G7® Master Program qualifies Quality, Consistency, and Control
In a world where brand image is everything, many companies require standardized assurances from their print vendors. As the continuity of printed brand images continue to be one of the highest priorities for some of the biggest household brands in the world, the G7¨ Master Program qualification for flexographic printers from IDEAlliance is fast becoming a desirable vendor certification. Such was the case for one of WS Packaging's customers.
For many years now, WS Packaging Group has focused their color management process on doing things by the numbers. "In my opinion, it's just a matter of time before G7 qualification is a requirement," said Tom Grovogel, corporate director of graphic services, WS Packaging. "With so many consumer products companies using a variety of printing processes across their brand management, the trend is definitely heading this way.
"Fortunately, we've focused on executing highly precise print measurements and monitoring for a number of years in our pressrooms," Grovogel added. "We also have attained G7 Master Program qualification in one of our offset plants, so it's nothing new for us. However, the G7 Master Program qualification to meet the requirements for this customer, at this particular plant, does add value with the measuring of the neutral gray balance. It's a bit of a different approach in what we measure and the target numbers, but it helps us continue to stay on the same page in terms of quality and consistency."
Adding to a Strong Foundation
The G7 Master Program qualification process requires the participation of a G7 Expert. All Printing Resources (APR) has been a trusted supplier and color management consulting resource for WS Packaging for some time. The APR G7 Expert, Catherine Haynes, assisted WS Packaging in attaining its G7 Master Program qualification. During a three-day onsite engagement, Haynes worked with the pressroom team to establish a baseline, run spectral and density analysis to create a correction curve in order to match the neutral print density curve G7 target, help direct graphic file adjustments, then submit validation runs to the approval team at IDEAllliance.
"It was a great experience working with the team at WS Packaging," said Catherine Haynes, Southeastern technical solutions manager for APR and G7 Expert. "They already had very good process control practices in place, so that made the entire G7 Master Program process more efficient. It's not often I work with a group that understands color management and pressroom processes as well as this team. Their ability to manipulate files and curves helped things go smoothly with just three press runs."
"Even though we've been putting grey scale patches on every job we've printed for many years now, it's always been more of a visual tool for us," Grovogel said. "Now with G7 practices implemented, we are required to measure it, so it's a different strategy than what we've typically measured in the past. Our pressroom team understands color and process management because we've been doing it for so long, so it will be a relatively easy adjustment."
Adding Value to Their Customers
Getting the G7 Master Program qualification has helped WS Packaging:
- Meet the color management requirements of one of its largest customers
- Reassure customers that its flexo printing will continue to visually match the offset output
- Put a defined, measurable and repeatable grey balance pressroom process in place
- Reinforce and enhance existing process controls