Downloadable best practice guides & posters from Web Offset Champions Group

The Web Offset Champion Group (WOCG) are releasing some of its best practice guides in downloadable formats, and introducing accompanying posters. The first titles in this format are “Roll to Web Processing” and “Web break Diagnosis”.

The 36-page guides are available in two versions a screen-consultable format with 2-pages to view, or as a downloadable printing file.

“Our goal with this initiative is to make best practice information widely available to the global printing industry,” said Prof. Tim Claypole, joint managing director of WOCG. He adds “the downloadable posters are a unique new complimentary format. Their content has been developed from the guides and provides at-a-glance reference to key practices. The PDF format allows for them to be printed on either digital proofing systems or by other digital printing in a format that can range up to A1 size.”

These Posters and Guides are available in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian editions.

Access to these downloads is free of charge to members of the Champion Club. Membership is available to anyone working in the web offset printing industry, it is free-of-charge and simply requires registration at http://www.weboffsetchampions.com. Member benefits also include a 10% discount on publications

New finishing best practice guide

“Perfectly Finished Web Printed Products” is the recently released 8th Best Practice Guide.  Correct finishing is not only essential to communicate the quality of a printed product, but it can also have a significant impact on profitability because defect costs are at their highest in an almost finished job. The purpose of WOCG’s new guide is to improve results through better communication and understanding amongst all participants in the workflow — designers, print users, publishers, printers and binders, and their suppliers. The guide addresses: 1: Selection of a finishing method; 2: Printing process issues to optimise finished products; 3: Review of key postpress processing issues including delivery systems, inline finishing, saddle stitching, and perfect adhesive binding.

The Web Offset Champion Group was formed in 1998 to “champion” best practice in the web offset printing industry as a tool to improve productivity, quality and safety. Its members: Aylesford Newsprint, Kodak, Manroland, MEGTEC, Müller Martini, Quad Tech, SCA and Sun Chemical, and associates include Eurografica, Eltex, Printing Industries of America, System Brunner, Timsons, Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating, Swansea University.

Best practice publications include the Tool Box, a 242-page compendium of seven best practice guides in English and German. The guides are also available individually in five languages. They are available from www.weboffsetchampions.com and order from ‘The Champion Shop’ online for only €30 – all users worldwide except USA/Canada

The Web Offset Champion Group comprises a number of leading global suppliers to the Web Offset printing industry.  It is focused on Web Offset printing and finishing and benefits from the combined knowledge of its members: Aylesford Newsprint, Kodak, manroland, MEGTEC, Müller Martini, Quad Tech, SCA and Sun Chemical.

WOCG ‘associates’ include Eurografica, Eltex, Printing Industries of America, System Brunner, Timsons, Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating, Swansea University.

Promoting generic best practice for web offset printing

The Web Offset Champion Group was formed in 1998 to “champion” best practice in the web offset printing industry as a tool to improve productivity, quality and safety. The Group is a joint project of international suppliers working with other industry specialists, printers and associations throughout the world to publish best practice guides. Printing Industries of America is a content contributor and is also exclusive distributor in North America.

Focus on total production process

The group’s objective is to improve web offset productivity. This requires a cross-industry and cross-process approach because no single company can provide answers to all the variables of the press line and its consumables. Best practices are a tool to improve overall performance without making any capital investment. The potential returns are extremely high as each guide identifies ways to reduce processing costs, improve quality and reduce accidents.

Generic easy-to-read content

All web offset printers — irrespective of the brands of equipment or consumables that they use — can apply the generic content of guides. They provide printers with a base reference to best practice and effectively help transfer knowledge in a global industry.

Guides are written in a concise, easy-to-read style accompanied by numerous graphics and are intended to be read at all levels from managers to production employees. They explain how to work more efficiently, prevent errors, improve diagnostic procedures and help introduce new methods, standards and benchmarks.

World-wide review panel

Each guide is reviewed by a world-wide panel of industry specialists, printers, other suppliers and associations to improve their content and to ensure that they represent industry best practice.

Organisation

The Group is a non-profit organisation that is funded by sponsorship from its company members. Best practice information is contributed free-of-charge by members, other companies, individuals and associations.

WOCG is based in the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating, Swansea University. The joint managing directors of WOC Ltd are Dr. Tim Claypole and Nigel Wells.

For more information about the Web Offset Champion Group and its ‘Best Practice’ guides see www.weboffsetchampions.com or email Nigel Wells at vimw@wanadoo.fr