How a color appears has a lot to do with your point of view. That’s because a color can appear differently depending on the light source – such as daylight, store light, office light, or home light – and other factors. This variability can be a headache not only for creatives but the whole supply chain.

At Baron & Baron Inc., a design and ad agency in New York City, the staff uses a viewing station to review assets, such as proofs, paper swatches, prints, and more, according to Director of Post Production Melinda Gananian. This requires a light source that conforms to industry viewing standards. 

Every day, Baron & Baron’s photo retouchers, print producers, and art directors use the viewing station to assess work and make adjustments. It’s crucial that the station’s light levels and color balance are correct. Otherwise, a client could get an incorrect product.

“You can lose time and cause frustration,” Gananian said. “Without [the viewing station], we wouldn’t be able to provide proofs to clients with total confidence.”

Light Compliance for Creatives

Whether assets, such as Baron & Baron’s prints, are made in New York City and reviewed down the street or in an office in Paris an industry compliant light source allows colors to be similarly represented at each step of the supply chain. 

“It’s an industry standard,” Gananian said. “At this level, you wouldn’t expect to walk into an agency for a proof review without ISO compliant color viewing conditions.” Baron & Baron uses a GTI Graphic Technology, Inc. (GTI) EVS-2540 viewing station. 

Light compliance standards vary by industry. The print and graphic arts industry has adopted ISO 3664:2009 as its viewing standard. There are five criteria of an ISO 3664:2009 viewing area – color quality, light intensity, evenness, surround and geometry.

Over time, it’s important for viewing areas to be audited to ensure that they continue to operate within the ISO standard tolerances. To help ensure consistency and ongoing compliance to ISO 3664, GTI, a leading manufacturer of ISO compliant lighting systems, also offers LiteSupport. LiteSupport is an on-site audit of a company’s viewing stations, designed to ensure that viewing areas conform to industry standards.

Get LiteSupport

Baron & Baron recently had a LiteSupport audit of its EVS-2540 light booth. 

“It’s just for me to stay within the parameters,” Gananian said. GTI replaced the station’s lamps to ensure Baron & Baron’s viewing station continued to operate within parameters.

LiteSupport is a way for users to keep their viewing systems in conformance with industry standards. Here’s how it works: 

• GTI measures the viewing stations with a NIST traceable spectroradiometer to determine if they meet the industry standard
• GTI then works with the client to develop a relamping and maintenance program to ensure that all viewers meet the industry standard
• The client receives a Status of Color Viewing Facilities report, which verifies viewer-to-viewer compatibility and compliance to the standard
• Each viewing system is given a certificate of compliance from GTI

Keep a Supply Chain Moving

In brief: out-of-compliance lighting can disrupt a color-critical supply chain. With GTI’s LiteSupport service, companies are able to maintain the ISO compliance of their color viewing systems and protect the quality of their product or service.

An ISO compliant color viewing system is an essential tool for an agency, such as Baron & Baron, which uses its viewer every day and counts Coach, Dior, and Calvin Klein among its clients. 

Not only does GTI build ISO compliant systems, its experts also offer LiteSupport to ensure a system’s ongoing compliance and vital role in a supply chain.