X-Rite has announced a new measurement standard for the graphic communications industry which is designed to “take advantage of advances in colour science and new international standards.” The new standard stems from the merger of the former GretagMacbeth and X-Rite.
“The former X-Rite and the former GretagMacbeth each had, for historical reasons, different calibration standards for graphic arts instrumentation. While it was important to ensure both standards were maintained to guarantee continuity for both companies’ customers, our goal with XGRA is to eliminate systematic discrepancies between instruments so that all measurements taken for the same color sample should be the same, regardless of the system used,” explains Francis Lamy, X-Rite’s Chief Technology Officer.
According to X-Rite, the new XRGA standard rises from a detailed study to determine the differences in systems between the two former rivals. Based on those results, XGRA achives the following goals:
– Is applicable to all 0/45 and 45/0 instruments.
– Incorporates improved methods for calibration
– Maintains traceability to the American National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
– Offers best implementation with respect to existing international ISO standards Improves inter-model agreement for existing instruments
– Preserves good agreement among former X-Rite instruments and former GretagMacbeth instruments
– Provides a single standard for all future graphic arts instruments to be delivered by X-Rite
– Improves data exchange
A small number of X-Rite devices already conform to the XRGA standard: the ColorMunki Photo, ColorMunki Design and EasyTrax. The company notes that former X-Rite instruments are already very close to the new standard and switching will yield “very small differences in measurement.”
Current users can check the upgrade potential of their existing machines by visiting xrite.com/xrga/support
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