Print Standards - Putting the Jigsaw Together (or: Why eCommerce Needs Densitometry Standards)

Over the last few years a number of standards for the graphic arts have been developed both by accredited standards bodies like ANSI/CGATSi and ISO, and by industry associations and consortia like GCAii, CIP3 (now CIP4iii), PrintTalkiv and the ICCv. Many of these may now be used as building blocks for a complete digital printing highway. They enable more efficient production of more consistent press work, and of proofs that provide a good prediction of the final print, even on sites remote from the press. Used with care the framework that they provide can already be used effectively in origination, pre-press and the press room; it's even nearly ready to support eCommerce for print. i Committee for Graphic Arts Technical Standards (CGATS), more information available from NPES, The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, www.npes.org ii Graphic Communications Association (GCA), www.gca.org iii International Cooperation for Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and PostPress, www.cip4.org iv PrintTalk, www.printtalk.org v International Color Consortium (ICC), www.color.org