Long gone are the days when quality management meant random checks of finished products and safety measures equaled having emergency exits and fire extinguishers. Nowadays, print manufacturers have plenty of standards and systems to follow (and framed certificates to show). Here is a list of the most sought-after accreditation and compliance standards at this time.

ISO 14001:2004

This standard for environmental management systems is often regarded as a badge of social consciousness. It provides a systematic approach toward minimizing an organization's impact on the environment and the surrounding community.

ISO 27001

Formerly known as BS 7799, this is concerned with information security management systems. Suppliers often flash this certification to assure clients that the latter's content or assets are secure and adequately protected on site and during work in progress.

OHSAS 18001

Developed by British Standards Institute, OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) defines what an organization needs to do to manage occupational health and safety, without dictating how to go about it. It is used in conjunction with governmental (local, state and national) regulations.

SA 8000:2001

Social Accountability (SA) 8000 is the most widely recognized standard for managing human rights in the workplace. Covering areas such as child labor, forced labor, workplace safety and health, working hours, fair remuneration, and discrimination, this accreditation concerns social accountability.

ICTI

Founded in 1974 by 20 toy trade associations, one mandate of ICTI (International Council for Toys Industry) is to ensure that toys are produced in safe and humane environments. Presently, only factories in China need to undergo ICTI certification. American toy companies such as Hasbro, Leapfrog, Mattel, Faber-Castell and Lego Systems have declared that they will accept toys only from ICTI-certified factories.

FSC

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) sets out to protect people and the environment while allowing for careful deliberate logging of forests. About 90 million hectares of forests in more than 70 countries are currently FSC-certified. It is not a flawless system, however. Its strict chain-of-custody requirements make compliance difficult for companies/mills using thousands of sources and for small forest owners. Meanwhile, its weakening pesticide policy (allowing FSC-banned chemicals to be used) and its concession to the clear-cutting of public forests (e.g., in Massachusetts) have given it a bad press.

PEFC

PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), the most widely used system in Continental Europe, does not have FSC's clout or comprehensive environmental coverage. In fact, its neglect of indigenous peoples' rights is one major reason why most NGOs (non-governmental organizations turn to, and support, FSC. Under FSC principles, for instance, indigenous Sami people in northern Sweden and Finland are allowed to graze their reindeer freely. But under PEFC, private landowners' rights come before the Sami's. This difference underscores the fact that PEFC was initiated, and is still dominated, by the forest sector, while FSC has social, environmental and business groups in its committee.

SFI

American Forest and Paper Association members started SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) back in 1994 with the aim of ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of North American forests. SFI calls for a land stewardship ethic that integrates the reforestation, nurturing, and harvesting of trees for useful products with the conservation of soil, air and water resources, wildlife and fish habitat, and forest aesthetics.

GRACoL

GRACoL (General Requirements for Applications in Commercial Offset Lithography) has been around since 1996 but largely ignored. However, now that jobs are outsourced thousands of miles away to offshore print manufacturers, standards governing print quality and consistency become all-important. GRACoL pertains to all offset processes and print applications except those covered by SWOP (for web offset) and SNAP (Specifications for Non-Heatset Advertising Printing), two industry standards for specific types of printing. While its previous versions primarily specified dot gain and solid ink density for calibration, the latest, GRACoL 7, is based on neutral gray (of which the calibration is referred to as the G7 process).

G7

While GRACoL 7 is a standard, G7 is a process that can be easily applied to other standards, such as SWOP and SNAP. The “G” stands for gray balancing, while the “7” refers to the seven primary color values: cyan, magenta, yellow, black, red (M+Y), green (C+Y) and blue (C+M). Both GRACoL and G7 operate within two specific standards on gray balancing and toning of presses: ISO 12647-2 and ISO 2846-1. G7 is device-independent and affords print predictability regardless of press or substrate type. At present, only a handful of Hong Kong printers have attained the G7 Master status, including C&C, CTPS, Hung Hing and WKT.

ISO 12647-2:2004

This certification defines a number of process parameters and their values for color separation in CMYK offset printing or when producing CMYK printed materials. It basically standardizes printing processes; and once this ISO workflow is established, the test/proof result and the end result should show no color variations. The exact quality (in the original printing) can also be reproduced in subsequent print runs anywhere in the world.

ISO 2846-1:2006

This SWOP-based standard specifies color and transparency characteristics of inks used in proofing and offset printing. The results of the evaluation of ink solids and ink traps are compared against the values specified in the standard; and if the ink fails the test, calibration is halted until the ink issues are resolved. Inks that pass this set of ISO specifications should be able to print to standards such as GRACoL and SWOP.