Print Standard Verifier, the Caldera tool that ensures standards conformity across printing processes, has been augmented with the addition of support for G7. Published by international organization IDEAlliance, G7 integration is the latest step in Caldera's continuing mission to help digital print service providers achieve a certified process standard and is available for users of GrandRIP+, GrandTEX+, VisualRIP+ and VisualTEX+ immediately.

"Repeatability and cross-platform colour delivery are now critical commercial pressures for printers, and guaranteeing each across different substrates, gamut and chemistries is mission-critical," explains Frederic Soulier, chief technical officer, Caldera. "Whether customers are demanding conformity with the major ISO, Fogra or G7 standards, this addition to the Caldera EasyMedia module will keep them consistent and competitive."

G7 is a definition of the appearance of greyscale and a methodology for applying this to CMYK-based print machinery. The device-independent process uses a neutral print density curve to create faithful comparisons and enable shared appearance of output when cross-process colour management is unavailable. Caldera's implementation is anticipated to be particularly popular in the North American market, where IDEAlliance's standards are widely adopted, and features compatibility with G7 Greyscale, GRACoL, SWOP3 and SWOP5, which define characteristics across different types of substrate.

Caldera simplifies the complex process of hitting these standards by handling conformity calculations within EasyMedia in the RIP suite. Operators select a print configuration in Print Standard Verifier and confirm the standards their output must meet, as well as the targets the colours are expected to hit. The Caldera engine then measures print colours against the required chart to verify if the print settings will enable meeting the color standard requirements.

"Universal standardisation has existed in offset for some time, but the variables incumbent to digital print have made it difficult to establish a global standard," explains Joseph Mergui, chief executive officer, Caldera. "However, print buyers expect homogeneity of colour regardless of application and substrate, be it signage, packaging or paper. Our continuous upgrades to the Caldera suite are driven by these pressures and keep our printers at the leading edge of dependable, colour-faithful production."