Only press manufacturer with two important G7® certifications (G7 System Certification and G7 Press Control System Certification): Instrument Flight® Control technology by System Brunner and QualityPass Version 8 Color Reporting

• Koenig & Bauer Instrument Flight Color Control by System Brunner is world’s first and unique G7 Press Control Certified automated closed loop press color control system
• QualityPass from KBA provides extensive reports on the quality and consistency of print produced
• Koenig & Bauer Instrument Flight Color Control by System Brunner adds ability to monitor and automatically control G7 gray balance and tonality on press, with real time process quality analysis
• QualityPass reports help quality management analyze print quality

KBA North America is proud to announce that Idealliance, a well-respected international organization dedicated to workflow processes and technologies for the printing industry, has recently awarded G7 System Certification and G7 Press Control System Certification to two Koenig & Bauer color control and color reporting systems: Instrument Flight Color Control by System Brunner and the newest version of its popular and unique QualityPass software for sheet-fed presses. Koenig & Bauer is now the only press manufacturer to hold two important G7 System Certifications.

“Our organization has continually invested in development and cooperation’s to ensure our customers produce the highest quality printing with color control and color reporting that can be specifically monitored throughout the print run,” says Chris Travis, director of technology for KBA North America. “This clearly sets us apart from our competitors and demonstrates our ongoing commitment for the highest quality standards.” 

Last fall, the Idealliance G7 Press Control System Certification program confirmed that Koenig & Bauer’s Instrument Flight Control technology by System Brunner can monitor and control a production press run according to G7 gray balance and tonality specifications. The Koenig & Bauer Instrument Flight Control technology by System Brunner is the world’s first press control system to elevate G7 from a calibration procedure to a complete process control system from prepress to pressroom. In addition to G7 metrics, Instrument Flight also monitors and controls TVI (dot gain) in the individual colors, the spread of TVI, solid ink densities, L*a*b* colorimetric targets and more of a reference print condition or standard such as GRACoL, ISO 12647-2, the System Brunner Globalstandard® or any specific company targets. Instrument Flight is able to prioritize the different metrics according to different requirements, e.g. G7 settings. The real time print process diagnostics and quality rating informs the press operators at any time during print production if they print in the target specification. 

"The key for consistent color match lies in observing and controlling all variables influencing the offset printing process,” says Michael Eichler, KBA North America sales director of Service Select. “System Brunner Instrument Flight is an outstanding tool which goes way beyond ink density and L*a*b* in order to achieve and maintain the best result according to G7 tonality specifications. Instrument Flight elevates G7 from a calibration procedure to a complete process control system. The initial System Brunner on-site support service and training brings the press in line with the company’s specific workflow, a big benefit which increases the performance of the whole printing system"

Not only has Instrument Flight Control technology by System Brunner been recognized by Idealliance but so has the newest Version 8 of Koenig & Bauer’s popular and unique QualityPass software for sheet-fed presses. Version 8 of QualityPass, available now, provides extensive reports on the quality and consistency of print produced and provides a score as a percentage against the required fields of the ISO 12647-2 standard such as CIE LAB values, dot gain (TVI) and trapping.

Currently, KBA North America has many customers here in the U.S. equipped with QualityPass software and they can easily upgrade to the dynamic new Version 8. Koenig & Bauer sheet-fed customers praise QualityPass software for its many innovations. One, the trend reporting function provides great value to its customers. It allows sheet-fed printers to be able to demonstrate color consistency throughout a production run via the reports produced at the end of the job by the software and provides great reassurance for the printers’ customers.

QualityPass reports are generated as a PDF for every job produced and contain every measurement taken by either the ErgoTronic Color Control device or the QualiTronic ColorControl inline system. The viewer of the report can analyze the quality of print produced and make the required adjustments to improve the scoring, for example; tensioning blankets or making alterations to the plate output curves.

The Koenig & Bauer QualityPass software system was evaluated by the G7 System Certification Program for the calibration of a printing device to meet the G7 grayscale definition using four 1-D curves and support the application of the G7 methodology in process control. Accompanying each G7 Certified System is an Application Data Sheet (ADS), designed to assist print producers and end users in the proper use and operation of their system. Utilizing a G7 Certified System ensures the ability to operate a consistent G7-managed workflow, which has been proven to expand efficiencies, reduce costs of operation, and speed time to market of printed materials.

Idealliance is a global industry non-profit organization, with offices in (11) countries, representing the visual communications industry, comprised of content and media creators, and their print and digital service providers, material suppliers and technology partners. Idealliance provides media creators and technology communities the opportunity to collaborate to craft best practices, advance standards, and certify people, processes and systems to achieve the highest performance in the creation, production and delivery of graphic communications – both digitally and in print. Serving thousands of member companies employing hundreds of thousands of professionals, Idealliance provides an open and cross-industry platform for motivated professionals to create a more sustaining, competitive, and compelling graphic and visual communications industry. The global organization capitalizes on its integrated capabilities to advance proven technical and management best practices, deliver best-in-class research, education and certification, and lead a connected community toward innovation and inspiration.

Left to right: Chris Travis, KBA North America director of technology; Daniel Würgler, president and CEO of System Brunner AG; and Eric Frank, KBA North America senior vice president of marketing and product management; are proud to have received the two certifications.