Idealliance Certifies First G7 Press Control System, Instrument Flight

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — March 23, 2016 — Introduced in January, 2016, the Idealliance G7 Press Control System Certification Program validates a press control system’s ability to monitor and control G7 gray balance and tonality in real time. Certified G7 Press Control Systems allow print service providers to fully realize the benefits of the G7 methodology in their daily print production, not just as a one-time calibration event. Instrument Flight technology from System Brunner is the world's first press control solution to pass the new G7 Press Control System Certification Program.

Steve Bonoff, executive VP of Idealliance, explains, “The new Idealliance G7 Press Control System Certification program has confirmed that Instrument Flight technology can monitor and control a production press run according to G7 gray balance and tonality specifications. We congratulate System Brunner on producing the world’s first press control system to elevate G7 from a calibration procedure to a complete process control system from prepress to pressroom.”

While G7 is a well-proven methodology for calibrating printing systems, most offset press control systems still rely on traditional solid ink density measurements, with no way of monitoring and controlling G7’s mid-tone gray balance or neutral density aim values. “Even when solid ink densities remain consistent on a G7-calibrated press, significant mid-tone gray variations – as much as 6 to 12 Delta E – can occur during a production run, resulting in visible color shifts that must be corrected by ink key adjustments or other means. To aid these adjustments, the press operator needs a real-time indication of how gray balance and neutral density compares to the G7 aim values and how each ink needs to be increased or decreased,” comments Don Hutcheson, of HutchColor LLC, who directed the Idealliance G7 Press Control System Certification Program development.

Addressing the value of G7-based press control, Mike Graff, president and CEO of Sandy Alexander, notes, "Sandy Alexander was one of the first adopters of G7 and we continue to rely on its methodology to support our position in the industry as a quality leader. As the first adopter of System Brunner’s Instrument Flight in the U.S., we are eager to benefit from its new G7 capabilities, as we can now control the complete reproduction workflow from proof to printed sheet, according to G7 specifications. This system will help us maximize the value we get from G7 – greater predictability, shorter makeready times and more consistent printed results that meet the highest quality levels.”

In addition to G7 metrics, Instrument Flight also monitors and controls solid ink densities, TVI (dot gain) and colorimetric targets of a reference print condition or standard such as GRACoL, ISO-12647-2 or the System Brunner Globalstandard. Information on the G7 Press Control Certification Program can be found at www.idealliance.org/G7_Press_Control or by contacting Steve Bonoff, sbonoff@idealliance.org or (952) 896-1908.

About Idealliance
Idealliance is a global community of more than 1,600 brand owners, agencies, publishers, premedia and print service provider companies and their material suppliers and technology partners. A not-for-profit industry association, 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. On July 1, 2016, Idealliance will merge with Epicomm, an association of more than 1,600 companies offering print, mail, fulfillment and marketing services, under the name Idealliance, combining the building business solutions of Epicomm with the innovations in workflow processes and technologies of Idealliance.

About System Brunner
System Brunner, based in Switzerland, global leader in color and process control, quality assurance and standardization, develops and markets systems for the graphic arts industry and has been defining industry standards for printing processes from pre-press to print for more than 30 years. System Brunner’s competence is founded on an in-depth knowledge of printing processes and highly sophisticated measuring, interpreting and evaluating methods. System Brunner worldwide partners are today: KBA sheetfed solutions, QuadTech Inc., manroland sheetfed. Instrument Flight technology is completely integrated in the QuadTech inline closed loop color control system for Web presses and KBA sheetfed presses for inline and online closed loop control. A special solution is available with manroland sheetfed presses, called okBalance + G7. The Instrument Flight online Suite is a closed loop retrofit solution for nearly all kind of sheetfed presses.

Source: Idealliance.