Colour Graphic Services says it is ready to help bring offset printers up to speed on the latest revision of ISO 12647-2, with technical improvements designed to reach for better quality print. David Crowther, aka the Colour Doctor, says the ISO 12647-2:2013 update, which was introduced in December, is only now filtering through the global standards system. He says, “It is an important update because the last full one was almost ten years ago, with an amendment six years ago. As print specifiers, brand managers and print managers take up the new standard it will become essential for serious sheetfed and web offset printers to become compliant with the third update.”
David Crowther (aka the Colour Doctor) with the new ISO specifications
Crowther says the new version includes better consideration of the paper types on the market with eight substrates clearly defined, eight new colorant descriptions (for primary and secondary solids), new TVI curves and more complex measures for optical brightening agents (OBA) – set to affect ICC profiles and characterisation data. He says, “Put simply, OBAs are added by paper manufacturers to achieve whiter-than-white backgrounds and brighter colours – just like some washing powders. Because they reflect a lot of UV, they fluoresce and can fool spectral measurement devices which is why we sometimes use UV-cut filters. However, there has never been a universally accepted standard reference for UV cut (and polarisation) filtration on spectrophotometers. “In ISO 13655, it is specified as four variations known as the ‘M’ series – M0, M1, M2 and M3 to take in all ink and paper combinations. ISO 12647:2013 specifies M1 (CIE Illuminant D50). Most spectrophotometers in the market measure in M0 mode (CIE Illuminant A – incandescent) and there is provision in the new standard to recognise this so that immediate replacement is not necessary. Additionally, many existing press-side instruments use M0. The end result will be more accurate colour across all paper types, with or without OBAs.” Crowther adds that the update has broad implications across the industry, including in digital press workflows and wide format as well as offset printing.
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