Twenty-eight print sites operated by 12 Indian publishers are among the 64 admitted to the 2016-18 International Color Quality Club.
Organisers WAN-Ifra say the 64 publishing and printing companies in 26 countries to have achieved membership for two years were drawn from 128 participating in this year's competition.
Membership is offered to companies that show they can produce high-quality newspapers consistently over an extended time period, with evaluation divided into two parts - one based on measurement of a test element, and visual inspection by a jury of newspaper experts.
Participating companies can also benchmark their printing quality against recognised international standards and improve it.
Deputy chief exective Manfred Werfel says INCQC 2016-18 was tougher than previous years: "We asked newspapers to print the WAN-IFRA Cuboid test element every day of one week per month for three consecutive months, and we picked the date for evaluating the copies," he says. "That 64 companies secured membership is proof that quality continues to be a passionate area for printers and they are committed to produce high-quality products for their readers and advertisers."
Certificates will be handed to new club members on October 11 as part of this year's World Publishing Expo in Vienna, Austria, where INCQC practitioners will also present case studies during the PrintWorld conference.
New members from the Asia-Pacific region-
India:
ABP Pvt. Ltd (The Telegraph, Anandabazar Patrika) at Barasat and Kolkata; Bennett, Coleman & Co (The Times of India and Maharashtra Times) at Chennai, Sahibabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kandivli, and Airoli; DB Corp (Dainik Bhaskar) at Indore, and Jaipur; Hindustan Media Venture (Hindi Hindustan) at Patna and Ranchi; HT Media (Hindustan Times and Mint) at Mumbai, Noida, Greater Noida, Mohali; Jagati Publications (Sakshi) at Hyderabad; Jagran Prakashan (Dainik Jagran) at Noida; Kasturi & Sons (The Hindu and Visakhapatnam); Malayala Manorama Company (Malayala Manorama) at Calicut and Palakkad; Sakaal Media Group (Sakal) at Pune; The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co (Mathrubhumi) at Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur, Kochi, Thrissur; The Printers (Mysore) Pvt. (Deccan Herald and Prajavani) at Bangalore and Hubli-Dharwad).
Soiutheast and east Asia:
Apple Daily Printing (Apple Daily Hong Kong) at Hong Kong; Apple Daily Publication Development Taiwan Branch (Apple Daily Taiwan) at Taipei, and Shin Wu, Taiwan; Mediacorp Press (Today) at Singapore; The New Straits Times Press Malaysia (New Straits Times) at Kuala Lumpur; Singapore Press Holdings (The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao and Berita Harian) at Singapore; The Shizuoka Shimbun (The Shizuoka Shimbun) at Shizuoka, Japan.
Australasia:
NZME. (Chinese Herald) at Auckland, New Zealand.
Gulf States:
Al Nisr Publishing (Gulf News and Xpress) Dubai, UAE; Galadari Printing & Publishing (Khaleej Times) at Dubai, UAE;
Masar Printing and Publishing (Sport 360, Al Bayan, Emarat Alyoum) at Dubai, UAE; United Printing & Publishing (The National, Al Ittihad, Al Roeya, 7 days) at Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Participants in other parts of the world are: Advance Central Services Michigan (USA), Alma Manu Oy (Finland), Aschendorff Druckzentrum (Germany), Botnia Print (Finland), Brune-Mettcker Druck-und Verlags (Germany), Casa Editorial El Tiempo (Colombia), Delo (Slovenia), DeWeZet - Deister- & Weserzeitung Verlagsges (Germany), Diario La Voz del Interior (Argentina), Druck Styria (Austria), Druckerei Konstanz (Germany), Druckzentrum Rhein Main (Germany), DZB Druckzentrum Bern (Switzerland), DZZ Druckzentrum Zürich (Switzerland), El Colombiano (Colombia), El Telégrafo (Ecuador),
Empresa Editora El Comercio (Peru), Empresa El Mercurio (Chile), FAZ -Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany), Freiburger Druck (Germany), Gráficos Nacionales (Ecuador), Heilbronner Stimme (Germany), Infoglobo Comunicação e Participações (Brazil), J. Esslinger (Germany), Kieler Zeitung (Germany), Mittelbayerisches Druckzentrum (Germany), Nordost-Druck (Germany), O Estado de Sao Paulo (São Paulo), Paarl Coldset (South Africa), Prensa Libre (Guatemala), Presse-Druck-und Verlags (Germany), Pressehaus Stuttgart Druck (Germany), Printing Partners Paal-Beringen (Belgium), Rheinpfalz Verlag und Druckerei (Germany), Ringier Print Adligenswil (Switzerland), Russmedia Verlag (Austria), Tiskara Zagreb (Croatia), Turkuvaz Haberlsme ve Yayincilik (Turkey), Ungeheuer + Ulmer (Germany); Verlag Nürnberger Presse Druckhaus Nürnberg (Germany), and V-Tab (Sweden).