Founded in 1950, FORGE (Forschungsinstitut für Medientechnologien eV) is a research institute for the German print media industry and an independent non-profit organization. With scientific methods, research effectiveness and neutrality, FORGE plays an active role in promoting the development of the printing industry and developing new technologies.
Situation Introduction
1. Organizational Structure
FOGRA's organizational basis is its more than 900 members from all over the world, while six technical committees made up of member companies are the core of the institute, working together with FORGE's technical department to screen new research topics and provide practical experience for ongoing projects.
FOGRA's technical department is engaged in a wide range of research, testing, and certification, covering pre-press, post-press, materials and environment, and safety applications, and applies its research results to the industry. Especially in the formulation of international standards, FOGRA has led the formulation of many forward-looking and globally recognized production process and quality inspection standards.
1. The five sectors of FOGRA
FORGA includes four technical departments and one market department, covering six areas: prepress, offset printing, digital printing, packaging and postpress, materials and environment, and security printing. It solves key issues in the development of printing media technology through research, testing and certification activities.
The Prepress Technology Department is responsible for the preparation of printing and media data, covering all aspects of color management, workflow and image quality assessment. In addition, it also conducts research in digitalization, artificial intelligence and 3D printing.
The Printing Technology Department focuses on offset and digital printing, mostly related to print quality and the printing materials used. In addition, the department can also carry out PSO certification.
The Materials & Environment Division provides testing and certification of printing consumables (paper, inks, varnishes), fountain solutions and cleaning agents by performing chemical and physical analyses in its laboratories. The division also conducts research on radiation curing systems, corrosion, and the interaction of substrates and inks.
The Security Applications Division conducts research on the degree of counterfeiting resistance of documents, banknotes and packaging, as well as testing the resistance of identity documents such as passports, driving licenses and bank cards to external influences. In addition, the division conducts research on functional products (such as RFID), other security technologies, post-printing and various aspects of packaging.
The Marketing & Communications Department carries out marketing and communication through print publications and online, providing comprehensive information about FOGRA, organizing events and training courses, and handling customer and press relations.
2. FOGRA's six technical committees
The Prepress Technology committee deals with issues in the data preparation process for printing and media, including correct color management, as well as research into other areas such as digitalization, artificial intelligence support and 3D printing.
The research projects of the Offset Printing technical committee are directly related to printing practice, including establishing the relationship between print quality, process parameters and the materials used. These results can be further used to develop national and international standards.
The Digital Printing Technical Committee (also known as the Digital Printing Working Group, DPWG) is composed of manufacturers and users and aims to promote the standardization of digital printing and coordinate and conduct necessary research.
The Packaging & Print finishing Technical Committee’s research scope includes printing product finishing and binding, as well as packaging-related issues.
The Materials & Environment technical committee covers all aspects of consumables, additives and inks required for the printing process, as well as environmental protection and sustainability.
The Security Applications technical committee covers future-oriented topics related to smart card and document security, ranging from anti-counterfeiting to aging.
2. Staff Strength
The FOGRA Institute is made up of 50 young and experienced employees from all over the world. This melting pot of cultures and professions stimulates exchanges between colleagues, resulting in new ideas, creativity, energy and progress. Each FORGA employee grows into a true expert in his or her field through participation in research, and has rich experience in testing and certification services and teaching.