G7 Press Calibration as the Theme of the 2013 RIT Gravure Day
On April 10, 2013, nearly 50 RIT students, faculty, staff, and representatives from the gravure industry met on campus to discuss “G7 Press Calibration and Printing Aims in Gravure Package Printing.” The annual Gravure Day event was held at RIT’s University Gallery. Professor Chris Bondy, Administrative Chair of the School of Media Sciences, provided an overview of the role of the Gravure Research Professor and how gravure printing is integrated in faculty research and school curriculum. He also moderated four presentations throughout the morning.
Mr. David McDowell, RIT Visiting Scholar and a world-class expert on printing standardization, discussed how printing aims are determined based on a shared neutral grayscale. He explained the relationship between the newly published standards, CGATS TR 015, CGATS 21, and the G7 methodology. Mr. Rod Sosa (Print and Laminating Manager) and Mr. Paul Laub (Graphics Manager) of Fres-co System (Telford, PA) enlightened the audience how gravure-based technology and workflow meet the needs of the flexible packaging market. They showed samples from proofs, printed samples, and finished packages of coffee bricks, pet food bags, fruit juice containers for students to examine details of gravure print quality. Mr. Joe Fazzi (VP, Media Production Technology, IDEAlliance), via Internet, discussed the business of G7 that started out as a press calibration method, and developed into a printing specification, and a printer qualification program world-wide. He also explained the relationship between G7 Master Printer qualification and RIT’s PSA (Printing Standards Audit) certification program. The last presentation was given by Gravure Research Professor Bob Chung and his student, Miss Jing Sheng. They discussed a step-by-step procedure to implement G7 calibrated workflow in a gravure packaging printing company. All presentation materials are available at the URL, http://cias.rit.edu/~gravure/gravure/gravure_day.html
Photo caption: RIT Gravure Day presenters (from left): Chris Bondy, Rod Sosa, Paul Laub, David McDowell, Jing Sheng, and Bob Chung
