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The
GravurExchange™ Guide to Standards & Reference
Workflows
What are standards?
Standards are less an item to be specified
and more a process to be used consistently. They are less a particular
workflow or set of specifications, and more the use of a reference
workflow. Standards are commitments to obtain consistent results,
not a commitment to ever-changing technology.
“Standards are documented agreements
containing technical specifications or other precise criteria
to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, or definitions
of characteristics to ensure that materials, products, processes
and services are fit for their purpose.”
The
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Why do we need standards, specifications, tolerances?
Specification, by themselves do not provide consistencies
or efficiencies. Without an “Agreement to be Consistent” — STANDARDS
— digital workflow and the promise of economies and flexibilities
that can result will remain elusive.
Standards Terminology
- Standards are agreements to be consistent.
- Specifications are particulars.
- Tolernaces are allowed deviations.
Who Creates Standards? National
and International Standards Organizations
(Source: Official Standards Web Sites)
ICC (The
International Color Consortium)
The International Color Consortium was established in
1993 by eight industry vendors for the purpose of creating, promoting
and encouraging the standardization and evolution of an open, vendor-neutral,
cross-platform color management system architecture and components.
The ICC has made significant progress in gaining acceptance for
color management profiles, which enable color to be transportable
without degradation. NPES serves as administrative secretariat
for the ICC. Visit the ICC Web site at www.color.org.
Who creates specifications, and tolerances?
- SWOP Specifications
for Web Offset Publications
- FIRST Flexographic
Image Reproduction Specifications and Tolerances
- SNAP Specifications
for Non-Heat Advertising Printing
More Details on Standards Organizations and Committees
International
Organization for Standardization (ISO)
ISO's name - Many people
have noticed a seeming lack of correspondence between the official
title when used in ful—International Organization for Standardization—and
the short form—ISO. Shouldn't the acronym be "IOS"? Yes,
if it were an acronym, which it is not. In fact, "ISO" is
a word derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal," which
is the root of the prefix "iso" that occurs in a host
of terms such as "isometric" (of equal measure or dimensions)
and "isonomy" (equality of laws, or of people before
the law). From "equal" to "standard," the line
of thinking that led to the choice of "ISO" as the name
of the organization is easy to follow.
ISO standards are developed according to the following principles:
- Consensus - The views of all interests are
taken into account: manufacturers, vendors and users, consumer
groups, testing laboratories, governments, engineering professions,
and research organizations.
- Industry-wide - Global solutions to satisfy
industries and customers worldwide.
- Voluntary - International standardization
is market-driven and, therefore, based on voluntary involvement
of all interests in the marketplace.
ISO and U.S. Technical Advisory Group to TC 130
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some
130 countries, one from each country. The ISO Technical Committee
that develops standards for the graphic arts is TC 130. The U.S.
Technical Advisory Group (US TAG) to TC 130 consists of experts
from the graphic arts industry who provide guidance to ANSI on
the development of the U.S. position on International Standards
relating to the graphic arts.
The American
National Standards Institute (ANSI)
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a
76-year-old, nonprofit organization that coordinates and administers
the development of U.S. voluntary national standards. It is the
U.S. member body of the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
ANSI's membership consists of approximately 1,300 companies; 35
government agencies; & more than 260 technical, trade, labor
and consumer groups. ANSI's mission is to enhance both the global
competitiveness of U.S. business and the quality of life by promoting
and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and
conformity assessment systems.
ANSI has four basic functions:
- to facilitate U.S. standardization policy developments;
- to accredit national standards developers, which provides consistency
in the national standards systems and helps to ensure the consensus
process;
- to promote U.S. standardization interests globally; and
- to provide information and training regarding standardization.
ANSI does not write standards, but serves
as an impartial organization which, through its procedures, validates
the general acceptability of the work of the technical experts.
It ensures that the standards writing group used democratic procedures
that gave everyone who will be "directly and materially" affected
by the use of the standard an opportunity to participate in the
development work or to comment on the document's
provisions. It assures users that those interested in the work
reached consensus on the standard's provisions and that the document
is technically sound and does not conflict with or unnecessarily
duplicate other national standards.
ANSI voluntary standards include more
than 100,000 product standards developed by more than 400 standards
development organizations, including government, industry, technical
societies, trade associations and companies. There are hundreds
of thousands of standards users, including companies of all sizes;
federal, state and local government agencies; universities, colleges
and trade schools; businesses; consultants and individuals.
The Committee
for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards (CGATS) and the B65
Committee for Safety Standards are the two ANSI-accredited
committees developing standards for the graphic arts industry.
NPES serves as the Secretariat for these committees.
The Association
for Suppliers of Printing , Publishing and Converting Technologies
(NPES)
NPES is a trade association with more than 450 member
companies who manufacture and distribute equipment, systems, software,
supplies used in printing, publishing and converting. The Association
was founded as the National Printing Equipment Association in 1933.
The 26 charter members included manufacturers of printing presses,
bindery equipment, typesetting machinery and specialty equipment.
The Association represents manufacturers, importers and distributors
of equipment, supplies, systems and software used in every printing,
publishing and converting process from design to distribution.
Virtually all industry products and processes are represented by
nearly 400 member companies
1899 Preston White Drive
Reston, Virginia 20191-4367
Phone: 703/264-7200
Fax: 703/620-0994
E-mail: npes@npes.org
NPES serves as secretariat to the following standards organizations:
- The Committee
for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards (CGATS) accredited
by American National Standards Institute (ANSI). As Secretariat,
NPES coordinates meetings, handles correspondence, publishes
and distributes standards, and other administrative duties.
- The International
Color Consortium, ICC ,
a new organization devoted to developing a standard that will
enable different devices to translate their color definition
information into a standard color interchange space so that
the receiving device can then interpret that data into the
appropriate color.
Committee
for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards (CGATS)
The Committee for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards
(CGATS) was formed in 1987 following a year-long assessment of
the need for an umbrella standards committee by the Image Technology
Standards Board (ITSB) of ANSI,
and received ANSI accreditation in 1989. The goal for CGATS is
to have the entire scope of printing and publishing technologies
represented in one national standardization and coordination effort,
while respecting the established activities of existing accredited
standards committees and industry standards developers.
CGATS writes standards only where the need exists and no other
committee is undertaking the writing.
CGATS has standards, either approved or in draft, relating to
pallet loading of printed materials, densitometry, terminology,
plates, process control, electronic transmission of publication
ads, digital data exchange and color data definition. The activities
involving digital data exchange and color data definition were
activities formerly under the IT8 Committee. Beginning in 1994,
that work continued under the administrative structure of CGATS.
in addition to developing standards for the industry, CGATS also
provides a vehicle for other industry organizations who have specifications
to work under the CGATS "umbrella" to move their work
into the standards arena, and have the work further developed and
approved as an American National Standard…. The committee works
to improve the efficiency of national standards development, facilitates
information exchange, coordinates multi-discipline standards activities
and provides liaison for international standards development. The
committee currently has more than 65 members, with over 100 organizations
represented in the various CGATS subcommittees.
CGATS currently is composed of an Executive Committee
responsible for planning and coordination and eight subcommittees.
The responsibilities of the CGATS subcommittees are divided in
the following manner:
- SC1 Terminology - SC1 is developing a standard
vocabulary and terminology reference.
- SC2 Plates - SC2 develops standards relating
to the physical dimensions and characteristics of printing plates.
- SC3 Densitometry - SC3 addresses the application
of densitometry to the graphic arts industry, including the definition
of characteristics unique to graphic arts and halftone applications.
It works in cooperation with and builds upon the work of the
photographic standards groups in densitometry and sensitometry.
- SC4 Process Control - SC4 develops color measurement
and similar process control standards for graphic arts. This
involves the selection of appropriate measurement profiles based
upon the work of CIE and is closely coupled to the work of the
Densitometry group. It is also working closely with such industry
groups as the SWOP Committee to move appropriate industry specifications
closer to formal standards.
- SC5 Materials Handling - The R&E Council
of the Graphic Arts has developed a specification for pallet
loading for newspaper inserts. This group worked with CGATS to
create a general pallet loading standard for graphic arts materials.
- SC6 Digital Advertising Exchange - The purpose
of SC6 is to develop standards that will enable the distribution
of print advertisements in a digital form to publishers and/or
printers.
- SC7 Data Exchange - This subcommittee develops
standards to facilitate digital transfer of information between
prepress systems. It combines three former IT8 subcommittees
addressing organization, content and transport issues.
- SC8 Color Data Definition - SC8 is the former
IT8 SC4 focusing on developing color calibration and communication
tools to define the color meaning of the data being transferred.
This SC works closely with SC3 and SC4 as well as several of
the Working Groups of ISO/TC130.
Resources: Web Sites
Printing Specifications
- SNAP - Specifications for Non-Heat Advertising
Printing (SNAP),Web Offset Association for Coldweb/Open Web,100
Daingerfield Road,Alexandria,VA 22314
- SWOP - Specifications for Web Offset Publications
(SWOP),SWOP,Inc.60 East 42nd Street,Suite 721,New York,NY 10165
- FIRST - Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications
and Tolerances ,2nd Edition,1999,Foundation of the Flexographic
Technical Association.
The following documents are recommended guides in the preparation
of specific workflow procedures.CGATS maintains registers of currently
valid ANSI and International Standards that impact the graphic
technology industry as well as all referenced documents.
- ISO 5-2,Photography — Density measurements — Part 2::Geometric
conditions for transmission density.
- ISO 5-3,Photography — Density measurements — Part 3::Spectral
conditions.
- ISO 5-4,Photography — Density measurements — Part 4::Geometric
conditions for reflection density.
- ISO 3664,Viewing conditions — Graphic technology and photography
- ISO 12639 ,Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange::Tag
image file format for image technology (TIFF/IT)
- ISO 12646,Graphic technology — Displays for colour proofing
— Characteristics and viewing conditions.
- ISO 12647-1,Graphic technology — Process control for the manufacture
of half--tone colour separations,proof and production prints
— Part 1::Parameters and measurement methods
- ISO 12647-2,Graphic technology — Process control for the manufacture
of half—tonecolour separations,proof and production prints —
Part 2::Offset lithographic processes
- ISO 12647-3,Graphic technology — Process control for the manufacture
of half--tone colour separations,proof and production prints
— Part 3::Coldset offset lithography and letterpress on newsprint
- ISO 12647-4,Graphic technology — Process control for the manufacture
of half--tone colour separations,proof and production prints
— Part 4::Gravure processes
- ISO 12647-5,Graphic technology — Process control for the manufacture
of half--tone colour separations,proof and production prints
— Part 5::Screen printing
- ISO 12647-6,Graphic technology — Process control for the manufacture
of half--tone colour separations,proof and production prints
— Part 6::Flexographic printing
- ISO 12647-7,Graphic technology — Process control for the manufacture
of half--tone colour separations,proof and production prints
— Part 7::Reference printing conditions for electronic data exchange
- ISO 13655,Graphic technology — Spectral measurement and colorimetric
computation for graphic arts images
- ISO 15930-1,Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange
— Use of PDF — Part 1::Complete exchange using CMYK data
- ISO 15930-2,Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange
— Use of PDF — Part 2::Partial exchange
- ISO 15930-3,Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange
— Use of PDF — Part 3::Blind exchange suitable for colour managed
workflows
- ANSI/CGATS.4,Graphic technology — Graphic arts reflection densitometry
measurements — Terms,,equations,image elements and procedures
- ANSI/CGATS.5,Graphic technology — Spectral measurement and
colorimetric computation for graphic arts images
- ANSI/CGATS.6,Graphic technology — Specifications for graphic
arts printing —Type 1
- ANSI/CGATS.9,Graphic technology — Graphic arts transmission
densitometry measurements — Terms,,equations,image elements and
procedures
- ANSI/CGATS.11,Graphic technology and photography — Reflection
and transmission metrology — Certified reference materials —documentation
and procedures for use,including determination of combined standard
uncertainty
- ANSI/CGATS.12,Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange
— Use of PDF for composite data — Part 1::Complete exchange (PDF/X-1)
- ANSI/CGATS TR 001,Graphic technology — Color Characterization
Data for Type 1 Printing
- ANSI/IT8.6,Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange
— Diecutting data
- ANSI/IT8.7/1,Graphic technology — Color transmission target
for input scanner calibration
- ANSI/IT8.7/2,Graphic technology — Color reflection target for
input scanner calibration
- ANSI/IT8.7/3,Graphic technology — Input data for characterization
of 4--color process printing
- ICC.1:1998-09,File Format for Color Profiles,International
Color Consortium
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