G7 certification is for you if you are in the business of helping other companies make their brands stronger ad help them achieve consistency across printing processes. Companies are usually particular about the elements of their brand, especially the colors that are used. The pressure is on when you are producing print materials for your clients, and you want to ensure that the quality and colors are as close to perfect as they possibly can be for your client. Consider being G7 certified.
What is G7 Certified?
You may have heard printers be G7 Certified, but what does that even mean and how are printers G7 Certified? In technical speak, G7 is a calibration method and definition of grayscale appearance. It’s used to adjust any CMYK imaging device to simulate G7 grayscale definition. This means that you can expect the same color output on different print vendors and devices if they are G7 certified. Your brand colors will always be consistent no matter where you do your printing or what device is used to print your materials on. Printers often get G7 certified so they can provide the best quality color consistency for their customers. Printers must go through a very technically detailed process every single year to become G7 certified or recertified. An internal G7 professional or expert must consult with the printer to certify or recertify it. G7 experts and professionals are certified and taught in color consistency, maintaining client’s brand image, print production consistency, and waste and cost reduction.
Idealliance is a non-profit organization that develops standards and advance core technologies to increase efficiency across the digital and print media supply chain. Idealliance leads the development of certifications and specifications for graphic communication. Saving time and money, improve efficiency, and enhance quality is the mission of Idealliance.
The G7 certification process starts with a recertification package provided by Idealliance. This package contains detailed instructions and a P2P chart. A P2P chart is the basis for G7 and used as part of calibration. This process is very technical but to explain it in simpler terms, each device gets calibrated using a spectrophotometer which P2Ps run through. A spectrophotometer compares the standard dataset of colorimetric numbers of G7 with the device’s colorimetric numbers. A new verification press run is completed and required adjustments are made. During the second verification press run, a multicolored IT8 chart is added. The IT8 chart is the standards for color communication. The IT8 can be used to read the P2P and compare against the GRACol specification to make sure the P2P falls within the strict G7 tolerance numbers. Press sheets are submitted for independent review to a verification agency once specifications have been achieved.
A printing device is evaluated by the G7 System Certification Program. Its software system’s ability is evaluated and calibrated using Four 1-D curves to meet the G7 grayscale definition.
- Idealliance’s certification process supports G7 methodology application in process control.
- The Rochester Institute of Technology certifies G7 certified systems and ensures that printers are calibrated to meet the G7 grayscale definition
- An application data sheet (ADS) accompanies each G7 certified system and is designed to aid print producers to ensure proper system use and operation.
- When a G7 certified system is utilized, the operation ability of consistent G7 managed workflow is proven to increase speed time to market, expand efficiencies, and reduce costs of operation of printed materials.
The review will be processed and determine if the printer device passes or fails the G7 certification. If the printer passes the G7 certification, the print vendor can keep their certification for another year. They must recertify once a year to keep their G7 certification. If the printer fails G7 certification, the print vendor will be provided with the reasons for the fail, and they will be able to resubmit another sample for certification within a 60-day timeframe. Keeping a printer G7 certified is vital for any modern printing device if the print vendor wants to remain competitive in the printing industry.
Benefits Of Being G7 Certified
- Printers that are G7 certified meet GRACol printing specifications and provide the most consistent and high-quality work.
- Faster Turnaround
- Easier Re-Printing
- Increased Customer Satisfaction.
- Easier sharing of files between different G7 technologies and printers