MAN Roland GB has entered into a partnership with colour management firm Bodoni Systems to supply customers with Bodoni's Press Sign, Proof Sign and View Sign software.

According to MAN Roland the software will provide compliance with colour control standard ISO 12647.

The press manufacturer said that it will combine the supply of the software with a fully customisable service from its print services division to provide assistance for customers seeking to gain ISO 12647 - the internationally recognised accreditation for colour standardisation.

Bodoni Systems' Press Sign, Proof Sign and View Sign software is available now from MAN Roland.

Each software package will be available from MAN Roland as either a stand-alone product or as a service under its Proserv maintenance package, with service level agreements in place to cover measurement and calibration of colour systems at regular intervals.

MAN Roland said it will work in partnership with Bodoni Systems to assess each aspect of a print operation's elements that has an impact on colour control, such as paper, ink and the press itself.

It will integrate all the necessary systems and train staff, as well as provide after-sales support to ensure continuing compliance with the ISO-12647 standard.

Stewart Kerr, technical applications support manager at MAN Roland GB, said: 'Compliance with ISO 12647 requires a broad knowledge of colour theory, pre-press and proofing, the depth of which can often be bewildering.

However, our tie-up with Bodoni Systems unifies our press technology expertise with the pre-press and proofing expertise of Bodoni Systems and provides the users of our presses with a single point of access to the best expertise in the market, from across the full spectrum of this highly complex subject.

Everything needed to complete the project will be available from under one roof with no need to rely on third parties.

Ian Reid, managing director of Bodoni Systems, commented: 'We believe ISO 12647 to be of huge importance to the future of the print industry because standardised colour specifications will improve communication between printers and customers.

The precise nature of the standard also removes the time required for human judgement and so will also improve make-ready times for those printers that adopt it.

MAN Roland's printing technology is manufactured to the highest of standards and consistently performs at the top level, which makes the task of achieving ISO 12647 easier.

It also integrates exceptionally well with Press Sign.

MAN Roland has thousands of customers, each potentially requiring assistance with ISO 12647 so this is an important partnership for us.

It's a reciprocal arrangement, with the relative expertise of each company the perfect complement to the other.

Stewart Kerr added: 'Our decision to offer this type of support has been driven by the needs of printers.

The profile of ISO 12647 continues to grow among print buyers, particularly those from the larger brands, and is thus something printers are increasingly facing when tendering for work.

And compliance is of benefit to all concerned because formalising the agreed parameters for colour goes a long way to avoiding costly job rejections and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Because of the inherent benefits of such a standard, more printers are going to be going down the route of complying with ISO12647.