G7 Certification: The Gold Standard for Digital Printing Excellence

Color management is a critical priority for brands in today’s competitive marketplace.

A vital consideration for any digital printing project or media campaign, the color management process ensures accurate and consistent color reproduction across all printed materials and digital screens.

In addition to ensuring that colors match the original design, color management promotes critical consumer recognition.

That’s where G7 certification comes in. It offers a systematic approach to color management with many benefits for brands and customers alike.

In this article, we’ll examine what G7 certification is and why it matters. We’ll also highlight five benefits of G7 certification before underscoring why it’s important for brands to partner with G7-certified printers like Bay Cities.

What Is G7 Certification?

Developed by the International Digital Enterprise Alliance (IDEAlliance), G7 is a globally recognized color management specification that ensures proof-to-press accuracy and consistency. When implemented, G7 allows any press or printing system to be calibrated to a universal neutral appearance — regardless of factors like printing technology, ink, or substrate.

Specifically, G7 facilitates standardized color management by defining grayscale appearance and establishing a method for aligning gray balance and neutral tonality across all print products. In doing so, G7 — which derives its name from the seven grayscale levels the methodology covers — lays the foundation for accurate color reproduction.

While G7 was initially devised for offset printing, it’s now accepted for multiple print types, including digital and flexography.

Why Is G7 Certification Important for Digital Printers?

A brand’s colors do much more than dictate how products look — they’re powerful business tools. When maintained across a brand’s marketing collateral, colors have the potential to create brand identity, foster recognition, evoke emotions, and promote associations. This is especially meaningful when you consider research suggesting that as much as 80% of instant judgments about products are based entirely on color.

There’s no better example of this than “Coca-Cola red.” For many people, this cheerful red shade is inextricably linked with the Coca-Cola brand identity.

When executed consistently, color subtly reinforces customer trust. Conversely, even slight deviations in color can have the opposite effect by compromising the consumer’s perception of a brand’s integrity.

Another way to look at it? You likely put a lot of thought, time, and effort into choosing your brand colors. G7 certification is the best way to ensure that the products, services, and marketing materials you present consistently fulfill your vision.

While this reliability is vital in all industries, it's especially pivotal in packaging and display, where consistent brand colors are integral to maintaining brand identity. At the same time, color can go wrong in many ways and places.

Without G7 certification, for example, different batches of the same packaging materials can have variations in shade and hue.

Furthermore, color outcomes may differ between the virtual design and the final physical product.

Different substrate materials can also interact differently with ink, leading to unexpected color variations. For example, color may look different when printed on coated or uncoated paper. The same applies to printing on sustainable versus non-sustainable materials.

Finally, color communication can be challenging. With G7, color samples are anything but foolproof and may lead to the need for multiple revision rounds to get colors “just right.”

G7 certification mitigates these problems, highlighting the value of partnering with G7-certified printers for packaging and display products.

5 Benefits of G7 Certification

A form of quality assurance, G7 certification offers many benefits for digital printers, brands, and consumers, including the following:

Improved Print Quality (and Reduced Waste)

G7 certification enhances print quality by reducing color variations and ensuring color reproduction accuracy. In addition to producing consistent and high-quality prints, G7 certification reduces the need for costly reprints due to color discrepancies.

This improves speed and reliability while reducing waste, contributing to more sustainable printing processes.

Increased Efficiency

By providing a common “language” that can quickly and easily be replicated across different printing devices and substrates, G7 certification streamlines the printing process. Less time and effort spent on color adjustments translates to increased operational efficiency.

In high-volume printing environments, the efficiency payoffs are further amplified.

Enhanced Customer Confidence and Satisfaction

When working with a G7-certified printer, clients have the confidence that comes with knowing that all prints will match their approved proofs. This leads to more satisfying outcomes for everyone.

Wider Color Range

G7 certification enables printers to reproduce a broader spectrum of colors without sacrificing consistency. Even the most complex design, finest color gradations, and most vibrant hues can be accommodated with G7 methods.

Global Standardization

As a globally recognized standard for color management, G7 certification transcends physical limitations. Regardless of where printing occurs, G7 ensures consistency. The result? Seamless communication and collaboration across the supply chain.

Bay Cities: A G7 Certified Digital Printing Expert

G7 certification is the global benchmark for achieving consistent and accurate color reproduction. Digital printers investing in G7 certification are uniquely positioned to deliver reliable, high-quality printing products.

As a G7 Master Facility, Bay Cities is proud to be an industry leader in color management. Contact us today to learn more about how our G7-certified digital printing methods can help your business reach its packaging and display goals.