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.
More articles related to this topic:
Fogra60 proofs for metal decor printing available
Colour deviations in 2023 PANTONE Color Bridge Guides
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
Fogra Colour Management Symposium 2026 in Munich from 24 to 26 February
The most important colour management event takes place every two years in Munich: the Fogra Colour Management Symposium. Once again this year, all professionals are invited to make the pilgrimage to Munich: two days of lectures, discussions and a Bavarian evening await participants. Matthias Betz, owner of proof.de, will also be there again: for many years, he has been taking advantage of the opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues and friends, learn about new technologies, hardware and software, and talk to colleagues from Fogra, freieFarbe, GMG and many more. In … read more
We passed the first proof certification for the 7C proof under FOGRA55
A few days ago Proof GmbH was the first company to be certified for proofing for the new 7C exchange colour space FOGRA55. Fogra has developed characterisation data for extended multicolour printing with the printing colours CMYKOGV – i.e. cyan, magenta, yellow, black (contrast), orange, green and violet – FOGRA55 as part of a research project over the past few years. The characterisation data and the ICC profile Ref-ECG-CMYKOGV_FOGRA55_TAC300.icc have been published on the Fogra website in recent weeks. We have now carried out the certification via GMG ColorProof, as … read more
New edition of ISOCoatedV2 in M1 in sight?
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
RGB colour spaces explained
RGB colour spaces are colour systems that represent different hues with the three primary colours red, green and blue. RGB colour spaces are used in digital image processing, photography and computer technology to precisely define colours. The most important RGB colour spaces and their special features are: sRGB sRGB is the most widely used RGB colour space and is used by most monitors, printers and digital cameras. It was developed by HP and Microsoft in the 1990s to create a standard for colour representation on the internet and on various … read more
New in the Proof Shop: Separate invoice email
At long last, we are able to fulfil a request made by many of our customers: from now on, you can register two email addresses in the Proof Shop – one for logging in and receiving status or tracking emails, and a separate one solely for receiving digital PDF invoices. Over the past few years, we have already switched many Proof customers to digital invoicing at their request, i.e. we generated a PDF invoice and then sent it manually to a second email address on file with us in the … read more
Proof.de is featured twice in the “Fogra Aktuell” magazine
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
“Digital First” often means “Colour Problems Second!”
Whether it’s a large global corporation or a small company, the following often applies to designs or redesigns today: we develop everything for digital first.
New certified proof papers at proof.de
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