Digital Print Guidelines Set To Raise Quality

New working practice guidelines are set to revolutionise the UK digital imaging industry, according to the Institute of Quality Management (IQA).

New working practice guidelines are set to revolutionise the UK digital imaging industry, according to the Institute of Quality Management (IQA).

The organisation said that the guidelines could save firms substantial sums each year.

The IQA's digital group has launched what it claimed to be the world's first 'best practice' guidelines for handling digital images.

The IQA believes that guidelines will help tackle the millions of pounds in business lost by the industry each year through errors, legal action, cancelled contracts and reprinting.

The multi-sector guidelines are the result of cooperation between some of the world's foremost digital image specialists, including Fujifilm, Kodak, Adobe and Epson, said the IQA.

The primary goal of the guidelines is to ensure predictable output of digital images, creating a smooth workflow and helping to eliminate costly errors.

The guidelines will ensure that organisations and individuals throughout the field of digital imaging - from picture libraries to designers to photographers and printers - communicate effectively across sectors, said the organisation.

Michael Upstone, chair of the IQA digital group, said: "In the decade or so since digital imaging became widespread, there has been no attempt to get the many industries working with digital images to adopt the same best practice.

A serious lack of communication between sectors with vastly different business practices has led to lost business on a massive scale." He added: "The IQA digital guidelines correct this imbalance with simple, multi-sector best practices that will help ensure everyone communicates effectively." The guidelines are designed to be easily implemented and cost effective, he observed, whilst making them as relevant to small businesses as they are to major firms.

Many of the guidelines' recommendations involve simple, low-cost automated processes, such as running monitor-profiling software to ensure a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) set-up.

The guidelines set out recommendations for each of the four key stages of image production - capture, display and edit, proofing, and output and printing, to encourage users to build on the guidelines with training and education, whilst helping appreciation of the limitations of industry processes.

The guideline document is designed to be informative and flexible without being prescriptive, with a particular focus on making it available as simply and cost-effectively as possible.

Michael Upstone explained: "We have to recognise that people work in different ways and there needs to be different solutions for different problems.

That's why we've created guidelines as opposed to strict quality standards at this stage." The UK-developed guidelines have already attracted interest worldwide, with 40 countries now involved in the process of creating standard global best practices said the IQA.

Industry trade bodies are set to incorporate the guidelines as core elements in their training and education programmes.

Upstone added: "These guidelines are great news for everyone who deals with images - they're a benchmark which says 'we're communicating using this method and if you do the same, we've got no problems.'" The guidelines are available as a free-to-download PDF document from the IQA website.

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