

Sakal Media, Kolhapur and Pune, for Sakal;

Malayala Manorama Co, (Trivandrum, Kannur, Cochin, Calicut, and Alleppey) for Malayala Manorama;

Mathrubhumi Printing& Publishing Co, (Trivandrum, Calicut, Kochi and Trichur) for The Mathrubhumi; and

The Printers (Mysore) Hubli-Dharwad for Prajavani Hubli-Dharwad, Bangalore for Deccan Herald and Prajavani Bangalore.

Newspaper sites in other parts of the world are:

Botniaprint in Kokkola, Finland; British Industries Printing & Packaging (two memberships) in Kuwait; Brune-Mettcker Druck & Verlags in Wilhelmshaven, Germany; Deister & Weserzeitung Verlagsgesellschaft in Hameln, Germany; Delo in Ljubljana, Slovenia; Styria Druck (two sites) in Graz, Austria; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Munich, Germany; Heilbronner Stimme in Heilbron, Germany; Landsprent in Reykjavik, Iceland; Mittelbayerisches Druckzentrum in Regensburg, Germany; Presse-Druck & Verlags in Augsburg, Germany; Pressehaus Stuttgart Druck (two memberships) in Stuttgart, Germany;

Printing Partners in Paal-Beringen, Belgium; Rheinpfalz Verlag & Druckerei in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Sanoma Manu in Tampere, Finland; Sueddeutsche Verlag Zeitungsdruck in Munich, Germany; Turkuvaz Haberlesme Ve Yayin Istanbul, Turkey; Ungeheuer+Ulmer in Ludwigsburg, Germany; and United Printing & Publishing (two memberships) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Five sites from India were among the nine admitted to WAN-Ifra's Star Club. They were Bennett Coleman & Co sites in Bangalore, Mumbai Kandivali, Sahibabad Gazhiyabad; Jagran Prakashan in Noida; and The Printers (Mysore) in Bangalore.

Pictured: Vanitha, printed by Malayala Manorama Group subsidiary MM Publications, joined newspaper winners in the 'best in print' gold awards