CGATS is the abbreviation for ‘Committee for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards’, which translates as ‘Committee for Standards in the Graphic Arts and Technologies’. It is an international organisation that deals with the development of standards and norms for the graphic arts industry. These standards cover a wide range of topics, including colour management, printing technologies, image processing, measurement and testing methods, to ensure that processes and products in the graphic arts industry are uniform and of high quality.
CGATS works closely with other standardisation organisations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to ensure that the standards developed are accepted internationally and can be applied in different countries and industries.
The CGATS standards play an important role in the graphic arts industry, helping to ensure the quality, consistency and accuracy of print products, colour management systems and other graphic arts technologies.
However, CGATS can also refer to files in which, for example, colours are stored in CGATS format. For example, all measurements of paper whiteness carried out by Proof GmbH can be downloaded with their spectral values in CGATS files from the Proof GmbH shop.
CGATS files usually contain standardised information that is important for accurate colour reproduction and quality assurance in print production. Some of the data that can be saved in a CGATS file is listed below:
- Measurement data: CGATS files can contain measurement data from colour measurement devices or spectrophotometers, which are used to record the colour values of printed products or colour samples. These measurements can be saved in the form of spectral values or XYZ colour space coordinates.
- Colour profiles: Colour profiles describe the properties of input and output devices such as monitors, printers and scanners. CGATS files can contain information about these profiles.
- Colour measurement standards: CGATS files can contain information about reference colours or colour measurement standards that are used to calibrate colour measurement devices.
- Print parameters: In print processes, CGATS files can save parameters such as print colours, ink application, print resolution and other print settings.
- Metadata: Additional information such as creation date, author, purpose and description can be embedded in CGATS files to document the context and purpose of the stored data.
- Reference data: CGATS files can also store reference data for specific colour standards or printing processes.
The exact structure and format of CGATS files may vary depending on the specific requirements and standards of the graphic arts application or industry. These files are important to ensure accurate colour reproduction and high quality in print production.
Peter Jäger is an expert in colour management that reliably works across the boundaries of printers and monitors, web and print – essentially: cross-media.
Even almost 9 years after the introduction of the successor colour space PSOCoatedV3, ISOCoatedV2 / FOGRA39 is still the most widespread colour space in Europe. We at Proof GmbH count around 200 jobs from time to time for the German Printing and Media Industries Federation, among others. In the last count, proofs in ISOCoatedV2 accounted for around 68% of all proof jobs at our company. This is a clear sign of the continued widespread use of the colour space. ISOCoatedV2: From the classic colour space to the beacon of the … read more
This year we once again created proofs for Fogra certification and sent them to Munich-Aschheim for testing. With these proof prints, which we print according to three different proof standards and on three different papers, we point out that we not only deliver excellent proof quality through internal quality controls and checks, but that the quality of our proofs is also measured and confirmed by external experts. We have now had test prints certified by Fogra for the 12th time. We have also been “Spot-cert” certified for the display of … read more
In the current issue of Fogra News “Fogra Aktuell” Proof GmbH is involved in two places. Firstly, a summary of the Fogra report on our first FOGRA55 certification for seven-colour printing with extended colour space in CMYKOGV appeared. You can also find more information on our FOGRA55 certification on the Fogra website: https://fogra.org/en/press-releases/fogracert-erste-cpc-zertifizierung-fuer-fogra55-cmykogv-330 and on proofing.de: And secondly, there was a report on the completion of the research project for textile digital printing, FOGRA58, in which we were allowed to investigate and test the proof capability of the new textile … read more
Digimarc is a digital watermark that can be used to embed information in images, videos or other media. Digimarc watermarks are invisible to the human eye, but remain recognisable to special software or devices. Digimarc is becoming increasingly popular in the packaging sector in particular, as this technology allows the digits of the EAN barcode and more to be applied invisibly to all areas of the packaging. Digimarc and EAN barcode at the supermarket checkout When scanning at the checkout, the checkout staff do not have to search for the … read more
Today I received an email in which PANTONE asked how it should orientate its products and services in the future. The users were asked which countries, industries and company sizes they come from, but also what PANTONE products should look like in the future and what customers would be prepared to pay for PANTONE services in the future. Question: How much can PANTONE services cost? PANTONE appears to be orientating itself on the PANTONE Connect prices: All price queries have the lowest price category < $ 7,- / month, i.e. … read more
After Eddy Hagen pointed out in this posts, that there were some major colour deviations between the brand new PANTONE Solid Coated Guide 2023 and the previous version especially for the PANTONE 2635 C, I was curious to lookup the same colours in the new PANTONE Color Bridge Coated Guide of 2023 and compare the colours with the previous version. I measured a dE00 of 8,15 between the two colours that Eddy mentioned, which is really far apart from how accurate PANTONE colours should match between the different PANTONE guides. … read more
In recent years, various problems have arisen with our previous proof paper supplier. On the one hand, we sometimes had to wait more than three months for paper deliveries; on the other hand, we sometimes had significant problems with batch-to-batch discrepancies, surface defects and much more. After lengthy deliberations, we decided in December to replace all the paper. We therefore received pallets of new paper at the turn of the year, which we are now gradually incorporating into our production. There will be no hard cut, but the new papers … read more
In this short image video we – the Proof GmbH – introduce us and our work. Find out who we are and what drives us. What do you think of our short film?
Several errors have crept into the new PANTONE 2023 fan decks. In both the PANTONE Solid Coated and the Solid Uncoated color fans, there are colours for which the new ink formulations are incorrect. In the PANTONE Formula Guide Solid Coated fan 2023, PANTONE 107 C and PANTONE 108 C have absolutely identical ink recipes, as well as PANTONE 113 C and PANTONE 114 C. As the colors differ, this cannot be the correct. Several errors in the PANTONE Solid Uncoated fan 2023 In the PANTONE Solid Uncoated fan 2023 … read more