“ISO 12647 Proficient Printer” Standard for Benson Box - First UK Food Carton Specialist to Achieve Print Standard

BARDON, England - Benson Group, headquartered in Bardon, Leicestershire, the UK Packaging
Company of the Year, has announced details of its newly acquired “ISO 12647
Proficient Printer” status, as awarded by colour specialists Mellow Colour,
for its Benson Box printed carton operation.

Benson Box, Bardon, specialises in the production of printed folding
cartons for the food industry. Work on the colour standard is now underway at
the three other Benson Group sites at Gateshead, Newcastle, and Crewe, the
group’s 100% pharmaceutical plant.

“Colour standards are a hot topic in the industry at the moment, and we
are therefore delighted to become the first food-focused packaging specialist
to have achieved the status of Proficient Printer in the UK,” said Mark
Kerridge, Managing Director of Benson Group. “Alan Dresch of Mellow Colour
and our production team at Bardon have put in a lot of work during the last
six months to make this happen. I believe that this will be a very welcome
addition to our capabilities, and something that will help to make our
customers lives just that little bit easier.”

“Whilst we have previously focused on our own internal quality standards,
this internationally recognised standard means that we can offer customers
the additional assurance that our printing will match that of other ISO 12647
printers supplying other elements of a campaign,” added Mark Kerridge. “We
also anticipate being able to take the standard into customers’ offices,
where they are often producing proofs. Once customer confidence has been
established, proofs produced to ISO 12647 and then run at Benson Group under
the same standards will significantly reduce the need for customers to pass
press proofs.”

The site runs five B1-format litho presses and checks on the set-up of
all of these machines needed to be carried out in order to ensure that they
remained in balance and were all able to print consistent and repeatable
results. Test jobs were run on the presses and measurements taken for dot
gain and density. Following analysis and interpretation of the printed
results any adjustments required to match the standard were then performed at
the RIP of the company’s platesetter.

Commenting on his company’s work at the Bardon site, Alan Dresch of
Mellow Colour, said: “Benson Group certainly has the right culture to be able
to adapt to this process. Technical expertise, teamwork and commitment to
colour quality at all levels are the keys to success when introducing a
colour quality system of this type. The Benson Group colour team are
fortunate to have those attributes in abundance, and they are already seeing
the benefits of their work, with improved customer satisfaction and
reductions in make-ready times and wastage.”

ISO 12647 is the standard upon which most serious printing specifications
are based. Target gradation, ink colour, trapping, grey balance and dot gain
numbers in the specification are based on hundreds of high quality print
samples gathered and analysed from around the globe by the ISO TC 130
Committee.

About Benson Group

Benson Group, the Packaging Company of the Year for 2008, is the UK’s
leading privately owned printed carton supplier, producing food cartons and
pharmaceutical packaging.

Headquarters are in Bardon, Leicestershire, where the company owns
130,000 sq ft of production and warehouse space. Benson Group achieves annual
sales in excess of GBP93 million. Food manufacturers are the main customers
at Bardon and for the company’s two North East facilities in Newcastle and
Gateshead. These two sites have a combined total of 200,000 sq ft of
manufacturing and warehouse space. The fourth site in Crewe, Medica
Packaging, serves pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. It has 73,000 sq
ft of manufacturing, warehouse and office space. Since 2000, investment in
new plant and equipment across the four sites totals in excess of GBP25
million. The company recently announced details of the acquisition of various
trading assets of Glasgow-based packaging company Cameron Linn.

Benson Group creates packaging for many well-known companies, brands and
retailers. Key account clients across the Group include GlaxoSmithKline,
Northern Foods, Reckitt Benkiser, Greencore, Bakkavor, Samworth Brothers, and
leading supermarket chains.

For further information on the Benson Group visit
www.bensongroup.co.uk/bensongroup/group-news-iso12647.php

For further information on Benson Group, its operations, or on packaging
products or packaging issues please contact: Paul Tye, Benson Group, Interlink
Park, Bardon, Leicestershire, LE67 1PE, Tel : +44(0)1530-518-200, Email:
Paul.Tye@bensongroup.co.uk

Source: Benson Group

For further information on Benson Group, its operations, or on packaging products or packaging issues please contact: Paul Tye, Benson Group, Interlink Park, Bardon, Leicestershire, LE67 1PE, Tel : +44(0)1530-518-200, Email: Paul.Tye at bensongroup.co.uk