GRACoL/G7 Delivers

Anyone who wants to review the GRACoL mandate, offering print predictability from creative to press, can visit www.gracol.org. Or, instead of merely visiting their website, you could have joined print buyers, prepress and print service providers, and vendors to the industry at a recent DIA presentation hosted at Apple Canada.

The Digital Imaging Association offers a dependable and cost-effective way to stay current with the industry by employing experts in various fields to address topics of interest to the membership.

Don Hutcheson, GRACoL Chairman and G7 Inventor, took centre stage to review the GRACoL challenge. Who knew before his talk that a well-delivered presentation could make even the definition of characterization data lively? Our Vice President, Brad Wallans, was even overheard calling Don Hutcheson “Colour Super Hero” following the spirited session.

The Objective
Print buyers are looking for a better match between press and proof; and proofing systems with easy file exchange between different countries or different print methods. Printers want proofs that match the press (and each other), more consistent CMYK files separated to the same standard, faster make-readies, and generally lower production costs.

It is possible to deliver via a common solution defined by standards. Hutcheson contends that printing is no longer an art form, it’s a manufacturing process—and efficient manufacturing depends on standards.

The industry already has a production standard—ISO 12647-2. It is defined as “process control for the production of half-tone colour separations, proof and production prints.” While this standard defines paper, ink, and TVI or dot gain, it does not define appearance. So IDEAlliance set out to find the ideal solution for appearance standards, using ISO 12647-2 as a starting point.

The result was GRACoL G7, a practical calibration method based on visual metrics (density) vs. mechanical metrics (TVI or dot gain). It is a method that addresses what matters to the human eye, using density as an actual and simple reading.

The foundation of G7 is a standardized gray balance and neutral density, regardless of ink colours. The intent was to develop and promote international unified characterization data sets to promote and implement the ISO standard.

With Gray Balance at its core, the GRACoL committee set out to identify a universal neutral print density curve (NPDC), regardless of solid ink density, screening, or other variables—something that can apply to every dot shape and screen frequency.

The Benefits
For pre-press providers using GRACoL G7, there is less chance of error when making CMYK for unknown destinations because all profiles are based on the same NPDC. For the pressroom, make-ready is significantly improved. One reading confirms both ink density and gray balance.

Print buyers like it because it is easier to match a proof on press since the proofs are tailored to the press. But, cautioned Hutcheson, there are still variables such as press profiling and calibration, which add additional complexity.

With the complexity of global print manufacturing today, multi-purposing of images for a growing selection of reproduction methods, proofing consistencies, matching to proofs, and cross-media compatibility have become paramount. GRACoL G7 is a certification which prepares its subscribers to manage their operations in today’s print manufacturing marketplace.

According to Hutcheson, every proofing manufacturer is lining up to become GRACoL certified. We are coming closer to a “shared appearance,” with one common gray scale definition for all printing methods, which reduces the danger of accidental re-purposing and results in a simplified file exchange and a reduction in pre-press and print costs.

Adhering to standards and utilizing tools to support standards delivers on all fronts: print buyers gain a reliable assurance that press will match proofs, pre-press service providers no longer struggle with the dilemma of not knowing where or how their files will be used, printers are able to deliver visual appeal by running to the numbers, and vendors to the industry are faced with fewer subjective issues. Everybody wins.     

Contact Marg Macleod, Association Manager, at 416.696.0151 or marg@digitalimagingassoc.ca.