Why Embracing Standards in the Printing Industry is Important
To learn more about the impact of OBAs on the print and packaging industry, check out a whitepaper I co-wrote with Kevin O’Connor.
Printing digitally across multiple technologies
ISO/PAS 15339 describes standard practices for hybrid printing. Using a gray balanced approach, the goal of this standard is to enable the best reproduction of process printing across a range of substrates and technologies. It also provides standardized print specifications that brand owners and print specifiers can use to predict and specify the quality of requested work.
This standard contains two parts. Part 1 describes the methodology for better data exchange in the workflow based on color quality and a colorimetric-based process control. It also provides a way to achieve similar appearance results between printing processes with different color gamuts. Part 2 provides the first set of reference characterization data sets that meet the criteria laid out in Part 1, providing seven different reference printing conditions, from small gamut to larger-than-standard analog printing gamut.
If you have an established color-managed workflow, implementing ISO/PAS 15339 will be a piece of cake because these reference print conditions comply with GRACoL, SWOP, and even ISO 12647-2. In fact, SWOP and GRACoL 2013 use these exact characterized reference printing conditions.
Universal file format for digital color communication
Correct and accurate color communication is critical to an efficient workflow in the Graphic Arts, and communicating color data electronically has become a hot topic for printers. The Color Exchange Format (CxF™) helps by laying the foundation for the unambiguous communication of color. It’s defined in a completely open way so that all aspects of a color can be communicated, even when the application and the color communication features required are unknown. CxF is able to extend the information set to the needs of a new application without affecting general usability.
