The international standard, the recently upgraded version of the BPIF ISO 12647, was originally designed for sheetfed and offset litho printers but has been extended to cover digital, flexo and gravure.
Additionally, where the standard could previously only be awarded to companies responsible for production, it can now be awarded to those that manage the production.
To claim that its work is ISO 12647-2 accredited, Charterhouse must use printers that have achieved the same accreditation.
The firm’s colour management specialist, Colin Osborne, said: “Being awarded this prestigious new ISO 12647 certification is a great acknowledgement of our ongoing investment in the field of colour reproduction and colour management.
“It will allow customers across the globe to easily identify us as independently audited printers of the highest quality.” The BPIF standard is the only colour quality management scheme that can be certified by a UKAS accredited body.
Jon Stack, director at Print & Media Certification (PMC), the only UK certification body accredited to provide this ISO, said: “We are delighted to issue the first ever accredited ISO12647 certification for a print management company."
PMC’s specialist auditors were impressed by the systems, expertise and control of operations they found at the Charterhouse sites.
Elsewhere, Birmingham-based Pinstripe Print Group has become the first entirely sheetfed B2 printer in the UK to also achieve the standard.
Pinstripe Print Group managing director Nigel Lyon said: “This is a really challenging quality management standard to attain, with very few companies being able to achieve it. By attaining the BPIF ISO 12647-2 certification, Pinstripe are now amongst the elite in the print industry.”
The firm’s 'colour champion' Paul Stone added: “This enables us to prove that we are not just paying lip service to the standard, a factor that many print buyers will agree with.”
BPIF head of consultancy Philip Thompson said: "Congratulations to Pinstripe, the implementation of this scheme has taken significant commitment, resource and effort, but the rewards are there to see."
