True Light. True Color – A Commitment to Industry Standards and Guaranteed Quality
Graphiclite products allow the graphic arts, packaging, and photographic markets to make visual color judgments with accuracy and confidence.
The international standard for graphic color viewing and photography is ISO 3664:2009. The standard specifies light quality, intensity, illuminating-viewing geometry, surround conditions, and evenness. All GTI Graphiclite color viewing systems conform to the ISO 3664:2009 standard.
GTI’s color laboratory assures the accuracy and consistency of Graphiclite 100 color viewing lamps and all Graphiclite products before they are released for shipment. At GTI, we stand behind our products and services while continuing to meet the ever changing needs of our customers. We make no compromises.
EVS Executive Color Viewing Stations
GTI’s EVS color viewing systems are ideal for inspecting and evaluating printed output in conference room, studio, and office environments.
EVS viewers utilize GTI’s Graphiclite lamps to produce superior light evenness, excellent rear wall illumination, and enhanced energy efficiency.
Five EVS model sizes and a range of options are available.
PDV Professional Desktop Viewers
GTI’s PDV desktop color viewing stations are designed for accurate color appraisal of small format color prints, proofs, and flat artwork in studio, office, and production environments.
The compact and portable design of these viewers allows you to place them wherever needed—next to a desktop monitor, atop a digital press, on a table or counter, or anywhere color appraisal needs to be made in industry standard lighting.
ColorMatcher® Series
Industry standards require that viewing booths meet strict specifications in regard to color quality, light intensity, evenness of illumination, viewing/illumination geometry, and surround conditions.
A GTI ColorMatcher viewing booth will enable you to make visual color inspections with confidence. Four model sizes are available to accommodate nearly any size sample.
D50 & D65 Lamps
Printing, packaging, photographic, and other graphic art industries have adopted ISO 3664:2009 as their international standard for viewing color.
D50 (5000K) is a near white light source and has similar amounts of red, green, and blue energy.It neither accentuates nor subdues color, a prime requirement when press sheets, original images, or printed material since they usually have many colors within the product to be evaluated.
For additional information on specifications and dimensions, click the link below.
D50 Tubes FAQ's: Everything you need to know about how light affects color management
Why do I need D50 tubes?
Color is Light, the color we see is influenced by the light source we view it under. For this reason, in order to create a level of standardization for critical appraisal of color, a standardized viewing condition was defined for the Graphic Arts Industry which includes print. This Standardized viewing condition is defined by the ISO specification ISO-3664:2009 in which the parameters of D50 compliance are well defined.
Can I buy any 5000K tube and will it be D50 compliant?
No, 5000K refers only to the temperature of the light and is only one of several requirements in order for the light source to meet the specifications of D50.
My spectrophotometer has a D50 and a D65 setting, which one should I use?
ISO 3664:2009 defines D50 as the standard viewing condition for the graphic arts industry. We should therefore also measure color and create ICC profiles etc. Using D50 illumination in our Spectral measurement devices. D65 which is also available on leading handheld spectrophotometers is used in industries where other standardized viewing conditions are defined such as paint and plastics.
What is Metamerism and why should I care about it?
Metameric failure is when two samples match under one light source but not under another. In print this is particularly important when comparing an Inkjet proof to a printed press sheet. The pigments in inkjet inks and the production inks will fluoresce differently and at a different rate under different light. This takes us back to the need for standardized viewing conditions and standardized measurement conditions. The proofing system is calibrated with a Spectrophotometer to produce accurate color under D50 and well calibrated proof will match a D50 Printing condition under D50 light but under another light source they may look very different.
D50 Tubes that are ISO-3664:2009 compliant are really pricey, do I really need them?
Setting up a standardized viewing environment is still the cheapest fix in color management and solves so many issues and questions. Many people today still rely solely on what they see in order to evaluate color, so standardized viewing conditions become critical in such cases. If you are still in doubt, contact us sales@digitaldistributors.co.za for your free GTI metamerism card and make a quick evaluation of your viewing conditions, at your press, QC area or boardroom.