Members of ISO/TC130 gather during the May 2025 working group meetings at the X-Rite headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich.

A technology outlook for the graphic communication industry wouldn’t be complete without including a look at what’s going on in the world of standards development. Sure, new product development is exciting, but standards development is another critical engine driving our industry, one that helps ensure consistency, stability and interoperability across the graphic communication value chain.

While the world of print and imaging standards is supported by a rich "ecosystem" of organizations – some operating nationally, others globally, and many catering to niche industry segments – for the scope of this article, we'll sharpen our focus. We're zeroing in on a critical player: ISO/TC 130 (Graphic Technology).

ISO TC/130 Basics

ISO/TC 130 is an International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee and addresses standardization across all phases of the graphic communication process, from creation to final delivery, whether electronic or physically to a substrate and finished according to its end application. ISO/TC 130 standards also include things like terminology, visual appearance evaluation, data exchange, process control, management, conformity assessment, testing and environmental impact. Over the years, ISO TC 130 working groups have created more than 100 standards covering nearly every area of graphic technology. Few of those standards are known by name SO 12647-7 anyone?—but many, such as the PDF/X series, are used every day without the user even realizing they are working with ISO standards.

Who Does the Work?

The membership of ISO/TC 130 is comprised of national standards bodies that each get one vote on standard ballots. For the United States, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) is the U.S. member body to ISO. U.S. Technical Advisory Groups (U.S. TAGs) are responsible to develop U.S. positions for ISO working groups and there is a U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 130. Individuals can join as Participating (voting) or as Observing (non-voting) members. Membership is open to individuals representing industry organizations (OEMs), print service providers, educational institutions, government, or who are individual subject-matter experts. Voting members must be approved by existing membership through a ballot.

U.S. TAG members are responsible for developing the U.S. position on technical subjects and coordinating the U.S. participation in the work of ISO/TC 130. ISO/TC 130 meetings take place semi-annually, rotating between participating countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Participants are encouraged to attend in person, although hybrid attendance is allowed.

The ISO/TC1 30 Working Groups

ISO/TC-130 is structured around a framework of Working Groups (WG) and Joint Working Groups (JWG). These are based on the functional areas of a print workflow, from the print buyer’s request, through manufacturing, to the end user, whether print or digital. Members join specific working groups based on their areas of expertise. Current active WGs include:

ISO/TC 130 WG 1 (TERMINOLOGY) Develops terminology in the field of printing and graphic technologies. This includes both an overview and reconciliation of the terms and definitions used in TC 130, and the development and review of standards concerned with proofreading of text and other related topics.

ISO/TC 130 WG 2 (PREPRESS DATA EXCHANGE) Develops standards for the exchange of digital data used in the graphic arts and print production.

ISO/TC 130 WG 3 (PROCESS CONTROL AND RELATED METROLOGY) Develops and reviews ISO Standards and related documents in process control and related metrology for the production of printed matter used within the scope of ISO TC 130.

ISO/TC 130 WG 4 (MEDIA AND MATERIALS) Develops and review of ISO Standards and other documents in the area of media and materials used within the overall scope of ISO TC 130.

ISO/TC 130 WG 5 (ERGONOMICS - SAFETY) Develops international safety standards for Prepress and press equipment and systems, binding and finishing equipment and systems, converting equipment and systems, stand-alone platen presses.

ISO/TC 130 JWG 7 (COLOUR MANAGEMENT) JWG7 (Joint TC 130 and ICC WG) under the leadership of TC 130 works with the ICC around the standardization of color management and its implementation. ISO/TC 42 and others are invited to join in this JWG.

ISO/TC 130 WG 10 (SECURITY PRINTING) The scope of this group centers around management of security printing processes.

ISO/TC 130 WG 11 (SUSTAINABILITY OF GRAPHICS TECHNOLOGY) Develops standards related to the sustainability of graphic technology within the overall scope of ISO/TC 130.

ISO/TC 130 WG 12 (POSTPRESS) This group works to develop and review standards and other documents concerning print methods, process control, quality control, testing, measurement and other topics related to postpress.

ISO/TC 130 WG 13 (PRINTING CONFORMITY) This group develops assessment requirements around printing conformity.

ISO/TC 130 JWG 14 (PRINT QUALITY MEASUREMENT METHODS) JWG 14 (Joint TC 130 - TC 42 - ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 28 WG) develops print image quality metrics and their related measurement methods. These metrics are not limited to the assessment of prints produced using any specific printing technology.

ISO/TC 130 TF 3 (COMMUNICATIONS) The scope of TF 3 is to be “the voice of TC 130” to stakeholders in the printing and graphic technology industries by maintaining the TC 130 website with articles and news. To create new, and update existing, guidance documents on how to apply relevant ISO standards in print and publishing production. To support the secretariat for TC 130 in future updates of the Scope and Strategic Business Plan.

Want to Help Do the Work?

Together, the members of ISO/TC-130 share a common belief that standards are important and want to see the standards they develop used for the good of the global graphic communication industry. If you do too and have subject-matter expertise in one or more areas mentioned here, consider joining the standards development community. To learn more about ISO/TC 130, visit https://committee.iso.org/home/tc130.

If you work for an organization based in the United States, and you are ready to help with the work of the U.S. TAG, send a note saying so to [email protected].