ISO/TC 130/WG 3 - Process control and related metrology

This document provides guidelines and a procedure to generate a multicolour characterization dataset. Specifications for colour printing with CMYK + Orange, Green, and Violet are presented. Also, this document provides a recommendation on CMYKOGV ink pigment selections to produce an optimum colour gamut for specific printing processes or use cases. The recommended CMYKOGV ink pigment selections might not be suitable or available for all printing or digital processes or use cases. The procedure in this document is also applicable for CMYK plus any subset of O, G or V.

This document specifies requirements for systems that are used to produce offset prints for process colour reproduction on metallic substrates, which have been printed with a white coating. It is intended for flat printed sheet metal applications. It does not cover shaped or pre-formed metal such as pre-formed cans. Recommendations are provided with regard to appropriate test methods associated with these requirements. This document differs from the method used to produce an offset print on paper or board in ISO 12647-2 in that it considers the colour values of a typical white coated metal substrate intended for metal decoration, using offset lithography and substrates that are independent of backing colour.

This document specifies requirements that can be used for determining the conformance of systems that produce a hard-copy validation print, directly from digital data, which is intended to simulate the expected appearance of material printed in accordance with a characterized printing condition. It is not intended for use in determining the conformance of production printing systems (digital or conventional) since many aspects of production printing are not covered in this document.

This document defines print quality metrics, measurement methods and reporting requirements for printed sheets that are suitable for all classes of printed products. Guidance as to which of these metrics to apply to any given product category along with acceptable conformance criteria is provided in subsequent parts of ISO/TS 15311. Although this document is expected to be used primarily to measure prints from digital printing systems, the metrics are general and can be applied to other kinds of print.

This document specifies the requirements for the exchange of data and information necessary for the definition of the aims for four-colour flexographic printing of packaging and publication materials, including newsprint. It is based on the use of colour characterization data to define the colourimetric printing aims and includes appropriate assignment of responsibility for and recommended tolerances on critical parameters of the flexographic printing process. This document is directly applicable to: — publication flexographic printing including magazines, catalogues and commercial materials and packaging flexographic printing including labels, boxes, and flexible packages; — half-tone and continuous tone proofing processes that predict the colourimetric results of flexographic printing. Guidance is also provided concerning the definition of spot colours used in flexographic printing.

This document describes procedures for the assessment and validation of the performance of an optical spectrometer intended for use in capturing the spectral reflectance factor or the spectral radiance factor of printed areas comprised of non-fluorescent or fluorescent materials, respectively. While it does not describe the application to transmitting materials directly, many of the procedures can be applied to transmitting systems by backing them with a reflective white backing material. This document does not address spectral measurements appropriate to other specific application needs, such as those used during the production of materials (e.g. printing paper and proofing media), which are well described by ISO standards under the jurisdiction of ISO/TC 6. It does not describe the special requirements for testing instruments that make in-process or online colour measurements.

This document gives guidance to print buyers and other users of print for assessing printed products on isotropic substrates that are typically held at a viewing distance of 30 to 50 cm. It specifies the proper application of required, recommended and optional metrics, measurement methods and, where appropriate, reporting requirements in the general commercial market. Although this document is expected to be used primarily to measure prints from digital printing systems the metrics are general and may be applied to other kinds of print. This document does not provide process control aims or tolerances as these differ widely for different types of commercial applications.

ISO 20654:2017 defines a metric for assessing intermediate tones of a spot ink. This method for the calculation of Spot Colour Tone Value (SCTV) produces approximately uniform visual spacing of tones between substrate and solid. It can be calculated from spectral reflectance or colorimetric measurements of the solid ink, substrate and one or more patches of intermediate tones to be measured.

ISO 12647-7:2016 specifies requirements for systems that are used to produce hard-copy digital proof prints intended to simulate a printing condition defined by a set of characterization data. Recommendations are provided with regard to appropriate test methods associated with these requirements.

ISO 14861:2015 specifies requirements for systems that are used to produce, from digital data, images on electronic displays that are intended to simulate a characterized printing condition defined by a set of characterization data and spot colours defined by a physical reference. Recommendations are provided with regard to equipment selection, setup, operating, and environmental conditions. Appropriate test methods associated with these requirements are specified.

ISO 12646:2015 specifies requirements for two conformance levels for the characteristics of displays to be used for soft proofing of colour images. Included are requirements for uniformity and variations of electro-optical properties with viewing direction for different driving signals.

ISO 12647-5:2014 specifies the requirements for the screen printing of four-colour process-colour material used for display, signage, and graphics using flat bed or cylinder printing equipment. Both the size and resolution of the finished product are unrestricted. The process stages included are data preparation and delivery, proof production, printing forme preparation, and production printing.

ISO 12647-4:2014 specifies a number of process parameters and their values to be applied to four-colour publication gravure printing. The parameters and values are chosen in view of the complete process covering the process stages "colour separation", "making of the printing forme", "proof production", and "production printing". ISO 12647-4:2014 is applicable: ? directly, to publication gravure printing, including magazines, catalogues, and commercial materials, ? directly, to half-tone and continuous tone proofing processes that predict the colourimetric results of gravure printing, and ? by analogy, to process-colour gravure package printing.

ISO 12647-2:2013 specifies a number of process parameters and their values to be applied when producing colour separations, printing formes and print production for four-colour sheet-fed and web-fed offset printing presses excluding coldset offset lithography on newsprint. The parameters and values are chosen in view of the typical process covering the process stages "colour separation", "proof production", "making of the printing forme", "OK print" and "production printing" on all kinds of commercially available production substrates. ISO 12647-2:2013: is directly applicable to press proof prints and printing processes that use colour separation printing formes as input; is applicable to press proof prints and printing processes with more than four process colours as long as direct analogies to four-colour printing are maintained, such as for data and screening, for print substrates and printing parameters; is applicable to printing on cardboard material for packaging; is applicable for all kinds of drying methods such as heat-set, infrared, and ultraviolet; provides references for quality assurance and quality management.

ISO 12647-1:2013 defines and explains the minimum set of primary process control parameters required to uniquely specify the visual characteristics and related technical properties of process-specific production prints and process-independent simulations of fully characterized printing conditions.

ISO 12647-3:2013 specifies a number of process parameters and their values to be applied when producing colour separations and printing forms for newspaper single or four-colour printing. The parameters and values are chosen in consideration of the process, covering the process stages: "colour separation", "making of the printing formed", "OK print or proof" and "production printing". ISO 12647-3:2013 is intended to enhance communication between printers, publishers and advertisers and to make print buyers aware of the expected printed result in advance, enabling them to plan accordingly. ISO 12647-3:2013 defines tolerances, allowing for objective quality evaluations and raising the competitiveness of newspapers compared to other media. ISO 12647-3:2013 is applicable: to coldset offset production printing on newsprint that use colour separation data; by analogy to press printing from printing surfaces produced by direct imaging; to line screens and non-periodic screens, parameters given can be applied by analogy.

ISO/TS 10128:2009 specifies three methods for the adjustment of the digital content data that is input to a printing system to achieve consistency in the printed results among a number of presses printing to the same general aim conditions. These three methods are generally identified as the matching of tone value curves, the use of near-neutral scales, and the use of CMYK to CMYK multi-dimensional transforms. The procedures for establishing the aim condition for the necessary transfer curves, the procedures for determining the individual transfer curves, and a comparison of the applicability of these three methods are included. These adjustment procedures are applicable to printing systems that use CMYK colourants but are not restricted to those that use traditional ink on paper printing but can involve other marking technologies such as those used for proofing and/or digital printing.

This International Standard defines requirements for a half-tone certified reference material which may be used for the opaque area percentage calibration of transmission densitometers or colorimeters for use in the graphic arts. This International Standard is not applicable to the calibration of transmission densitometers in terms of ISO standard diffuse density. NOTE Test methods for determining the opaque area percentage are given in the informative annex A.

This document defines print quality metrics, measurement methods and reporting requirements for printed sheets that are suitable for all classes of printed products. Guidance as to which of these metrics to apply to any given product category along with acceptable conformance criteria is provided in subsequent parts of ISO/TS 15311. Although this document is expected to be used primarily to measure prints from digital printing systems, the metrics are general and may be applied to other kinds of print.

ISO/TS 15311-1:2016 defines print metrics, measurement methods and reporting requirements for printed sheets that are suitable for all classes of printed products. Guidance as to which of these metrics to apply to any given category of product along with acceptable conformance criteria is provided in subsequent parts of ISO/TS 15311. Although ISO/TS 15311-1:2016 is expected to be used primarily to measure prints from digital printing systems, the metrics are general and can be applied to other kinds of print.

ISO/PAS 15339-1:2015 establishes principles for the use of colour characterization data as the definition of the intended relationship between input data and printed colour for copy preparation, job assembly, proofing, and graphic arts production printing. Additional parts of ISO/PAS 15339 specify a limited number of characterized reference printing conditions that span the expected range of colour gamuts used for the production of printed material from digital data, regardless of printing process used. The procedure to be used to adjust colour characterization data for the normally expected range of substrate colour is specified.

ISO/PAS 15339-2 specifies a limited number of characterized reference printing conditions that span the expected range of colour gamuts used for the production of printed materials from digital data, regardless of the printing process used. Their use is described in ISO/PAS 15339‑1.

ISO 12647-7:2013 specifies requirements for systems that are used to produce hard-copy digital proof prints intended to simulate a printing condition defined by a set of characterization data. Recommendations are provided with regard to appropriate test methods associated with these requirements. ISO 12647-7:2013 is independent of the method used to produce a digital proof print.

ISO 12647:2012 specifies the requirements for the exchange of data and information necessary for the definition of the aims for four-colour flexographic printing of packaging and publication materials, including newsprint. It is based on the use of colour characterization data to define the colourimetric printing aims and includes appropriate assignment of responsibility for and recommended tolerances on critical parameters of the flexographic printing process. ISO 12647:2012 is directly applicable to: publication flexographic printing including magazines, catalogues and commercial materials and packaging flexographic printing including labels, boxes, and flexible packages; half-tone and continuous tone proofing processes that predict the colourimetric results of flexographic printing. Guidance is also provided concerning the definition of spot colours used in flexographic printing.

ISO 12647-8:2012 specifies requirements that can be used for determining the conformance of systems that produce a hard-copy validation print, directly from digital data, which is intended to simulate the expected appearance of material printed in accordance with a characterized printing condition. ISO 12647-8:2012 is not intended for use in determining the conformance of production printing systems (digital or conventional) since many aspects of production printing are not covered.

This International Standard specifies the minimum requirements for the characteristics of displays to be used for soft proofing of colour images. Included are requirements for uniformity, convergence, refresh rate, display diagonal size, spatial resolution and glare of the screen surface. The dependence of colorimetric properties on the electrical drive signals and viewing direction, especially for flat panel displays, is also specified.

ISO 12646:2008 specifies the minimum requirements for the properties of displays to be used for soft proofing of colour images. Included are requirements for uniformity, convergence, refresh rate, display diagonal size, spatial resolution and glare of the screen surface. The dependence of colorimetric properties on the electrical drive signals and viewing direction, especially for flat panel displays, is also specified.

ISO 12647-7:2007 specifies requirements for systems that are used to produce hard-copy digital proof prints intended to simulate a printing condition defined by a set of characterization data. Recommendations are provided with regard to appropriate test methods associated with these requirements. In addition, guidance with respect to the certification of proofing systems related to specific printing condition aims is also included. ISO 12647-7:2007 is independent of the method used to produce a digital proof print.

ISO 12647-6:2006 specifies a number of process parameters and their values to be applied to four-colour process printing by the flexographic printing process for packaging and publication, excluding newsprinting. The parameters and values are chosen in view of the complete process covering the process stages "colour separation", "film setting", "making of the printing forme", "proof production", "production printing" and "surface finishing". This covers printing on printing substrates which are nearly white or on films to which a white coating has been applied. ISO 12647-6:2006 is directly applicable to: publication flexographic printing including magazines, catalogues and commercial materials, and packaging flexographic printing including labels, boxes and flexible packages; half-tone and continuous tone proofing processes that predict the colorimetric results of flexograhic printing.

ISO 12647-4:2005 specifies a number of process parameters and their values to be applied to four-colour publication gravure printing. The parameters and values are chosen in view of the complete process covering the process stages colour separation, making of the printing forme, proof production and production printing. ISO 12647-4:2005 is applicable: directly, to publication gravure printing, including magazines, catalogues and commercial materials; directly, to halftone and continuous tone proofing processes that predict the colorimetric results of gravure printing; by analogy, to process-colour gravure package printing.

ISO 12647-3:2005 specifies a number of process parameters and their values to be applied when preparing colour separations for newspaper single or four-colour printing and proofing. The parameters and values are chosen in consideration of the complete process, covering the process stages: colour separation, film setting, making of the printing forme, proof production and production printing. ISO 12647-3:2005 is applicable: to coldset offset proof and production printing and off-press proof printing processes on newsprint that use colour separation films rather than digital data; by analogy to press printing from printing surfaces produced by direct imaging methods and the corresponding proof printing processes.

ISO 12647-2:2004 specifies a number of process parameters and their values to be applied when preparing colour separations for four-colour offset printing or when producing four-colour prints by one of the following methods: heat-set web, sheet-fed or continuous forms process printing, or proofing for one of these processes; or offset proofing for half-tone gravure. The parameters and values are chosen in view of the complete process covering the process stages colour separation, film setting, making of the printing forme, proof production, production printing and surface finishing. ISO 12647-2:2004 is directly applicable to proofing and printing processes that use colour separation films as input; directly applicable to proofing and printing from printing formes produced by filmless methods as long as direct analogies to film production systems are maintained; applicable to proofing and printing with more than four process colours as long as direct analogies to four-colour printing are maintained, such as for data and screening, for print substrates and printing parameters; applicable by analogy to line screens and non-periodic screens.

ISO 12647-1:2004 specify parameters that define printing conditions for the various processes used in the graphic arts industry. Practitioners wishing to work to common goals may use the values of the parameters specified in the exchange of data to characterize the intended printing condition and/or for the process control of printing. ISO 12647-1:2004 defines vocabulary and establishes a minimum set of process parameters that uniquely determine a printed four-colour half-tone image (which are also referenced from other parts of ISO 12647). The parameters were selected based on the following process stages "colour separation", "making of the printing forme", "proofing", "production printing" and "surface finishing". These are directly applicable to proofing and printing processes that use colour separation films as input; is directly applicable to proofing and printing from printing surfaces produced by filmless methods as long as direct analogies to film production systems are maintained; is applicable to proofing and printing with more than four process colours as long as direct analogies to four-colour printing are maintained, such as for data and screening, for print substrates and printing parameters; is applicable to line screens and, where relevant, to those that do not have regular screen angles or regular screen rulings.

ISO 12646:2004 specifies requirements for uniformity, size, resolution, convergence, refresh rate, luminance levels and viewing conditions for a colour display used to simulate a hard copy proofing system.

This part of ISO 12647 specifies a number of process parameters and their values to be applied when preparing colour separations for four-colour screen process printing when producing four-colour proof and production prints by flat bed or cylinder screen printing. The parameters and values are chosen in view of the complete process covering the following process stages: colour separation, making of the printing forme, proof production, production printing, and surface finishing.

Specifies some process parameters and their values to be applied when preparing colour separations for four-colour offset printing.