China Printing Standardization in the 11th Five-Year Plan: 31 Standards, 8 Bases and an ISO Postpress Working Group

On June 17, Li An, Secretary-General of the National Printing Standardization Technical Committee, addressed the “Hong Kong Summit — Printing Standardization,” reviewing progress made during the 11th Five-Year Plan. The results included 31 printing industry standards developed or revised, eight printing standardization testing and promotion bases, three printing standardization sub-technical committees, a printing standardization development forum, and substantive involvement in postpress standards.

Li An noted that during the 11th Five-Year Plan, under the guidance of the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Standardization Administration of China, the committee focused on industry standardization and elevated China’s printing standardization capabilities. Guided by the “three orientations and three services” — toward enterprises, the industry and the market; serving enterprises, the industry and the market — standardization adopted a new operating model and became a shared priority for both companies and the sector.

Building a platform for standards development and revision

The pace of standards development and revision often trailed market changes, while insufficient funding constrained standardization efforts. To overcome these bottlenecks, the National Printing Standardization Committee introduced market-oriented approaches and worked boldly with enterprises.

Statistics show that during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the committee completed 31 standards, with 23 more under development and over 10 in the project initiation stage. It also completed one quality inspection public welfare research project, with another still underway. Enterprise enthusiasm was fully activated: over five years, corporate sponsorship for standards development and standardization affairs reached several million yuan; 445 enterprise participations joined various standards projects; and, according to incomplete figures, 906 person-times of experts and technical workers took part.

Another new model was to establish printing standardization testing and promotion bases with leading companies from different printing segments. Li An said the committee partnered with eight printing and related enterprises — Artron, Beijing Duocai, Xingguang Group, Astros, Tianjin Toyo, C&C Joint Printing, Gold East Paper and Hangzhou Yingtian — to set up eight bases during the 11th Five-Year Plan. These bases have become a key support for China’s printing standardization work, actively carrying out standardization tasks, and the base companies now serve as a core force in drafting industry and national standards.

Joining hands with associations and institutions

Establishing sub-technical committees

China’s overall printing standardization level still lagged behind industry development, and many national standards urgently needed development or revision. Relying only on existing printing standardization organizations and working mechanisms, completing standards for the entire printing system could take decades. To change this, the National Printing Standardization Technical Committee proposed in 2008 to establish three sub-technical committees, inviting capable associations and institutions to host their secretariats.

After member solicitation and preparation, the three sub-technical committees passed review by the General Administration of Press and Publication and received formal approval from the Standardization Administration of China, each responsible for developing and revising national standards in its printing field. Li An said the China Screen Printing and Graphic Imaging Association hosts the secretariat of the Screen Printing Sub-Technical Committee, while the Shenzhen Printing Industry Association and Shenzhen Polytechnic jointly host the secretariats of the Book and Periodical Printing Sub-Technical Committee and the Packaging Printing Sub-Technical Committee.

Participating in standards formulation

For years, the group leaders (conveners) of ISO/TC130 working groups were mostly from developed countries such as Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. Although China had been an ISO/TC130 member for 20 years, it had long been unable to participate substantively. That changed during the 11th Five-Year Plan. In 2009, the committee hosted the 23rd ISO/TC130 Annual Meeting in Beijing and, alongside it, successfully held the “ISO/TC130 in China — Printing Standardization Development Forum.”

The annual meeting adopted a resolution allowing China to lead a new postpress working group and assume the roles of chair and secretariat. The group was designated Working Group 12 (WG12) within ISO/TC130 and was formally established after a year of intensive work. Its formation received strong support from the Beijing Printing Society, Heidelberg Printing Design (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., Heshan Astros Printing Ltd., the Hong Kong Printing Technology Research Centre and the Hong Kong Design Institute, along with cooperation and support from standardization organizations and experts in Brazil, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Japan, Sweden and other countries. The postpress working group marks the start of China’s printing industry participating substantively in standardization affairs and signals that China will take on greater responsibility in printing standardization organizations.

Li An said ISO/TC130 has assigned standard numbers (ISO/PWI16762 and ISO/PWI16763), and He Xiaohui, convener of the postpress working group, is organizing domestic and international experts for the related work. In June 2010, after review by the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Standardization Administration of China, 12 Chinese experts were registered as ISO/TC130 experts.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362114.html