This spring, the first draft of the ISO standard related to rotogravure printing of packaging will be presented. This is an important step because rotogravure packaging represented a void within the dense network of Graphic Arts regulations.

And this is especially important from an Italian perspective, since it was from our country that came up the idea of filling this gap. A success achieved by the Italian Rotogravure Group set up within Acimga, whose members have worked to make their voices heard at international level, as ambassadors of a printing technology in which they are world leaders. A success made even more significant by the fact that the editing of the regulation was entrusted to Carlo Carnelli, head of the Technical Committee of Acimga and leader of the Italian delegation, thus assigning to our country an important leading position in the drafting of the contents.

ISO/TC 130

The draft of the ISO standard will be presented during the next WG3 meeting - the Working Group dedicated to process control and related metrology. Like many others, WG3 is part of ISO/TC 130, the Technical Committee for Graphic Arts. Currently chaired by China, ISO/TC 130 is responsible for defining the standards adopted at international level as a criterion for assessing the quality of a product.

The future of Italy within ISO/TC 130

The success achieved with the rotogravure packaging regulation, together with the constant contribution to WG5 operations on safety, represent a starting point for Italy to expand its presence within ISO/TC 130 and oversee more working tables. Just within the context of prepress world, for example, standards such as ISO/TS 18621-11 for a quantitative definition of gamut size; or the ISO/TS 21328 technical specification for multicolour process printing, are under discussion.