We’ve heard a lot of different perspectives debating over the effects of the new graphic arts industry standard versus the usefulness of the old one. But it really all comes down to one issue. UV or not UV? And it shouldn’t be a question.

In the fast lane of color management, there are no U-turns.

The new graphic arts industry standard, ISO 3664:20009, has shone the [UV] light on the effects of optical brighteners. This updated standard makes it easier to spot these OBA effects, an elephant that up until now, has been quietly sitting in the room, ignored. In other words, the problems always existed, but now you’ll be able to see them with the new standard. To paraphrase an influential industry figure, color management is like the fast lane; but if color management is the fast lane, UV is your radar detector, alerting you of dangers ahead. And ahead is where color management professionals need to look in order to continue improving the process of managing color.

Now that the new standard is here to stay, there are a few things that you’ll need to know when upgrading your lamps to the 2009 standard. It’s important to be careful to upgrade all of your viewing areas/locations at the same time, including any clients requiring tight visual agreement. If you or anyone else in your project’s workflow is viewing artwork with a different standard than everyone else, you’ll hit a color management roadblock.

Need a navigator?

Once you’ve upgraded all of your viewing areas to the 2009 standard, let everyone know that you’ve got the best technology the industry has to offer by certifying your viewing systems. GTI offers an exclusive ISO certification service called LiteSupport. We’ll send an expert GTI LiteSupport professional to your location to examine your equipment, measure your lamps, and ensure that all aspects of your viewing area are in compliance with the ISO 3664:2009 standard. Your LiteSupport expert will even relamp your viewing systems for you when they reach the 2500 hour lamp lifetime. On the road to simplifying your color management process, let GTI ‘Lite’ your way!