Breakthrough Wan-IFRA Membership for APN Print

APN Print New Zealand media release (May 26, 2014)

Breakthrough Wan-Ifra Membership for APN Print

APN Print New Zealand has become the first offset newspaper printer in the country to qualify for membership to the exclusive WAN-IFRA International Newspaper Color Quality Club 2014-2016.

Inclusion to the Quality Club, which is recognised as one of the most prestigious quality competitions in the world, has been a major objective of APN Print Ellerslie for the last eight years, says APN New Zealand General Manager of Operations Dan Blackbourn.

“Standards of entry to WAN-IFRA are exceptionally demanding, so securing this membership is a tremendous achievement and recognises an ongoing commitment from both staff and the management team,” he says.

“While it took some to reach this status, learnings gained over the period have proved invaluable for everyone involved in the process.

“This achievement, along with the various other quality awards that APN Print Ellerslie has collected over the years, is testimony of the pursuit of excellence demonstrated by our team. Our commitment to quality and service is at the forefront of everything we do, and we believe that quality print is still a viable carrier of advertising and news.”

APN Print’s membership was secured for its printing, which was produced on a 19-year-old Goss HT70 double-width press “with a team of skilled craftsmen”.

Inclusion to the club of the world's best newspaper printers will see APN Print presented with an official membership certificate at the World Publishing Expo 2014 in Amsterdam on October 15 this year. The print firm’s work will also be included in the subsequent International Newspaper Color Quality Club Brochure.

Furthermore, membership means APN Print has already gone halfway towards obtaining certification in accordance with the ISO 12647-3 printing standard. Securing the WAN-IFRA Certificate for Standardised Printing will require the print firm to pass an on-site audit, including a test production run in the presence of a WAN-IFRA consultant as well as additional evaluations of the “Cuboid” test element.

The Ellerslie plant is the first within the APN Australasian Print Group to gain inclusion to WAN-IFRA and is only the second print site in the entire Australasian region to gain this recognition.

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