Articles by Tim Baechle at WhatTheyThink

Tim is CEO of Idealliance, a global think tank, an non-profit graphic communications industry organization with 12 strategically located offices around the world. Idealliance serves brands, OEMs, service providers in print and packaging, content & media creators, fulfillment, mail delivery, creative agencies/teams, material suppliers, and innovators & developers worldwide. We do our work through ISO Standards Innovation, Print and Digital Workflows & Technologies Development & Integration, Technical Research & Industry Insights, Certification, Training, Brand & Facility Auditing Programs and serves as a Global Super Connector for brands, service providers, & OEMs throughout the world. Our specifications have transformed the graphic communications industry by defining production workflows for color (GRACoL®, SWOP®, XCMYK™, G7®, BrandQ®), content management (PRISM®), mail supply (Mail.dat®, Mail.XML™), and paper (papiNet®). Idealliance is the world’s foremost certifying body for competencies, systems, materials and facilities, and Idealliance, a Liaison ‘A’ to ISO TC130, is one of the world’s largest contributors and developers of ISO standards. Join us in the transformation of our industry.

Color Management: Gandhi, Pop Music, the Human Psyche, and Resolve

Published November 25, 2019

How are the players in the print production process like a group of musicians playing on stage? Idealliance CEO Tim Baechle offers advice for filtering out all the noise we are bombarded with and focusing on “playing in time” with others in the supply chain.

Aligning the Supply Chain: Understanding the TC1617x (IT8.7/5) Characterization Target

Published October 21, 2019

Idealliance’s Tim Baechle introduces the new TC1617x (IT8.7/5) printer characterization target, explains how it differs from its predecessors, details its benefits, and describes how printers can use the new target to improve the characterization accuracy of a printing system.

Echo Chambers, Finding Open Water, and Navigating to Create Your Own Economy

Published August 26, 2019

In any industry, just like in life, there are normally two great barriers that stand in the way of people and companies changing: ego and education (knowledge). When we believe we have all the answers, we find ourselves in a terrible dilemma. Tim Baechle, CEO of Idealliance, explains how stepping outside the industry’s echo chamber and making outselves open to alternative viewpoints can make us more open to change—and make better decisions.

Five Steps to Creating a Process Control Culture

Published May 23, 2019

Timothy Baechle of Idealliance identifies five steps that will help establish a process control culture in your print business. Creating an environment based on equipment measurement and monitoring, combined with continued investment in employee education, will lead to more satisfied and productive employees, better and more consistently performing equipment, and, ultimately, more satisfied customers.

Idealliance Develops XCMYK Color Space for Inkjet and Digital

Published April 30, 2019

Inkjet and digital technology typically have a large color gamut—larger than Idealliance GRACoL and Fogra. This market needed a color space, profile, and dataset so Idealliance created XCMYK.