Paarl Coldset Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg recently acquired membership to the exclusive World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) International Newspaper Color Quality Club. This year, 128 companies from around the globe entered the one of a kind competition.
Paarl Coldset produces a wide spectrum of daily, Sunday and weekly newspapers and is a division of Novus Holdings, previously known as the Paarl Media Group.
‘We are honoured to have received this membership as it aligns with what we at Paarl Coldset aim to achieve for all of our clients; the highest quality products, using the best technology,’ said Conrad Rademeyer, Managing Director of Paarl Coldset and Correll Tissue.
The two Paarl Coldset plants earned their two-year membership by entering Media24 newspaper titles, which included the Weekend Witness (Paarl Coldset Pietermaritzburg) and Die Burger (Paarl Coldset Cape Town).
Rademeyer added, ‘We are grateful to these newspapers for supporting us in our entry as they have made this achievement possible for us. We are also very proud of Fredrik Koch (Duty Manager at Paarl Coldset Cape Town) and Mark Essop (Pre-Press Manager at Paarl Coldset Pietermaritzburg), who both made a massive contribution to this accomplishment.’
By organising a print-quality competition every two years, WAN-IFRA offers companies worldwide an opportunity to demonstrate that they can produce high-quality newspapers consistently over an extended period.
Evaluation is based on objective measurements made on a test element (WAN-IFRA Cuboid) and a visual inspection by a jury of international newspaper experts. Four jury members from Germany, India, USA and Singapore were appointed this year.
Overall, 64 publishing and printing companies in 26 countries have achieved membership this year.
‘This membership allows us to benchmark our printing quality against recognised international standards as we continue to improve our offering,’ concluded Rademeyer.
With plants in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg, Paarl Coldset caters for large and smaller print runs in broadsheet, tabloid and quarter fold formats for both high pagination and thinner products.
