A Statistical

Analysis of the
Printing Standards
Audit (PSA) Press
Sheet Database

By

Robert Chung
Professor, Color Management

Systems & Gravure Process

School of Print Media

Rochester Institute of Technology

Ping-hsu Chen
Graduate Student, Chester F. Carlson

Center for Imaging Science

A Research Monograph of the
Rochester Institute of Technology
Printing Industry Center at RIT

No. PICRM-2011-08
A Statistical Analysis of the
Printing Standards Audit (PSA)
Press Sheet Database

By

Robert Chung
Professor, Color Management Systems & Gravure Process
School of Print Media
Rochester Institute of Technology

Ping-hsu Chen
Graduate Student, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science
Rochester Institute of Technology

A Research Monograph of the

Printing Industry Center at RIT
Rochester, NY
March 2011

PICRM-2011-08

© 2011 Printing Industry Center at RIT— All rights reserved.

i
With Thanks

The research agenda of the Printing Industry Center at RIT and

the publication of research findings are supported by the
following organizations:

bc

ii Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................... 3

Introduction.................................................................................................................... 5

Approaches to Data Analysis........................................................................................ 6

Measurement Variation................................................................................................. 7

Inter-Instrument Agreement................................................................................. 7

Spatial Variation.................................................................................................... 10

Sheet-to-Sheet Variation...................................................................................... 12

Instrument Precision............................................................................................ 14

Printing Variation and Conformance........................................................................ 17

Substrate Color Variation and Conformance................................................... 17

Deviation of OK Print—Printed Solids............................................................. 19

Deviation of OK Print—TVI.............................................................................. 23

Deviation of OK Print—Mid-tone Spread........................................................ 26

Tone Reproduction Limits................................................................................... 27

Near-Neutral Variation........................................................................................ 36

Near-Neutral Conformance................................................................................ 40

Summaries of Key Findings........................................................................................ 45

References...................................................................................................................... 46

Acknowledgments........................................................................................................ 46

Appendix A: Job-Wise Conformance of Tone Reproduction Limits.................... 47

Appendix B: Grey Reproduction Curves and Their SBGR..................................... 51

Appendix C: Job-Wise Grey Reproduction Conformance..................................... 54

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 1
2 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)
 Executive Summary

Executive Summary
The PSA database consists of 35 press sheets submitted for ISO 12647-2 printing
conformance assessment during 2010. This report is divided into two sections, (1)
measurement variation, and (2) printing variation and conformance. Each section is
then organized based on several topics studied. Objectives are stated for each topic,
followed by procedures used, results, and discussions of major findings.

Variation exists in the measurement process—including inter-instrument agreement,

spatial variation, sheet-to-sheet variation, and precision—all of which were studied. In
terms of inter-instrument agreement, only two X-Rite i1 iSis instruments were used at
RIT, and hence a very good inter-instrument agreement was found: an uncertainty of
about 0.4 ∆E. In terms of spatial variation, the result shows that, on average, there is
an uncertainty of about 0.9 ∆E, assessed by a single instrument. In terms of sheet-to-
sheet variation, there is an average uncertainty of about 0.9 ∆E. In terms of instrument
precision, the performance of the X-Rite i1 iSis auto-scanning spectrophotometer is
negligible (0.1 ∆E).

For printing variation and conformance, the following parameters were investigated:
(1) substrate color, (2) printed solids, TVI, and mid-tone spreads, (3) tone reproduction
limits, and (4) near-neutral variation. In terms of substrate color variation and
conformance, these mainly consisted of shifts to bluer color. In terms of printed solids,
KCMY solids conformances were 90%, 80%, 90%, and 55% respectively when judging
by color, and the conformance was 34% when judging by job. Many yellow solids are
less chromatic than the ISO aim due to bluish paper. In terms of TVI, the conformance
is about 65% for 50% tone value when judging by color. When judging by job, 20% of
files conform to the ISO 12647-2 criteria at 50% tone value. Low conformance is due to
the fact that most U.S. printers calibrate their presses using near-neutral methods. In
terms of mid-tone spread, 60% of files conform to the ISO 12647-2 criterion.

There is no clear assessment method for tone reproduction limits. Thus, an innovative
method was used by utilizing ∆Es between the reference points (0% and 100%) and
their neighbors at either end of the tonal scale. The straight-line between (0%, 0 ∆E)
and (10%, 6 ∆E) was used to flag non-conforming jobs at the highlight region of
CMYK; similarly, a straight-line between (100%, 0 ∆E) and (90%, 3 ∆E) was used to flag
non-conforming jobs at the shadow region of CMYK for further visual examination. As
a result, about one-third of the database required further visual judgment under region-
wise judgment.

In terms of near-neutral variation, measured outcomes of near-neutral triplets relative

to substrate-based grey ramp (SBGR) were analyzed graphically. Grey reproduction
of these near-neutral triplets, in terms of ∆Ch 1 and ∆L*, were computed between
substrate-corrected colorimetric aims (SCCA) and measurement. In turn, ∆Ch and

1- Formerly ∆F*.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 3
Executive Summary

∆L* were compared with the tolerances for conformance decision. Grey reproduction
conformances were 57% | 86% (∆Ch | ∆L*), 63% | 57%, 71% | 71%, and 23% for quarter-
tone, mid-tone, three-quarter-tone, and job-wise judgment, respectively.

In conclusion, this research provides an analysis of an unfiltered database regarding

printing variation and its conformance to ISO 12647-2. It also explored two innovative
assessment methods: tone reproduction limits and grey reproduction.

4 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Introduction

Introduction
RIT is developing a Printing Standards Audit (PSA) program that certifies printing
companies who have demonstrated their abilities to conform to ISO printing
requirements. RIT is also contributing to the development of printing standards at
the national and international level. A reason that RIT is engaged in these activities
is because of its expertise and curriculum in print media technology. Understanding
variation in printed products through database analysis and utilizing statistics to make
decisions in tolerance settings and in printing conformance are central to the mission of
the PSA program.

The objective of this report was to analyze the variance of the PSA database. The
source of the PSA database was a survey of 35 printing companies (N=35 jobs, with
two samples per job). Each printing company submitted five sample sheets. Two of
these sheets were measured by two instruments twice. Therefore, there were a total of 8
sets of measurements for each printing company (2 sheets x 2 instruments x 2 times).
The printing target was IT8.7/4, which includes 1,617 patches. The measurement
instruments were two X-Rite i1 iSis with M0 mode and white backing.

The analysis was focused on data variance as supplied in the files of (1) measurement
summary, and (2) data set analysis. In order to summarize measurement variation, this
project reports deviation conformance of the database to ISO 12647-2. This project
excludes the variation conformance analysis because no production samples were
included in the database.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 5
Approaches to Data Analysis

Approaches to Data Analysis

When a printer sent in his or her press sheets for printing conformance check-up during
the PSA survey in 2010, two IT8.7/4 targets, each consisting of 1,617 color patches, were
measured. There were 35 submissions and thus a total of 113,190 measurement values.

Data is not information until it has been analyzed, presented in a meaningful manner
such as figures and tables, and explained in an easy-to-understand way. If outliers are
detected, they are removed from further data analysis. Matlab was used to extract data
from Excel sheets and to perform computation and graphing throughout the project.

The analysis can be divided into two sections: measurement variation and printing
variation. In either case, the distribution of the data relative to a specific parameter, e.g.,
inter-instrument agreement, is shown. The central tendency and the spread of the data
are discussed.

Color difference or ∆E distribution is often not Gaussian in shape. A cumulative relative

frequency distribution (known as the CRF curve) is used to describe the color difference
as a function of probability. The CRF curve also allows the use of its 90th percentile
feature to set the threshold to flag values in the top 10th percentile.

This document is organized based on several topics studied. Objectives are stated for
each topic followed by the procedures used, results, and discussions of major findings.
When appropriate, results from this study were compared with results analyzed from
the PSO database (Fogra, 2010).

6 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Measurement Variation

Measurement Variation
Variation exists in the printing process as well as in the measurement process. Therefore,
measurement-related variations were examined as the first part of the PSA Survey press
sheet check-up. These include inter-instrument agreement, spatial variation, sheet-to-
sheet variation, and precision.

Inter-Instrument Agreement

Objective

To determine the inter-instrument agreement between two instruments used in creating

measurements for the PSA database.

Input

The average, 90th percentile, and maximum ΔE of inter-instrument validation data for
each job. These data were calculated based on all 1,617 patches of the target. There are
35 jobs, and, in each job, there are two sets of input—Sheet 1 and Sheet 2, respectively—
measured by two i1 iSis spectrophotometers.

Procedure

1. Average data of two sheets as one set for each job.

2. Plot a combined histogram of average ∆Es between the two instruments.

3. Plot the CRF of ∆Es of all 35 jobs.

4. Calculate the mean, standard deviation, and standard error.

Results

The histogram of average ∆Es for all 35 jobs is shown in Figure 1. The mean is 0.4 ∆E, a
relatively small difference because the two instruments compared are of the same model.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 7
Measurement Variation

Figure 1. Histogram for the mean value of inter-instrument agreement

The CRF plots are shown in Figure 2. Qualitatively, the span of the CRF curves is an
indication of variation due to inter-instrument agreement. One outlier with grey curve
was removed in further data analysis. Quantitatively, the mean of the 50th percentile is
0.4 ∆E, and the mean of the 90th percentile is 0.6 ∆E.

Figure 2. CRF plots for inter-instrument agreement

The means of the average distribution (0.4 ∆E), 90th percentile distribution (0.6 ∆E), and
maximum distribution (1.2 ∆E) form thresholds that serve as quality control points for
inter-instrument agreement during the measurement validation process (see Table 1,
n=34).

8 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Measurement Variation

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of inter-instrument agreement

Distribution Type Mean SD SE

Distribution of Average 0.4 0.06 0.01
Distribution of 90 Percentile
th
0.6 0.10 0.02
Distribution of Maximum 1.2 0.24 0.04

Discussion

Only RIT instruments were used, and hence a very good inter-instrument agreement
is expected. The result shows that, on average, there is an uncertainty of about 0.4 ∆E
between two instruments of the same brand and make. The uncertainty should be larger
between any two instruments of arbitrary brands. Therefore, for printing certification,
inter-instrument agreement should be taken into consideration when certifying the
conformance. When printers use the same measurement instrument as certification
bodies, the inter-instrument agreement is minimized. However, even when the same
instrument is used, uncertainty still exists (0.4 ∆E in this survey).

With respect to inter-instrument agreement, there are two differences between the PSA
database and the PSO database. First, PSA uses two instruments of the same brand
while PSO uses three different brands. Second, PSA measures all of the 1,617 color
patches in the IT8.7/4 target while PSO only measures four CMYK solids. The result of
the comparison, as shown in Table 2, indicates that, on average, the inter-instrument
difference between the same brands is 0.4 ∆E while the difference between different
brands is 1.4 ∆E.

Table 2. Inter-instrument agreement comparison of PSA and PSO databases

Category PSA Database PSO Database

GretagMacbeth SpectroEye,
Measurement Instruments Two i1 iSis
Techkon SpectroDens, X-Rite 530
Number of Jobs 35 88
Number of Patches 1617 (IT8.7/4) 4 (Solids)
Inter-Instrument Agreement 0.4 ∆E 1.4 ∆E

There are two implications regarding the above findings: (a) inter-instrument agreement
may be a concern in printing certification activities (i.e., the potential poor agreement
between the instruments used by the printer and the certification body); and (b)
solutions that lead to better inter-instrument agreement, such as XRGA (X-Rite, 2010)
and NetProfiler (X-Rite, 2006), are needed in order to enable printing standardization
activities.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 9
Measurement Variation

Spatial Variation

Objective

To determine the spatial or within-sheet variation of all 35 jobs.

Input

There are 29 pairs of repeating patches (58 patches) in the IT8.7/4 target. Spatial
variation of the printing device is estimated by the ∆Es among these 29 pairs. The input
data includes the average, 90th percentile, and maximum ΔE of spatial variation data for
each job. There are 35 jobs with 8 sets of input in each job.

Procedure

1. Average 8 sets of data (2 instruments x 2 sheets x 2 measurements) as one set

for each job.

2. Plot a histogram of average ∆Es for all samples.

3. Plot the CRF of ∆Es for all 35 jobs.

4. Calculate the mean, standard deviation, and standard error.

Results

The histogram of average ∆Es for 35 jobs is shown in Figure 3. The mean value is 0.9 ∆E.

Figure 3. Histogram for the mean value of spatial variation

10 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Measurement Variation

The CRF plots of 35 jobs are shown in Figure 4. Qualitatively, the span of these
CRF curves is larger than the inter-instrument agreement by visual inspection.
Quantitatively, the mean of the 50th percentile is 0.9 ∆E, and the mean of the 90th
percentile is 1.8 ∆E.

Figure 4. CRF plots for spatial variation

The means of the average distribution (0.9 ∆E), 90th percentile distribution (1.8 ∆E), and
maximum distribution (3.6 ∆E) form thresholds that serve as quality control points for
spatial variation during the measurement validation process (see Table 3, n=35).

Table 3. Descriptive statistics of spatial variation

Distribution Type Mean SD SE

Distribution of Average 0.9 0.22 0.04
Distribution of 90 Percentile
th
1.8 0.58 0.10
Distribution of Maximum 3.6 1.46 0.25

Discussion

The results show that, on average, there is an uncertainty of about 0.9 ∆E due to spatial
variation as assessed by a single instrument. The mean of the 90th percentile distribution,
1.8 ∆E, is recommended as the threshold for detecting very large spatial variation (i.e.,
a decision is made that there is likely a real difference in two input values due to within-
sheet variation if their measurements differ more than 1.8 ∆E). The best and worst four
jobs in terms of mean value were investigated. There is no causal relationship between
the press technology and the spatial variation.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 11
Measurement Variation

With respect to spatial variation, there is a difference between the PSA database and the
PSO database. PSA uses 29 pairs of repeating patches in the IT8.7/4 target (A4), and
PSO uses four solid patches in three different locations from the same press sheet (A3).
The result of the comparison, as shown in Table 4, indicates that, on average, the spatial
variation at A4 size (0.9 ∆E) is less than the spatial variation of 1.4 ∆E at A3 size.

Table 4. Spatial variation comparison of PSA and PSO databases

Category PSA Database PSO Database

29 pairs of repeating patches in Left-bottom, center-top, & right-
Measurement Locations
IT8.7/4 on an A4 size paper bottom on an A3 size paper
Number of Jobs 35 88
Number of Patches 29 pairs 4 (Solids)
Spatial Variation 0.9 1.4

Sheet-to-Sheet Variation

Objective

To evaluate sheet-to-sheet variation whereby sheets are sampled at color OK.

Input

The average, 90th percentile, and maximum ΔE of sheet-to-sheet variation data for each
job.

Procedure

1. Plot the histogram.

2. Plot the CRF of ∆Es of all 35 jobs.

3. Calculate the mean, standard deviation, and standard error.

Results

The histogram of average ∆Es for 35 jobs is shown in Figure 5. The shape of the
distribution is not normal. The mean is 0.9 ∆E.

12 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Measurement Variation

Figure 5. Histogram for the mean value of sheet-to-sheet variation

The CRF plots of all 35 jobs are shown in Figure 6. Qualitatively, the span of the CRF
curves is similar to the spatial variation CRF curves by visual inspection. Quantitatively,
the mean of the 50th percentile is 0.9 ∆E, and the mean of the 90th percentile is 1.7 ∆E.
The CRF curve at far right with 12 ∆E at its 90th percentile is deemed an outlier.

Figure 6. CRF plot for sheet-to-sheet variation

The means of the average distribution (0.9 ∆E), 90th percentile distribution (1.7 ∆E), and
maximum distribution (4.2 ∆E) form thresholds that serve as quality control points for
sheet-to-sheet variation during the measurement validation process (see Table 5, n=34).

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 13
Measurement Variation

Table 5. Descriptive statistics of sheet-to-sheet variation

Distribution Type Mean SD SE

Distribution of Average 0.9 0.53 0.09
Distribution of 90 Percentile
th
1.7 0.99 0.17
Distribution of Maximum 4.2 2.32 0.40

Discussion

On average, there is an uncertainty of about 0.9 ∆E due to sheet-to-sheet variation. The

mean of the 90th percentile distribution, 1.7 ∆E, is recommended as the threshold for
detecting extreme sheet-to-sheet variation. With respect to sheet-to-sheet variation,
there is a difference between the PSA database and the PSO database. PSA uses two
sheets and the IT8.7/4 target while PSO uses three sheets and CMYK solids. The result
of the comparison indicates that color difference correlates with the number of color
patches analyzed as shown in Table 6. There tends to be more color variation (0.9 ∆E)
when a large number of color patches are analyzed and less color variation (0.4 ∆E)
when only four solids are analyzed.

Table 6. Sheet-to-sheet variation comparison of PSA and PSO databases

Category PSA Database PSO Database

Measurement Locations 2 sheets 3 sheets
Number of Jobs 35 88
Number of Patches 1617 (IT8.7/4) 4 (Solids)
Sheet-to-sheet Variation 0.9 0.4
This is a special case of the sheet-to-sheet variation because the time difference between
the two samples was extremely short. A much larger color difference is likely to occur if
the two sheets are sampled at longer time intervals, such as the difference between the
first and last sheet of a production run.

Instrument Precision

Objective

To examine the instrument precision or repeatability of the same instrument measuring

the same target at different times.

Input

The average, 90th percentile, and maximum ΔE of instrument precision data for each
job.

14 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Measurement Variation

Procedure

1. Average the 4 sets of data as one set for each job.

2. Plot the histogram.

3. Plot the CRF of ∆Es of all 35 jobs.

4. Calculate the mean, standard deviation, and standard error.

Results

The histogram of ∆Es at average for 35 jobs is shown in Figure 7. The mean value is 0.1
∆E.

Figure 7. Histogram for the mean value of instrument precision

The CRF plots of all 35 jobs are shown in Figure 8. Quantitatively, the mean of the 50th
percentile is 0.1 ∆E, and the mean of the 90th percentile is 0.2 ∆E. The example with the
grey line is deemed to be an outlier.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 15
Measurement Variation

Figure 8. CRF plot for instrument precision

The means of the average distribution (0.1 ∆E), 90th percentile distribution (0.2 ∆E), and
maximum distribution (0.8 ∆E) form thresholds that serve as quality control points for
instrument precision during the measurement validation process (see Table 7, n=34).

Table 7. Descriptive statistics of instrument precision

Distribution Type Mean SD SE

Distribution of Average 0.1 0.02 0.00
Distribution of 90 Percentile
th
0.2 0.04 0.01
Distribution of Maximum 0.8 0.25 0.04

Discussion

X-Rite i1 iSis is an auto-scanning spectrophotometer. There is no human factor in the

measurement process, which results in good instrument precision. The repeatability of
a hand-held instrument is likely to have a larger color difference than an auto-scanning
spectrophotometer would.

16 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Printing Variation and Conformance

When a printer submits his or her press sheets for a free printing conformance
check-up, he receives a check-up report card with the following parameters described:
substrate color conformance and deviation of OK print for printed solids, TVI,
and mid-tone spread. He may wonder how his printing fares with the rest of the
submissions. However, this part of the report only provides a statistical summary of all
of the printing parameters mentioned without identifying any individual. Findings from
the PSA Survey database may be discussed, when appropriate, in relation to findings
from the PSO database.

Substrate Color Variation and Conformance

Objective

Examine the variation of substrate color and conformance to the ISO 12647-2
specification.

Input

The CIELAB values of substrate color of all 35 jobs.

Procedure

1. Plot the a*b* coordinates and the ISO conformances.

Results

The variation of substrate colors is shown in Figure 9. There is a larger variation in b*

values than in a* values.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 17
Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 9. Variation of 35 substrate colors

Thirty-one percent of the files (11/35) conform to ISO 12647-2 criteria. Excessive b*
values were the major cause of non-conformance.

Discussion

The substrate colors were mainly shifted to bluer colors as expected. The variation of
substrate colors for the PSO database (white backing) is shown in Figure 10 (triangles)
along with the PSA substrate colors (dots). By visual inspection, the PSO database trend
is similar to that of the PSA database. In terms of conformance, 57% of the files (8/14) in
the PSO database conform to ISO criteria.

18 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 10. Variation of 14 substrate colors of the PSO database

plotted with the 35 PSA data

Deviation of OK Print—Printed Solids

Objective

Examine the deviation of printed solids between OK print and published aims by color
and by job.

Input

The color difference and hue difference values of 4 printed solids of all 35 jobs.

Procedure

1. Plot the color difference and hue difference values of each color for all 35 jobs as
CRF, which indicate the conformance by color.

2. Evaluate the conformance by job.

Results

The CRFs of printed solids for all 35 jobs are shown in Figure 11. The conformance of
printed solids is determined by the tolerance of 5 ∆E. By color, black and magenta solid
conformances are at 90% in terms of ∆E. This is followed by cyan solid conformance at
80%. The percentage of yellow solid conformance is at 55%.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 19
Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 11. The CRF of printed solids ∆E 2

The CRFs of printed solids ∆H for all 35 jobs are shown in Figure 12. In terms of ∆H,
the conformance of printed solids is determined by the tolerance of 2.5. Cyan and
yellow solid conformances, by color, are at 90%, followed by magenta solid conformance
at 65%.

Figure 12. The CRF of printed solids ∆H 3

By job, the conformance is only assigned as OK when all channels conform to the ISO
12647-2 criteria. Table 8 shows the job-wise conformance outcome. 34% of the files
2,3 - The red line is the ISO criterion.

20 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

(12/35) conform to the ISO criteria. In terms of only ∆E with no ∆H, 43% of the files
(15/35) conform to the ISO criteria by job.

Table 8. Job-wise conformance by printed solids’ color and hue differences

∆E_K ∆E_C ∆E_M ∆E_Y ∆H_C ∆H_M ∆H_Y

Job # Tol. OK?
5 5 5 5 2.5 2.5 2.5
1 ∆ 2.2 5.0 4.8 1.4 0.1 4.6 1.0 N
2 ∆ 1.5 2.5 1.7 2.2 1.2 0.5 1.6 Y
3 ∆ 1.3 1.7 3.4 11.5 0.6 2.6 1.5 N
4 ∆ 11.6 6.1 2.2 3.2 1.9 1.8 1.1 N
5 ∆ 2.1 3.5 1.8 5.9 0.7 0.1 0.7 N
6 ∆ 4.4 1.3 2.1 2.9 0.8 1.3 2.0 Y
7 ∆ 4.1 1.4 3.0 11.4 0.5 2.8 2.6 N
8 ∆ 2.5 2.6 2.4 13.9 0.0 2.0 2.8 N
9 ∆ 1.9 3.8 1.7 7.3 0.0 1.4 0.7 N
10 ∆ 2.3 3.2 0.9 2.0 0.4 0.0 0.1 Y
11 ∆ 2.4 4.9 4.6 1.4 0.2 4.5 1.1 N
12 ∆ 1.8 3.3 0.9 1.9 0.3 0.1 0.0 Y
13 ∆ 1.7 2.4 4.6 7.9 0.7 4.5 2.4 N
14 ∆ 1.1 3.0 1.9 2.4 1.6 1.6 1.3 Y
15 ∆ 4.1 6.7 9.1 9.2 0.5 8.2 3.5 N
16 ∆ 1.5 2.1 2.6 8.7 1.8 0.5 0.3 N
17 ∆ 4.7 1.9 3.3 2.2 1.7 1.0 1.0 Y
18 ∆ 1.5 3.8 7.7 7.3 3.6 7.7 3.5 N
19 ∆ 1.9 7.3 2.5 11.2 1.3 1.0 0.6 N
20 ∆ 6.3 10.3 2.6 17.0 0.4 0.2 0.6 N
21 ∆ 2.8 7.0 7.1 4.8 2.2 6.2 2.7 N
22 ∆ 5.6 6.2 3.6 4.7 1.7 3.6 1.4 N
23 ∆ 3.5 4.0 1.7 3.0 2.0 0.8 1.3 Y
24 ∆ 1.8 2.6 2.2 3.7 1.6 1.8 0.1 Y
25 ∆ 1.6 5.0 3.7 7.5 4.0 0.8 1.3 N
26 ∆ 4.2 3.5 2.0 3.6 0.6 1.9 0.6 Y
27 ∆ 2.2 5.1 5.8 6.7 4.3 4.8 1.4 N
28 ∆ 1.9 3.0 4.5 1.2 2.2 4.2 0.5 N
29 ∆ 3.3 3.1 2.7 3.8 0.5 0.4 1.8 Y
30 ∆ 2.6 1.9 2.6 2.0 0.3 2.2 0.4 Y
31 ∆ 3.4 5.2 3.3 5.9 1.2 2.3 0.4 N
32 ∆ 3.2 4.8 9.8 4.0 1.9 9.0 0.1 N
33 ∆ 4.9 4.5 2.2 3.2 0.7 1.8 2.2 Y
34 ∆ 8.3 5.1 3.8 8.5 1.9 3.4 0.4 N
35 ∆ 4.4 3.1 2.2 10.3 0.2 0.0 0.3 N

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 21
Printing Variation and Conformance

Discussion

When inspecting the data from color-wise analyses, yellow solids show low
conformance while magenta hue differences show low conformance. When inspecting
the data from job-wise analyses, there is no strong correlation between solid
non-conformance and hue difference non-conformance.

Yellow has the lowest solid conformance to ISO 12647-2. Figure 13 shows the variation
of yellow solids in the chroma direction relative to the ISO yellow aim point (black
square). Many yellow solids are less chromatic than the ISO aim, which is due to the
bluish paper used.

Figure 13. Variation of yellow solids compared to the ISO aim

Magenta has the lowest ∆H conformance to ISO 12647-2. Figure 14 shows the variation
of magenta solids along with the ISO magenta aim point. The variation is mainly due to
hue shifts caused by the use of bluish paper.

22 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 14. Variation of magenta solids compared to the ISO aim

Deviation of OK Print—TVI

Objective

Examine the distribution of deviation of TVI between OK print and published aims by
color and by job.

Input

The TVI values of CMYK of 35 jobs at 50% and 80% tone values.

Procedure

1. Plot the TVI values of each color for 35 jobs as CRF, which indicates the
conformance by color.

2. Evaluate the conformance by job.

Results

The CRFs of TVI values for 35 jobs are shown in Figures 15 and 16. The TVI
conformance is determined by the tolerance of 4 at 50% tone value and 2.5 at 80%
tone value. By color, the conformances of TVI are about 65% and 75% for tone values
50% and 80%, respectively. Because of the higher magnitude at 50%, it is expected
that TVI at 50% is more sensitive to variation than TVI at 80%, which causes a lower
conformance at the 50% tone value (even though it has a higher tolerance).

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 23
Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 15. CRF of TVI at 50% tone value4

Figure 16. CRF of TVI at 80% tone value5

Table 9 indicates the job-wise conformance outcome. At 50% tone value, 20% of the
files (7/35) conform to the ISO criteria, while at 80% tone value, 54% of the files (19/35)
conform to the ISO criteria.

4,5 - The red line is the ISO criterion.

24 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Table 9. Job-wise conformance to ISO criteria by TVI percentiles

TVI K50 C50 M50 Y50 K80 C80 M80 Y80

OK? OK?
Job # Tol. 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3
1 ∆ 1.3 2.8 1.2 1.9 Y 0.7 1.5 0.9 0.9 Y
2 ∆ 4.3 5.6 4.0 2.3 N 1.0 2.5 0.8 0.4 Y
3 ∆ 1.1 2.1 2.0 1.1 Y 2.1 2.1 1.4 5.4 N
4 ∆ 8.6 8.6 1.5 1.1 N 2.2 1.8 0.2 1.1 Y
5 ∆ 10.5 5.3 0.9 2.2 N 3.5 0.3 0.5 0.7 N
6 ∆ 3.7 0.8 4.8 0.6 N 0.4 0.2 2.5 0.2 Y
7 ∆ 2.2 2.1 8.2 4.6 N 0.1 3.7 8.2 4.1 N
8 ∆ 3.1 1.5 9.3 4.6 N 1.3 3.3 8.2 3.6 N
9 ∆ 1.5 0.5 0.0 3.1 Y 1.2 2.0 2.5 0.2 Y
10 ∆ 3.9 2.7 2.6 7.3 N 0.7 0.8 0.8 2.0 Y
11 ∆ 2.8 4.5 3.4 5.0 N 1.3 1.1 1.3 1.1 Y
12 ∆ 1.0 0.4 1.4 5.1 N 0.3 0.8 0.2 1.9 Y
13 ∆ 7.8 4.7 2.3 2.8 N 0.3 1.1 0.2 1.5 Y
14 ∆ 0.0 5.2 3.7 0.3 N 1.6 0.8 3.6 1.1 N
15 ∆ 1.7 0.4 1.0 0.2 Y 0.8 2.3 1.5 1.2 Y
16 ∆ 4.0 4.9 1.2 6.1 N 4.8 4.4 0.7 5.4 N
17 ∆ 4.0 2.0 2.9 6.4 N 1.0 4.5 1.0 4.5 N
18 ∆ 1.1 0.9 1.4 2.5 Y 3.7 3.4 3.3 3.9 N
19 ∆ 9.7 9.3 9.7 9.0 N 5.1 4.3 3.5 3.1 N
20 ∆ 9.4 8.6 9.1 8.4 N 5.3 3.8 3.1 3.5 N
21 ∆ 9.1 9.1 6.3 7.2 N 2.7 2.9 1.3 0.7 Y
22 ∆ 1.6 3.2 1.3 3.3 Y 2.5 3.0 3.7 0.4 N
23 ∆ 6.9 4.2 4.4 2.1 N 0.7 0.9 0.4 2.1 Y
24 ∆ 5.1 3.3 4.0 4.4 N 1.7 0.9 1.8 5.1 N
25 ∆ 6.5 3.3 3.2 5.0 N 2.7 0.0 2.0 5.2 N
26 ∆ 4.4 4.6 0.6 1.5 N 3.4 0.3 1.3 1.4 N
27 ∆ 7.6 3.4 2.3 0.6 N 4.2 0.2 2.6 1.2 N
28 ∆ 1.8 0.7 2.3 4.5 N 0.7 0.6 2.0 2.2 Y
29 ∆ 5.5 0.7 1.4 6.5 N 2.6 1.5 0.4 1.5 Y
30 ∆ 1.9 2.8 4.5 3.1 N 0.5 1.6 1.4 0.5 Y
31 ∆ 3.2 0.7 1.0 1.7 Y 1.5 0.6 0.1 0.5 Y
32 ∆ 0.2 1.8 4.6 0.5 N 1.8 0.9 1.4 1.0 Y
33 ∆ 5.5 6.5 11.0 8.0 N 2.2 2.0 3.5 3.5 N
34 ∆ 7.9 3.1 4.0 3.0 N 2.1 1.7 1.2 0.1 Y
35 ∆ 3.7 1.2 4.3 2.6 N 2.2 2.1 2.4 2.9 Y

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 25
Printing Variation and Conformance

Discussion

The TVI conformance of 65% at 50% tone value is lower than the TVI conformance
of 75% at 80% tone value, even though the tolerance at 50% (4%) is greater than that
at 80% (3%). TVI is a parameter defined in ISO, but not followed rigorously in the US.
Most U.S. printers calibrate their presses using near-neutral methods. To reduce the
conformance assessment effort, it is recommended that only 50% tone value is required.

Deviation of OK Print—Mid-tone Spread

Objective

Examine the distribution of deviation on mid-tone spread.

Input

The mid-tone spread values (50% only) of 35 jobs.

Procedure

1. Plot the mid-tone spread values of 35 jobs as CRF.

Results

The CRF of mid-tone spread for all 35 jobs is shown in Figure 17. The mid-tone spread
conformance is determined by the tolerance of 5. Sixty percent of the files (21/35)
conform to the ISO criterion.

26 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 17. CRF of mid-tone spread6

Discussion

Low TVI deviation conformance (65%) also leads to low mid-tone spread conformance
(60%).

Tone Reproduction Limits

Objective

Examine halftone dot patterns from 3% to 97% printed in a consistent and uniform
manner.*

Input

The CIELAB values of paper, 2%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10% of CMYK and 90%, 95%, 98%,
and solid of CMYK of 35 jobs.

*Note: The default method is by visual examination. There is no established method that assesses
tone reproduction limits quantitatively. What follows is an innovative approach to screen or
detect jobs that require visual examination. The method uses one standard deviation of the
database to flag the low tonality contrast samples. Since only the low end of tone contrast is
interested, the method will detect about 1/6 of the database for further visual examination.

6 - The red line is the ISO specified tolerance.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 27
Printing Variation and Conformance

Procedure

1. Use the 0% and 100% values as a reference to compute ∆E and ∆C between

these values and their neighbors.

2. Plot ∆E and ∆C as a function of %dot and select either ∆E or ∆C as the

parameter for tone reproduction limits analysis.

Results

Figures 18-21 show ∆Es and ∆Cs as a function of dot areas for the highlight and shadow
regions for KCMY channels of all 35 jobs. By visually observing the slopes, tonality
is consistently resolved if there is a linear change in the ∆. There are some reversed
tonalities for the Y channel, which could be caused by spatial non-uniformity. It is clear
that ∆E, particularly for Black (K), is a better metric for judging tonal differences than
∆C.

Figure 18. The ∆Es and ∆Cs as a function of dot areas for the highlight (left)
and shadow (right) regions for the K channel

28 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 19. The ∆Es and ∆Cs as a function of dot areas for the highlight (left)
and shadow (right) regions for the C channel

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 29
Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 20. The ∆Es and ∆Cs as a function of dot areas for the highlight (left)
and shadow (right) regions for the M channel

30 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 21. The ∆Es and ∆Cs as a function of dot areas for the highlight (left)
and shadow (right) regions for the Y channel

Tables 10 and 11 show the mean and standard deviation of ∆Es between references
(0% or 100%) and their neighbors for all channels of the 35 jobs. The line of mean
values minus one standard deviation form a threshold that can be used to flag those
jobs having low tonal contrast that need further visual verification—about 1/6 or 17%
by each region of the database. The reason to take only the lower side (-1 standard
deviation) is that the higher side should be differentiated.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 31
Printing Variation and Conformance

Table 10. Mean ∆Es and their standard deviations of KCMY channels from 0 – 10%
tone reproduction

Percentage K C M Y
(Reference: 0%) Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev.
0% 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.00
2% 1.5 0.53 2.0 0.64 2.1 0.79 2.3 0.77
3% 2.4 0.63 2.5 0.70 2.8 0.91 2.9 0.87
5% 4.0 0.86 4.2 0.98 4.6 1.20 5.0 1.16
7% 5.3 1.07 5.5 1.14 6.2 1.26 6.9 1.65
10% 7.2 1.24 7.5 1.31 8.6 1.40 9.5 2.02

Table 11. Mean ∆Es and their standard deviations of KCMY channels from 90 - 100%
tone reproduction

Percentage K C M Y
(Reference: 100%) Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev.
90% 9.9 3.25 5.5 1.82 7.8 2.82 9.0 3.21
95% 4.2 2.35 2.3 1.38 3.2 1.89 3.4 2.06
98% 2.2 1.57 1.1 0.87 1.4 1.23 2.0 1.33
100% 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.00

The thresholds formed by mean values minus one standard deviation are shown in
Figures 22-25 (n=35). The figures are helpful to indicate the low tonal contrast points
graphically.

Figure 22. The K channel threshold for flagging low tonal contrast for the
highlight (left) and shadow (right) regions

32 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 23. The C channel threshold for flagging low tonal contrast for the
highlight (left) and shadow (right) regions

Figure 24. The M channel threshold for flagging low tonal contrast for the
highlight (left) and shadow (right) regions

Figure 25. The Y channel threshold for flagging low tonal contrast for the
highlight (left) and shadow (right) regions

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 33
Printing Variation and Conformance

Table 12 shows the conformance of reproduction limits by taking the threshold curves
derived from the database. It should be noted that only the range between the 3% and
97% dot areas is taken into consideration. For region-wise judgment (highlight or
shadow region for any color), the percentages of conformance are between 66% and
89%, where the Y shadow performs worst. For each channel in either region, between
10–30% of the jobs required further visual judgment, with an average of one out of six
jobs (17%).

Table 12. Conformance of reproduction limits to derived threshold curves by color

channel and image region

Highlight Shadow
Category
K C M Y K C M Y
# of files that conform 27 29 27 31 26 26 27 23
% conformance 77% 83% 77% 89% 74% 74% 77% 66%

By visually evaluation of the plots above, the threshold curve is quite straight. Therefore,
to simplify the screening threshold, a straight line with 6 ∆E at 10% and 0 ∆E at 0%
dot area is used as a threshold for the highlight region. A straight line with 3 ∆E at 90%
and 0 ∆E at 100% dot area is used as a threshold for the shadow region. The screening
threshold allows the derivation of a quantitative method to detect small portions that
require visual verification. The conformance of region-wise judgment is shown in Table
13, and the plots with the simplified and generalized thresholds are shown in Figures
26-29.

Table 13. Conformance of reproduction limits to straight-line thresholds by color

channel and image region

Highlight Shadow
Category
K C M Y K C M Y
# of files that conform 29 29 33 35 31 23 28 24
% conformance 83% 83% 94% 100% 89% 66% 80% 69%

34 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 26. The straight-line threshold for flagging low tonal contrast in the K channel
for the highlight (left) and shadow (right) regions

Figure 27. The straight-line threshold for flagging low tonal contrast in the C channel
for the highlight (left) and shadow (right) regions

Figure 28. The straight-line threshold for flagging low tonal contrast in the M channel
for the highlight (left) and shadow (right) regions

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 35
Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 29. The straight-line threshold for flagging low tonal contrast in the Y channel
for the highlight (left) and shadow (right) regions

In terms of job-wise conformance, 37% of the jobs (13/35) do not require visual
judgment, which can save a certain degree of time and resources. (The tables for judging
the conformance of all 35 jobs are shown in Appendix A.) The remaining 63% (20/35)
require further visual judgment, due to at least one failure out the eight cases, i.e., 2
image regions (highlight/shadow) x 4 color channels (CMYK). Further research may
be focused on conducting psychophysical experiments to either confirm the suggested
tolerance or to find a more appropriate tolerance. Overall, this proposed method can
help to avoid human error, and is effective for judging production limits conformance.

Near-Neutral Variation

Objective

Examine the colorimetric variation of near-neutral triplets relative to substrate-based

grey ramp (SBGR).

Input

Specific near-neutral triplets, as shown in Table 14, available from the IT8.7/4 target and
input corresponding measurements of the 35 jobs.

36 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Table 14. Near-neutral triplet measurements

Triplet Type ID of IT8.7/4 C M Y K

Paper 1 0 0 0 0
Quarter-tone 192 30 20 20 0
Mid-tone 1611 50 40 40 0
Three-quarter-tone 1369 80 65 65 0
CMY solid 729 100 100 100 0

Procedure

By using measurement data (n=35), we can study variation.

1. Plot grey reproduction curves (i.e., a* and b* values as a function of %dot (cyan)
of all five triplets (n=35)).

2. Plot individual grey reproduction curves versus their substrate-based grey

ramps or SBGR (n=35).

3. Identify the 3 jobs demonstrating best and worst grey reproduction behavior as
shown in the SBGR.

4. Plot an a*b* scatter diagram for each of the five triplets.

Note: Substrate-based grey ramp (SBGR) is a grey ramp starting from non-neutral paper white a*
and b* values that gradually changes to less chromatic values as L* decreases. To calculate SBGR,
the only input is paper color as shown in the equation below. To visualize it, %dot is used as the
x-axis in the plot. An example of the SBGR of substrate color (a*,b*) = (2,-4) is shown in Figure
30.

Figure 30. An example of the SBGR of substrate color (a*,b*) =(2,-4).

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 37
Printing Variation and Conformance

Results

Figure 31 shows the distribution of measured a* and b* values as a function of the dot
area of all 35 jobs. It is a way to show the distribution of the triplets together. The figure
indicates that, as dot areas increase, triplets vary more widely.

Figure 31. Distribution of measured a* and b* values as a function of the dot area
The 35 individual grey reproduction curves and their substrate-based grey ramps
(SBGR) are shown in Appendix B. Variation at 0% indicates the variation of substrate
color.

By visually judging the performance at quarter-tone and mid-tone, the three jobs
demonstrating the best grey reproduction conformance are jobs 17, 32, and 19. The
three jobs demonstrating the worst grey reproduction conformance are jobs 8, 18, and
24. These measurements are shown in Figures 32 and 33. Note that the SBGR is an ideal
case, and, in reality, the grey ramp usually has the fishtail effect at high dot areas.

Figure 32. Three jobs demonstrating the best grey reproduction conformance

38 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 33. Three jobs demonstrating the worst grey reproduction conformance

The distribution of near-neutrals of 35 jobs is shown in Figure 34. Again, as the amount
of inks increase, the degrees of scatter increase. Figure 34 (f) shows the distribution
of chromaticity of all triplets in one graph. The fact that CMY solids have the largest
variation should be excluded from the grey reproduction conformance assessment.

(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e) (f)

Figure 34. Distribution of near-neutrals
(a) Chromatic variation at 0% reflects color differences in paper white.
(b) Quarter-tone greys, while still bluish, start to migrate towards the origin.
(c) Mid-tone greys are centered around the origin.
(d) Three-quarter-tone greys are affected by printing variations which exhibit larger variation than mid-
tone greys.
(e) CMY solids, although rendered grey by the GRACoL data set at average, vary widely, as depicted in
the standard deviation. In fact, 1-D (TVI or grey balance) correction curves have no influence when CMY
overprint solids are not neutral.
(f) The a*b* scatter diagram of all five levels of triplets.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 39
Printing Variation and Conformance

The statistical summary (mean and standard deviation of a* and b*) of grey reproduction
relative to the three levels of triplets is shown in Table 15. By judging from the
starting point (1.0a*, -4.4b*) to the ending point (1.3a*, -0.3b*), the average of the
grey reproduction migrates towards neutral as expected, but the variation of the grey
reproduction increases as the tonality darkens.

Table 15. Mean and standard deviation of a* and b* values by near-neutral triplet

Mean Std. Dev.

Triplet Type
a *
b*
a* b*
Paper 1.0 -4.4 0.46 1.29
Quarter-tone -1.1 -4.5 1.14 1.45
Mid-tone 0.0 -1.5 1.56 2.19
Three-quarter-tone -3.8 -2.4 2.23 2.55
CMY solid 1.3 -0.3 3.30 3.68

Near-Neutral Conformance

Objective

Examine the colorimetric conformance of near-neutral triplets relative to substrate-

corrected colorimetric aims (SCCA) and tolerances.

Input

Specific near-neutral triplets available from the IT8.7/4 target and input corresponding
measurements of 35 jobs are shown in Table 16.

Table 16. Near-neutral triplet and their device values

Triplet Type ID of IT8.7/4 C M Y K

Paper 1 0 0 0 0
Quarter-tone 192 30 20 20 0
Mid-tone 1611 50 40 40 0
Three-quarter-tone 1369 80 65 65 0
CMY solid 729 100 100 100 0

Procedure

Conformance analysis of grey reproduction can be determined by ∆Ch and ∆L* between
grey triplet measurement and substrate-corrected colorimetric aims or SCCA against
the tolerance.

40 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

1. Starting from pre-defined triplets, find the target colorimetric aims via the ICC
profile of the target data set, i.e., GRACoL (2006) ICC profile under the absolute
colorimetric rendering intent.
2. Find the SCCA by applying tristimulus linear correction per ISO 13655. Plot the
∆a* and ∆b* of all five triplets as a function of %dot where ∆a* = a*(measured) -
a*(SCCA) and ∆b* = b*(measured) - b*(SCCA).
3. Calculate ∆L* and ∆Ch between triplet measurement and SCCA. Plot ∆L* and
∆Ch as CRF curves for conformance determination.

Results

Table 17 shows the target colorimetric aims of the five triplets based on the GRACoL
(2006) data set derived through Photoshop API.

Table 17. Target colorimetric aims of the near-neutral triplets

Triplet Type ID of IT8.7/4 C M Y K L* a* b*

Paper 1 0 0 0 0 95 0 -2
Quarter-tone 192 30 20 20 0 73 -1 -3
Mid-tone 1611 50 40 40 0 58 0 -1
Three-quarter-tone 1369 80 65 65 0 38 -5 -3
CMY solid 729 100 100 100 0 23 0 0

Figure 35 shows ∆a* and ∆b* between measurement and substrate-corrected

colorimetric aims of all five triplets as a function of dot area.

Figure 35. Distribution of ∆a* and ∆b* between measurements and SCCA by dot area

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 41
Printing Variation and Conformance

The CRFs of ∆Ch between triplet measurement and SCCA are shown in Figure 36. The
90th percentiles of quarter-tone, mid-tone, and three-quarter-tone are about 3, 4, and 5
∆Ch respectively.

Figure 36. The CRFs of ∆Ch between measurement and substrate-corrected

colorimetric aims7
The analysis of IDEAlliance’s G7 database (Chung & Wang, 2011) recommended that
the ∆Ch tolerances of quarter-tone, mid-tone, and three-quarter-tone be 2.0, 3.0, and
4.0 respectively, as indicated by red lines in the figure. Based on these rules, 57% of the
database (20/35) passed the 2.0 ∆Ch tolerance at the quarter-tone triplet; 63% (22/35)
passed the 3.0 ∆Ch tolerance at the mid-tone triplet; and 71% (25/35) passed the 4.0 ∆Ch
tolerance at the three-quarter-tone triplet.

The CRFs of ∆L* between triplet measurement and SCCA are shown in Figure 37. The
90th percentiles of quarter-tone, mid-tone, and three-quarter-tone are around 4 ∆L*.
Since there is no prior case for ∆L* tolerance, 2.5 ∆L* is assumed as the tolerance of
quarter-tone, mid-tone, and three-quarter-tone, which is shown as the red line in the
figure. Based on this rule, 86%, 57%, and 71% of the database (n=35) passed the 2.5 ∆L*
tolerance at the quarter-tone, mid-tone, and three-quarter-tone triplets, respectively.

7 - The red lines are assumed tolerances.

42 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Printing Variation and Conformance

Figure 37. The CRFs of ∆L* between measurement and substrate-corrected

colorimetric aims8

If conformance is defined such that all three triplets must be in conformance per job for
both ∆Ch and ∆L*, then , as shown in Table 18, only 23% of the database (8/35) pass the
grey reproduction requirement. The grey reproduction conformance of the 35 jobs is
shown in Appendix C for detail information.

Table 18. Summary of colorimetric conformance of files in PSA database by tone value

∆L*_25 ∆L*_50 ∆L*_75 ∆Ch_25 ∆Ch_50 ∆Ch_75

Category Job-wise
2.5 2.5 2.5 2.0 3.0 4.0
# of files that conform 30 20 25 20 22 25 8
% conformance 86% 57% 71% 57% 63% 71% 23%

8 - The red line is assumed tolerance.

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 43
Printing Variation and Conformance

Discussion

An operational assessment of grey reproduction begins with:

(a) Taking a set of near-neutral CMY triplets available in a control strip,

(b) Printing and measuring these patches colorimetrically,

(c) Plotting a* and b* of these triplets against %dot, and

(d) Comparing how close these points are with two straight lines connecting a* and
b* of the paper (0%) and 100% dot.

Such a comparison is qualitative and is subjective to biases of the pre-determined

triplets.

A quantitative approach to grey reproduction conformance assessment is to:

(a) Recognize a characterization data set as the aim,

(b) Find colorimetric values of these near-neutral CMY triplets via the ICC profile
of the data set,

(c) Make substrate-correction to align colorimetric aims with the production stock,

(d) Find ∆L* and ∆Ch between measurement and substrate-corrected aims, and

(e) Decide tolerances based on a well-defined standard.

The colorimetric conformance of grey reproduction of near-neutral triplets relative

to substrate-corrected colorimetric aims (SCCA) is shown in Table 19. Since the PSA
database is unfiltered, the percentage of conformance is lower than that of filtered
databases.

44 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Summaries of Key Findings

Summaries of Key Findings

Table 19 indicates the percentage of conformance of the PSA database in terms of ISO
12647-2 criteria. The database is not screened. Hence, many jobs fail the ISO criteria for
deviation conformances.

Table 19. Percentage conformance of files in PSA database to ISO 12647-2 criteria

Category Substrate Printed Solids TVI Difference Mid-tone

Color (∆E & ∆H) 50% TVI 80% TVI Spread
# of files that conform 11 15 7 19 21
% conformance 31% 43% 20% 54% 60%

The judgment by color is shown in Table 20. The percentages of performance are higher
than judgment by job.

Table 20. Percentage conformance of files in PSA database to printed solids and
TVI standards by color channel

Printed Solids TVI

Category ∆E ∆H 50% 80%
K C M Y C M Y K C M Y K C M Y
# of files that
31 26 30 19 32 22 30 20 22 24 20 28 28 27 24
conform
% conformance 89% 74% 86% 54% 91% 63% 86% 57% 63% 69% 57% 80% 80% 77% 69%

Table 21 indicates the conformance of tone reproduction limits based on the proposed
straight-line method.

Table 21. Percentage conformance of files in PSA database to tone reproduction limits
by image region and color channel

Highlight Shadow
Category Job-wise
K C M Y K C M Y
# of files that conform 29 29 33 35 31 23 28 24 13
% conformance 83% 83% 94% 100% 89% 66% 80% 69% 37%

Table 23 indicates the conformance of grey reproduction.

Table 23. Percentage conformance of files in PSA database to grey reproduction

standards by tone value

∆L*_25 ∆L*_50 ∆L*_75 ∆Ch_25 ∆Ch_50 ∆Ch_75

Category Job-wise
2.5 2.5 2.5 2.0 3.0 4.0
# of files that conform 30 20 25 20 22 25 8
% conformance 86% 57% 71% 57% 63% 71% 23%

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 45
References

References
Chung, R., & Wang, Y. (2011). Statistical analyses of the IDEAlliance G7 master printer
database (in press). Rochester, NY: Printing Industry Center at RIT.

Fogra. (2010). Process Standard Offset (PSO) database [Database].

ISO 12647-2-- Graphic technology -- Process control for the production of half-
tone colour separations, proof and production prints - Part 2: Offset lithographic
processes.
ISO 13655 -- Graphic technology -- Spectral measurement and colorimetric
computation for graphic arts images.

X-Rite. (2006, March). NetProfiler® instrument management software. Retrieved from

http://www.xrite.com/documents/literature/gmb/en/100_netprofiler_en.pdf

X-Rite. (2010, March). The new X‐Rite standard for graphic arts (XRGA). Retrieved from
http://www.xrite.com/Documents/Literature/EN/L7-462_XRGA_Whitepaper_
FINAL_EN.pdf

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to express their appreciation to the following individuals and
organizations: Dr. Patricia Sorce, RIT Printing Industry Center, for her support and
publishing this research as a monograph; Mr. Jürgen Gemeinhardt, Fogra, for his
technical support and sharing of the PSO database; and Mr. Robert Eller, RIT Visiting
Professor, for his encouragement and review of the manuscript.

46 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Appendix A: Job-Wise Conformance of Tone Reproduction Limits

Appendix A. Job-Wise Conformance

of Tone Reproduction Limits
The following tables show examples of using the mentioned thresholds to check the
conformance of production limits of KCMY channels within each job (n=35). It should
be noted that only the range between 3% and 97% dot area is taken into consideration.

BlacK 2% 3% 5% 7% 10% BlacK 90% 95% 98%

OK? OK?
# Tol. - - 3.0 4.2 6.0 # Tol. 3.0 1.5 -
1 ∆ 0.9 2.2 3.9 5.1 6.9 Y 1 ∆ 10.3 5.1 2.5 Y
2 ∆ 1.0 1.9 3.0 4.1 6.3 N 2 ∆ 10.3 4.8 2.0 Y
3 ∆ 1.0 1.9 3.3 4.2 6.1 Y 3 ∆ 12.5 7.2 5.3 Y
4 ∆ 2.2 3.5 5.2 6.2 8.3 Y 4 ∆ 5.4 2.4 0.5 Y
5 ∆ 2.6 4.5 6.5 8.1 9.6 Y 5 ∆ 5.9 1.6 1.1 Y
6 ∆ 1.1 2.2 3.5 4.9 7.5 Y 6 ∆ 9.7 4.4 3.8 Y
7 ∆ 1.1 2.0 3.7 5.9 8.3 Y 7 ∆ 14.2 6.8 3.5 Y
8 ∆ 1.2 2.0 3.9 6.2 8.9 Y 8 ∆ 12.3 5.4 1.7 Y
9 ∆ 1.5 2.7 4.3 5.7 7.7 Y 9 ∆ 11.0 5.3 3.3 Y
10 ∆ 1.3 2.4 3.5 5.4 7.5 Y 10 ∆ 10.4 4.9 4.4 Y
11 ∆ 0.9 2.2 3.8 5.6 7.4 Y 11 ∆ 9.9 4.4 1.9 Y
12 ∆ 1.3 2.4 3.6 5.4 7.1 Y 12 ∆ 10.9 5.1 4.3 Y
13 ∆ 2.1 3.0 4.7 5.8 8.5 Y 13 ∆ 6.3 3.1 3.2 Y
14 ∆ 1.0 1.5 2.5 3.2 4.7 N 14 ∆ 8.3 2.5 0.9 Y
15 ∆ 0.9 1.8 3.0 3.8 6.1 N 15 ∆ 9.1 6.4 0.4 Y
16 ∆ 2.0 3.0 4.1 5.5 7.2 Y 16 ∆ 15.7 8.1 5.8 Y
17 ∆ 2.1 3.1 4.4 6.1 7.3 Y 17 ∆ 14.8 6.7 3.2 Y
18 ∆ 1.4 2.0 3.4 4.5 6.3 Y 18 ∆ 15.5 8.3 2.7 Y
19 ∆ 1.3 2.0 3.0 3.9 5.1 N 19 ∆ 14.0 3.0 2.8 Y
20 ∆ 1.3 1.9 3.0 3.9 5.2 N 20 ∆ 12.2 2.0 3.1 Y
21 ∆ 2.7 3.5 6.2 7.9 10.8 Y 21 ∆ 4.3 2.9 0.3 Y
22 ∆ 0.7 2.1 3.9 4.7 6.2 Y 22 ∆ 13.1 9.4 4.2 Y
23 ∆ 1.3 2.2 4.1 5.5 8.2 Y 23 ∆ 10.4 4.7 3.5 Y
24 ∆ 1.9 2.7 4.5 6.1 7.6 Y 24 ∆ 8.6 0.5 1.4 N
25 ∆ 2.0 2.7 4.5 5.9 8.0 Y 25 ∆ 6.3 0.4 0.8 N
26 ∆ 1.6 2.4 4.4 5.6 7.0 Y 26 ∆ 5.4 0.7 0.2 N
27 ∆ 1.7 2.6 4.9 6.1 7.7 Y 27 ∆ 3.4 0.3 0.4 N
28 ∆ 0.6 1.8 3.2 3.9 5.6 N 28 ∆ 13.8 3.3 1.9 Y
29 ∆ 1.7 2.7 4.3 5.4 7.6 Y 29 ∆ 8.3 4.8 1.8 Y
30 ∆ 1.0 2.3 3.6 4.5 6.6 Y 30 ∆ 10.0 4.4 0.4 Y
31 ∆ 1.2 2.0 3.4 4.4 6.1 Y 31 ∆ 7.8 3.7 0.3 Y
32 ∆ 1.9 2.9 4.3 5.6 7.6 Y 32 ∆ 9.7 3.6 2.1 Y
33 ∆ 2.3 3.4 4.7 6.1 7.8 Y 33 ∆ 8.3 2.7 1.0 Y
34 ∆ 1.5 2.5 3.9 5.8 7.6 Y 34 ∆ 6.9 1.6 0.3 Y
35 ∆ 1.4 1.8 3.1 4.6 6.5 Y 35 ∆ 12.7 6.9 0.6 Y

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 47
Appendix A: Job-Wise Conformance of Tone Reproduction Limits

Cyan 2% 3% 5% 7% 10% Cyan 90% 95% 98%

OK? OK?
# Tol. - - 3.0 4.2 6.0 # Tol. 3.0 1.5 -
1 ∆ 1.6 2.2 3.8 5.3 6.9 Y 1 ∆ 5.8 3.0 1.3 Y
2 ∆ 1.3 1.6 3.2 4.9 7.7 Y 2 ∆ 3.7 1.2 0.6 N
3 ∆ 1.3 1.8 3.4 4.5 6.7 Y 3 ∆ 7.2 4.4 2.3 Y
4 ∆ 2.5 3.3 5.4 7.0 10.1 Y 4 ∆ 5.5 3.8 0.1 Y
5 ∆ 3.1 3.8 5.3 7.3 8.9 Y 5 ∆ 5.2 1.9 1.0 Y
6 ∆ 1.9 2.5 3.9 5.3 7.3 Y 6 ∆ 4.2 1.5 0.7 N
7 ∆ 1.2 1.8 3.6 5.0 7.5 Y 7 ∆ 9.3 4.9 3.8 Y
8 ∆ 1.1 1.8 3.7 5.4 8.1 Y 8 ∆ 8.7 4.4 3.4 Y
9 ∆ 2.2 2.7 4.4 5.6 7.4 Y 9 ∆ 6.1 2.5 1.5 Y
10 ∆ 1.8 2.1 3.6 5.1 6.6 Y 10 ∆ 5.7 2.3 0.8 Y
11 ∆ 1.8 2.3 3.9 5.4 7.4 Y 11 ∆ 6.0 3.5 1.6 Y
12 ∆ 1.6 2.2 3.2 4.9 5.8 N 12 ∆ 5.6 2.7 0.6 Y
13 ∆ 1.9 2.7 4.8 6.0 8.4 Y 13 ∆ 3.3 0.5 0.2 N
14 ∆ 1.2 1.5 2.5 3.2 4.5 N 14 ∆ 3.6 0.7 1.2 N
15 ∆ 1.4 1.8 3.1 4.1 6.1 N 15 ∆ 5.8 2.0 1.0 Y
16 ∆ 2.9 3.4 5.3 6.7 7.9 Y 16 ∆ 8.0 4.1 1.4 Y
17 ∆ 2.9 3.3 5.2 6.6 8.2 Y 17 ∆ 9.1 4.9 1.9 Y
18 ∆ 1.9 2.4 4.0 5.1 7.3 Y 18 ∆ 8.8 3.9 1.5 Y
19 ∆ 1.6 1.8 2.9 4.1 5.2 N 19 ∆ 5.2 1.2 0.3 N
20 ∆ 1.7 1.8 3.0 4.1 5.4 N 20 ∆ 4.5 0.9 0.2 N
21 ∆ 3.8 4.8 7.3 9.2 11.3 Y 21 ∆ 1.9 0.4 0.3 N
22 ∆ 2.0 2.5 4.1 5.0 7.0 Y 22 ∆ 5.6 1.9 1.8 Y
23 ∆ 1.9 2.1 3.6 5.1 7.8 Y 23 ∆ 6.0 2.8 2.0 Y
24 ∆ 2.3 2.7 4.6 6.0 7.6 Y 24 ∆ 3.9 0.5 0.2 N
25 ∆ 2.4 2.8 4.7 6.1 8.0 Y 25 ∆ 2.6 1.2 0.3 N
26 ∆ 2.4 2.8 5.3 6.6 8.5 Y 26 ∆ 3.2 0.3 0.2 N
27 ∆ 2.2 2.7 5.0 6.4 7.9 Y 27 ∆ 3.9 0.5 0.2 N
28 ∆ 1.3 1.7 2.9 4.2 6.6 N 28 ∆ 6.6 3.3 1.5 Y
29 ∆ 1.8 2.2 4.0 5.1 6.3 Y 29 ∆ 4.9 1.9 1.2 Y
30 ∆ 1.6 2.5 3.8 5.1 7.2 Y 30 ∆ 6.7 2.9 1.1 Y
31 ∆ 2.0 2.4 3.7 4.9 6.8 Y 31 ∆ 5.1 1.9 1.2 Y
32 ∆ 2.5 2.9 4.5 6.0 8.0 Y 32 ∆ 5.0 1.7 0.1 Y
33 ∆ 3.4 3.7 5.7 6.9 9.0 Y 33 ∆ 3.7 0.8 1.0 N
34 ∆ 2.0 2.5 4.7 6.1 8.3 Y 34 ∆ 6.0 2.9 1.0 Y
35 ∆ 1.7 2.4 4.0 5.4 7.8 Y 35 ∆ 6.4 2.1 0.6 Y

48 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Appendix A: Job-Wise Conformance of Tone Reproduction Limits

Magenta 2% 3% 5% 7% 10% Magenta 90% 95% 98%

OK? OK?
# Tol. - - 3.0 4.2 6.0 # Tol. 3.0 1.5 -
1 ∆ 1.3 1.7 3.2 4.9 6.8 Y 1 ∆ 5.5 3.1 1.2 Y
2 ∆ 1.5 2.5 4.2 5.5 8.1 Y 2 ∆ 5.2 1.7 0.4 Y
3 ∆ 1.7 2.4 4.3 6.5 8.8 Y 3 ∆ 8.6 5.6 3.8 Y
4 ∆ 2.2 2.9 4.7 6.3 8.7 Y 4 ∆ 8.7 3.1 1.1 Y
5 ∆ 3.2 3.8 6.0 7.9 10.2 Y 5 ∆ 6.9 2.0 0.7 Y
6 ∆ 2.2 2.8 4.6 6.7 9.1 Y 6 ∆ 4.2 1.3 0.9 N
7 ∆ 0.9 1.6 3.2 5.2 7.4 Y 7 ∆ 15.9 8.2 4.5 Y
8 ∆ 1.0 1.6 3.1 5.1 7.2 Y 8 ∆ 16.1 8.5 4.6 Y
9 ∆ 2.3 3.2 4.8 6.4 9.3 Y 9 ∆ 8.7 3.6 1.7 Y
10 ∆ 1.5 2.7 4.8 6.1 9.0 Y 10 ∆ 7.7 2.8 1.6 Y
11 ∆ 1.1 1.7 2.7 4.9 7.2 N 11 ∆ 5.4 3.2 1.5 Y
12 ∆ 1.5 2.3 4.2 5.5 7.7 Y 12 ∆ 8.1 3.3 1.3 Y
13 ∆ 2.6 3.5 5.5 7.1 9.4 Y 13 ∆ 7.4 1.2 0.5 N
14 ∆ 1.3 1.8 3.0 4.1 6.3 N 14 ∆ 9.4 5.1 3.7 Y
15 ∆ 1.9 2.4 4.5 5.3 7.0 Y 15 ∆ 6.6 3.7 0.7 Y
16 ∆ 3.5 4.5 7.0 8.5 10.2 Y 16 ∆ 9.7 5.2 2.0 Y
17 ∆ 3.4 4.7 6.9 8.1 9.5 Y 17 ∆ 6.8 3.4 0.5 Y
18 ∆ 1.6 2.3 4.0 5.7 8.2 Y 18 ∆ 13.4 6.3 4.0 Y
19 ∆ 1.2 2.0 3.3 4.5 6.7 Y 19 ∆ 10.0 4.3 0.6 Y
20 ∆ 1.2 2.0 3.3 4.5 6.6 Y 20 ∆ 9.4 4.6 0.9 Y
21 ∆ 3.2 4.3 6.6 8.8 11.2 Y 21 ∆ 7.6 2.8 1.4 Y
22 ∆ 2.9 3.7 6.0 7.4 9.9 Y 22 ∆ 7.3 2.3 0.9 Y
23 ∆ 1.8 2.6 4.5 6.1 9.2 Y 23 ∆ 6.5 2.5 0.8 Y
24 ∆ 2.5 3.5 5.7 7.4 10.6 Y 24 ∆ 5.5 0.7 0.4 N
25 ∆ 2.6 3.3 5.5 7.2 9.7 Y 25 ∆ 6.0 1.1 0.3 N
26 ∆ 2.5 2.8 4.7 6.5 8.6 Y 26 ∆ 8.4 1.1 0.5 N
27 ∆ 2.3 2.5 4.2 5.9 7.8 Y 27 ∆ 9.5 1.5 0.7 Y
28 ∆ 1.2 1.9 4.2 5.2 8.1 Y 28 ∆ 4.8 2.8 1.4 Y
29 ∆ 2.0 2.5 4.1 5.6 7.6 Y 29 ∆ 7.9 3.7 2.0 Y
30 ∆ 1.6 2.7 4.0 5.5 7.8 Y 30 ∆ 6.9 1.4 0.5 N
31 ∆ 1.9 2.2 3.6 5.0 7.2 Y 31 ∆ 6.8 2.0 0.5 Y
32 ∆ 2.8 3.5 5.1 7.2 9.3 Y 32 ∆ 4.7 2.4 0.6 Y
33 ∆ 4.0 5.2 7.4 9.2 12.2 Y 33 ∆ 3.6 1.0 0.6 N
34 ∆ 2.0 3.2 5.0 6.7 9.7 Y 34 ∆ 6.3 2.2 1.1 Y
35 ∆ 1.8 2.9 4.4 5.7 7.9 Y 35 ∆ 6.6 3.5 1.8 Y

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 49
Appendix A: Job-Wise Conformance of Tone Reproduction Limits

Yellow 2% 3% 5% 7% 10% Yellow 90% 95% 98%

OK? OK?
# Tol. - - 3.0 4.2 6.0 # Tol. 3.0 1.5 -
1 ∆ 1.5 1.8 4.9 7.3 10.1 Y 1 ∆ 9.0 5.0 3.4 Y
2 ∆ 1.8 2.2 4.0 5.5 8.4 Y 2 ∆ 7.3 3.2 0.4 Y
3 ∆ 1.8 2.5 4.4 5.8 8.9 Y 3 ∆ 0.7 4.5 1.1 N
4 ∆ 3.2 4.0 6.0 7.9 11.2 Y 4 ∆ 13.0 0.8 6.5 N
5 ∆ 2.9 4.1 6.2 8.9 12.0 Y 5 ∆ 9.7 0.5 1.3 N
6 ∆ 2.0 2.8 5.1 6.8 9.5 Y 6 ∆ 11.2 5.0 3.8 Y
7 ∆ 1.5 1.9 4.2 6.2 8.9 Y 7 ∆ 8.7 0.8 4.2 N
8 ∆ 1.4 2.1 4.1 6.0 8.7 Y 8 ∆ 8.5 0.7 3.1 N
9 ∆ 2.4 3.3 5.8 8.1 10.1 Y 9 ∆ 10.6 5.3 0.4 Y
10 ∆ 3.5 4.8 7.8 11.5 14.4 Y 10 ∆ 9.6 3.6 1.3 Y
11 ∆ 1.4 2.0 5.1 8.0 12.3 Y 11 ∆ 8.3 4.4 3.0 Y
12 ∆ 3.4 4.2 7.5 10.7 13.6 Y 12 ∆ 9.1 3.7 0.8 Y
13 ∆ 2.7 2.7 5.5 6.6 10.9 Y 13 ∆ 4.4 4.5 1.2 Y
14 ∆ 1.3 1.8 3.2 4.7 7.0 Y 14 ∆ 6.6 3.4 1.5 Y
15 ∆ 1.9 2.8 4.3 5.5 7.6 Y 15 ∆ 2.3 5.1 2.1 N
16 ∆ 3.3 3.4 5.6 7.3 8.1 Y 16 ∆ 14.7 6.9 1.9 Y
17 ∆ 3.0 3.6 5.7 7.2 8.2 Y 17 ∆ 17.5 7.7 1.3 Y
18 ∆ 2.1 2.4 4.7 6.2 8.7 Y 18 ∆ 11.9 6.6 1.0 Y
19 ∆ 1.7 2.3 3.4 4.5 7.0 Y 19 ∆ 10.2 0.8 2.1 N
20 ∆ 1.6 2.1 3.2 4.3 6.7 Y 20 ∆ 8.5 0.8 1.9 N
21 ∆ 3.5 4.3 7.2 10.2 13.6 Y 21 ∆ 7.6 2.1 1.0 Y
22 ∆ 2.9 3.8 5.5 7.0 10.2 Y 22 ∆ 7.6 4.2 4.6 Y
23 ∆ 1.7 1.9 3.4 5.5 7.7 Y 23 ∆ 11.4 4.8 3.1 Y
24 ∆ 2.6 3.3 5.1 6.3 8.4 Y 24 ∆ 11.9 0.8 1.5 N
25 ∆ 2.7 3.3 5.1 6.1 8.3 Y 25 ∆ 9.7 0.4 1.7 N
26 ∆ 3.1 3.1 5.2 7.3 9.5 Y 26 ∆ 7.5 1.7 1.0 Y
27 ∆ 3.0 3.0 4.9 6.8 9.0 Y 27 ∆ 7.6 0.8 1.9 N
28 ∆ 1.1 1.7 3.9 6.4 8.6 Y 28 ∆ 7.2 3.9 2.3 Y
29 ∆ 1.9 2.3 4.1 6.3 8.2 Y 29 ∆ 7.0 4.6 1.1 Y
30 ∆ 1.8 2.7 4.6 6.1 8.4 Y 30 ∆ 13.8 6.9 1.6 Y
31 ∆ 2.1 2.6 3.9 5.5 7.6 Y 31 ∆ 7.4 2.4 0.7 Y
32 ∆ 3.0 3.7 5.2 7.0 9.7 Y 32 ∆ 7.6 4.1 3.3 Y
33 ∆ 4.1 4.7 6.7 9.2 13.1 Y 33 ∆ 7.6 3.5 1.6 Y
34 ∆ 1.7 2.3 4.5 6.5 9.3 Y 34 ∆ 8.3 2.4 0.6 Y
35 ∆ 2.2 3.0 4.1 5.7 8.0 Y 35 ∆ 12.0 2.8 2.1 Y

50 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Appendix B: Grey Reproduction Curves and Their SBGR

Appendix B. Grey Reproduction

Curves and Their SBGR

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 51
Appendix B: Grey Reproduction Curves and Their SBGR

52 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

 Appendix B: Grey Reproduction Curves and Their SBGR

A Statistical Analysis of the Printing Standards Audit (PSA) Press Sheet Database 53
Appendix C: Job-Wise Grey Reproduction Conformance

Appendix C. Job-Wise Grey

Reproduction Conformance
∆L*_25 ∆L*_50 ∆L*_75 ∆Ch_25 ∆Ch_50 ∆Ch_75
# Tolerance OK?
2.5 2.5 2.5 2.0 3.0 4.0
1 ∆ 1.1 0.4 0.1 1.5 2.4 2.1 Y
2 ∆ 1.2 2.4 1.7 2.2 2.1 1.1 N
3 ∆ 1.3 1.3 3.4 1.0 2.2 1.3 N
4 ∆ 2.4 2.2 0.4 3.9 4.2 4.0 N
5 ∆ 3.0 3.2 0.9 2.5 3.9 3.3 N
6 ∆ 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.9 0.2 0.8 Y
7 ∆ 0.8 3.7 5.2 0.9 0.7 1.8 N
8 ∆ 1.1 3.5 5.4 1.2 1.2 2.2 N
9 ∆ 0.8 0.7 1.4 2.1 4.0 4.8 N
10 ∆ 0.6 0.4 0.7 2.9 3.1 1.9 N
11 ∆ 0.1 0.1 1.3 2.5 2.7 2.3 N
12 ∆ 0.7 0.0 0.3 2.2 4.5 3.0 N
13 ∆ 0.8 1.2 0.1 3.4 3.0 2.3 N
14 ∆ 4.5 3.4 1.5 2.1 4.8 4.5 N
15 ∆ 2.2 1.3 2.4 3.2 0.6 4.0 N
16 ∆ 2.5 2.9 1.9 1.1 0.4 4.7 N
17 ∆ 2.3 2.6 0.7 1.5 0.7 3.8 N
18 ∆ 1.5 0.0 1.5 1.2 2.8 1.5 Y
19 ∆ 4.4 5.6 4.2 0.4 1.6 4.8 N
20 ∆ 4.5 5.8 4.7 0.5 1.6 5.7 N
21 ∆ 4.4 3.2 1.4 3.9 2.3 5.9 N
22 ∆ 1.4 4.1 4.1 1.9 3.9 9.1 N
23 ∆ 0.6 0.9 1.7 1.1 2.4 1.6 Y
24 ∆ 1.1 2.9 0.2 2.1 4.2 4.4 N
25 ∆ 1.5 2.7 0.2 2.6 4.2 4.9 N
26 ∆ 0.4 0.7 1.4 1.8 2.4 1.4 Y
27 ∆ 0.6 0.0 0.8 1.5 1.8 1.9 Y
28 ∆ 1.3 0.4 3.2 0.6 3.1 2.2 N
29 ∆ 0.7 2.9 3.8 1.4 5.3 2.6 N
30 ∆ 2.5 3.3 1.2 1.1 2.5 1.8 N
31 ∆ 1.8 1.0 1.6 0.8 1.4 0.5 Y
32 ∆ 0.9 1.4 2.7 1.3 1.4 1.4 N
33 ∆ 2.5 4.4 3.1 2.1 4.0 8.2 N
34 ∆ 0.3 0.6 1.8 0.8 0.9 2.7 Y
35 ∆ 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.0 3.2 0.4 N

54 Chung & Chen (PICRM-2011-08)

Rochester Institute of Technology
College of Imaging Arts and Sciences
55 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, NY 14623
Phone: (585) 475-2733
http://print.rit.edu