Color consistency and repeatability are important – to your shop and to your clients. But producing reliable and consistent color can consume considerable time and money. An increasingly popular way to best analyze color and print-related issues to assure repeatable, predictable results is to become a G7 Master qualified facility.

Have you heard of the G7® process? Perhaps you’ve had inquiries from potential clients about whether you are a G7 Master shop. Some print buyers will only work with G7 Master printers because they know that a G7 Master printer

• is a skilled, tested, and proven leader in color print production,
• is an expert in matching proof-to-print across any process, ink or substrates,
• delivers print at the highest level of quality, and
• reduces cost and speeds time to market.

G7 is an internationally accepted set of best practices for achieving consistent color reproduction across a wide range of proofing devices, printing devices (both digital and offset), and substrates. It’s a method to achieve a common visual appearance for output, even when it is produced on completely different print systems. It does this by focusing on a specification for tonality and gray balance.

Canon has partnered with IDEAlliance®, a leading non-profit industry association guiding print media methodologies, specifications and standards, to provide G7 Master qualification services to our customers. Our G7 Expert Production Analysts will

• perform a broad-based assessment of your entire print environment, including a detailed evaluation of your current color management processes,
• provide a gap analysis of areas in your print environment that may be costing you money or contributing to color inconsistencies,
• train your staff on implementing changes toward G7 best practices and facilitate G7 Qualification for your organization.

Canon is so committed to adhering to industry-leading color management best practices that it has mandated Color Management Professional (CMP) certification for its entire Professional Services organization across all three divisions plus G7 Expert Certification for an elite group of color experts and color management personnel. Even the Production Print Solutions marketing team has three G7 Certified Experts, mysef being one of them! Becoming a G7 expert as a marketer is invaluable to helping better understand and engage with our customers especially as printing technologies converge and conversations around color deepen. Here at Canon, we practice what we preach…even our Customer Experience Center in Boca Raton, FL, is a G7 Master print shop.

If becoming a G7 Master qualified facility is something you’d like to investigate, you can learn more from the IDEAlliance website at idealliance.org or by visiting the Color Management Professional Services website of Canon. It’s a great way to differentiate your business and attract new clients.

*G7 and IDEAlliance are both registered trademarks of International Digital Enterprise Alliance, Inc.

Lisa Weese started with Océ, now Canon, in 2000 as a Senior Account Executive in Northern Virginia area where she was a three time Century Club Winner, member of the National Sales Advisory Council, Future Leaders Group and Technology Seminar Committee. After her successful years in sales, Lisa has worked for seven years in corporate marketing, holding positions as the Product Manager for the 55+ ppm monochrome engines, PRISMA cut sheet software, and the VarioPrint 135 Series. In early 2013, Lisa held the Marketing Executive, Product Operations role, as Chairperson for all Product Management Teams (PMTs) – cut sheet, continuous, inkjet, software and finishing, in addition to, the responsibility for back-office product marketing activities and finishing quotes. As of November 1, 2013 Lisa was promoted into management as the Manager for Product Marketing: Cut Sheet Toner Engines, Software and Professional Services. In her spare time, Lisa is an avid equestrian, actively involved in the Thoroughbred racing industry, and riding/training hunters and polo ponies in both Connecticut and Florida.