Characterization of SWOP Printing

A cooperative effort was undertaken among several groups to characterize Type 1 (i.e. SWOP) printing as part of the CGATS standards effort. Press sheets including the IT8.7/3 target were prepared to SWOP specifications. The IT8.7/3 color patches on a number of these sheets were measured by several different labs using two types of portable spectrophotometers. These data were used to provide characterization of Type 1 printing. The procedure used and some of the pitfalls discovered in this effort are described along with the results of the characterization.