| Gray Balance | Tonality | Shared Neutal Appearance | Overprint | Entire Colorspace | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gray Close match in neutral grays but may exhibit differences in colored areas |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Targeted Close match in grays but may have differences in some colors |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Colorspace Close match across a G7-based color space |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
G7® Master Facility Qualification
Idealliance G7 Master Facility Qualification is a three-level compliance program that is granted to physical facilities such as printing companies or other graphic solutions providers, creative and premedia proofers, conducted by Idealliance certified G7 Experts and G7 Professionals. G7 Master status indicates the facility has calibrated certain equipment and systems to G7 gray balance and neutral tone curves and is capable of delivering G7 proofs and print products.
G7® is Idealliance’s global industry-leading set of specifications for achieving visual similarity across all print processes.
Globally Recognized Qualification Benefits
For business owners, the benefits of being a G7 Master Facility are simple. Your print products are consistent, which helps maintain the integrity of your customers’ brand—and turns these customers into repeat customers. Your customer base will increase due to print buyers actively seeking out suppliers who are G7 certified. And lastly, your costs will go down because of reduced paper waste and ink consumption.
How To Become a G7 Master Qualified Facility
Have an Idealliance G7 Certified Expert visit your print facility
You can hire G7 expert consultant. Find an expert in the Official Idealliance G7 Expert Directory.
He/She will conduct and review your calibration data.
An online application and print verification will be submitted to an independent 3rd party analysis lab.
Once approved, your G7 Master Facility Qualification will be granted.
Two Options for Getting G7 Master Facility Qualified
An Idealliance certified G7 Expert is required to qualify print facilities for the first time. A G7 Expert must be onsite to conduct and review calibration data, then submits an online application to Idealliance for 3rd party verification. Final G7 Master Facility Qualification is granted by Idealliance.
- Option 1: Send an employee to a G7 Expert Training program to then qualify your proofing/printing system. Click here for upcoming training events
- Option 2: Hire a G7 Expert consultant to qualify your proofing/printing system. Access the directory of G7 Experts here
G7 Master Facility Qualification Compliance Levels
Qualification is granted according to three distinct compliance levels: Gray, Targeted, and Colorspace.
What G7 Compliance Level is Right for Your Business?
This is the fundamental level of G7. Regardless of printing technology, if we can ensure that a printer or press prints the neutral tone ramp well, then all other colors will tend to fall into line more easily.
Grayscale is the level that we are used to seeing. A target print is printed on a stable printing system and measurements of that target are used to correct the ink curves to bring the printing system into alignment with the G7 ideal neutral density curve.
Aligning the printing of various printing methods in a plant to this same neutral aim point is a tremendous step forward in getting these disparate printers to match. While achieving this G7 level will naturally help all the colors to be consistent, the only thing that is required at this level is for the K and CMY neutrals to be aligned to the G7 tone curve and the CMY neutrals gray balanced.
This is the intermediate level of G7 and G7 Targeted is achieved when G7 Grayscale is achieved, plus the solid ink measurements for primaries and secondaries (CMY and RGB) and substrate color are also within spec to one of the G7-based TARGETED color spaces.
This can be achieved according to the absolute white point or using substrate-relative condition. G7 Targeted compliance is not limited to only the reference print conditions in ISO 12647-2 or in ISO PAS 15339, any G7-calibrated dataset can be used as G7 reference print condition.
Those who want, can use their own color reference in place of the standard CRPC’s, but their files must be verified as being compliant with G7 Grayscale.
G7 Targeted achievement lets customers know that not only can a facility hit G7 Grayscale, but they can also achieve a higher level of compliance and their strongest colors can hit, for example, the specific LAB values for GRACoL 2013.
This is the highest level of G7 compliance and the most stringent. G7 Colorspace includes all the requirements of the G7 Targeted level (and therefore the G7 Grayscale level) and adds the matching to an entire Reference Print Condition. This level demonstrates that you are maintaining extremely tight tolerances throughout the whole color space. An entire IT8.7/4 target is compared against the targeted color space and the average of all the 1617 patches needs to be with a narrow range of tolerances. This assures that the printing system can consistently reproduce the entire color space and not just the primaries and secondaries (CMY and RGB).
G7 Colorspace can also be relative to either the absolute white point or the substrate-relative aim values.
G7 Colorspace level is also further divided into two separate purposes, Printing or Proofing. There are slightly more stringent requirements (tolerances) for proofing.
G7 Master Facility Qualification Program Fees
New G7 Master Submission
Application Fee – $800 (per facility)
Grayscale or Targeted Compliance – $100*
Colorspace Compliance – $150*
*(per device)
Renewal G7 Master Submission
Application Fee – $550 (per facility)
Grayscale or Targeted Compliance – $100*
Colorspace Compliance – $150*
*(per device)
Additional Qualification Types, Failed, or Resubmitted sheets are charged per Qualification Type (Grayscale/Targeted – $100 or Colorspace – $150)
Custom targets are charged per unique target submitted ($50 each)
Additional Qualification Details
• Each facility qualification requires a new application or renewal application and a minimum of one (1) device compliance.
• Qualification and Compliance Levels (Grayscale/Targeted/Colorspace) will be noted in the database listing.
• Qualification is good for one year and must be renewed annually by a Certified G7 Expert or G7 Professional within 90 days of qualification expiration.
• G7 Expert consulting fees may be additional, negotiated with, and paid to the G7 Expert. See your G7 Expert.
Submission Fee examples:
New Submission
$800 Application Fee + $100 Targeted Fee for 1 press= $900 Total
Renewal Submission
$550 Application Fee + $150 Colorspace Fee for 1 proofing device = $700 Total
G7 Master Facility Qualification FAQs
To have your location become G7 Master, the following must happen:
A G7 Expert must work with you to educate your staff about G7 and calibrate your proofing systems and/ or presses. A G7 Expert will calibrate your systems and will submit an application to Idealliance on your behalf.
If you have an in-house G7 Professional trained by Idealliance, that person may calibrate your systems, but a G7 Expert must review, approve and submit the calibration data to finalize the qualification.
A G7 Professional may submit annual renewal applications directly to Idealliance without the review of a G7 Expert.
If you have an in-house G7 Professional trained by Idealliance, that person may submit annual renewal applications directly to Idealliance without the review of a G7 Expert.
Alternatively, you may work with a certified G7 Expert. See the official G7 Expert Directory here »
Option 1: Send an employee to a G7 Expert/Professional Training. Your employee may become a Certified G7 Expert or Professional, dependent upon the certification level they choose at registration and attain through examination. A Certified G7 Expert is authorized to submit a G7 Master application to Idealliance for G7 Master Qualification.
A Certified G7 Professional can do all the qualification work themselves, but then must have a G7 Expert review and approve the calibration data to finalize the qualification process.
Your G7 Professional will be able to submit the annual renewal application without the review of a G7 Expert.
Option 2: Hire a G7 Expert consultant to qualify your proofing/printing system. A G7 Expert Consultant can be found in The Official Directory of Idealliance Certified Experts, Professionals and Qualified Masters.
G7 Expert consultants are fully trained to qualify your proofing and printing equipment & systems.
G7 Expert fees are negotiated with, and paid to the G7 Expert. Idealliance does not set consultant fees. Some consultants may pay the application and membership fees directly to Idealliance on your behalf. Make sure this is fully explained before you hire the consultant.
Idealliance strongly suggests you verify that your consultant has a valid G7 Expert certification by checking The Official Directory and suggest that you interview several to ensure that your specific needs are met.
There are three levels of compliance for G7 Master Qualification: G7 Grayscale, G7 Targeted and G7 Colorspace.
These levels demonstrate G7 Master capabilities by specified print condition and offer additional levels of distinction for G7 Master Printers.
For G7 Grayscale submissions, the printed samples aim at the most appropriate printing process.
For G7 Targeted or Colorspace submissions, the measurement data must match the relevant specification or characterized reference print condition (CRPC.)
Matching a specified print condition offers further confidence to print buyers in evaluating their print service supply chain.
G7 Master Qualification fees are dependent on submission criteria for the facility. A new application fee, or renewal fee will be assessed, along with compliance fee(s) according to the submission received.
Each device or print application requires a compliance fee, either Grayscale, Targeted, or Colorspace.
The work of a G7 Expert may also be separate if employing a G7 Expert consultant. G7 Experts who are providing G7 consulting services can be found online in the Official Directory of Idealliance Certified Experts.
Certified G7 Experts are fully trained to qualify your proofing and printing equipment & systems. G7 Expert fees are negotiated with and paid to the G7 Expert. Idealliance does not set consultant fees. Some consultants may pay the application fees directly to Idealliance on your behalf. Make sure this is fully explained before you hire the consultant.
The G7 Expert is responsible for submitting the G7 Master Printer application to Idealliance. Upon submission of the application, Idealliance will invoice your company or the G7 Expert for the G7 Master Printer Qualification Fee. Submissions are not processed until payment is received.
The G7 Master Qualification lasts one (1) year, you must renew every 12 months. To renew you must submit an application to Idealliance along with any required documentation to show that your G7 calibration is being maintained.
You may either work with a certified G7 Expert, or if you have your own in-house certified G7 Professional, he/she may submit the renewal application.
Use the following links:
- G7 submission related documents for G7 Experts and G7 Professionals
- Discussion boards for G7 Experts and G7 Professionals, G7 Master Qualified Facilities, and the G7 Open Community
Additional questions should be directed to Jordan Gorski jgorski@idealliance.org Idealliance Executive Director.
Contact
Jordan Gorski
Executive Director
jgorski@idealliance.org
+1 703-837-1096
For G7 Master submission updates contact:
Kelsey Fields
Manager of Certification & Training Fulfillment
Idealliance
kfields@idealliance.org
703-837-1093