X-Rite Color Exchange Format Becomes Industry Standard
The ISO TC130 committee that sets global standards for graphic arts has adopted the X-Rite Color Exchange Format version 3 (CxF3) as the new standard for color data exchange and verification. This standard (ISO 17972-1:2015) provides the graphic arts industry with an accurate, efficient way to communicate color information across any supply chain. X-Rite made its technology available to ISO without any restrictions to support and continue to contribute to the industry through this major technical development. X-Rite fully endorses ISO’s goal of harmonizing technical specifications for products and services that make industries more efficient by communicating color electronically in a global color supply chain.
The CxF3 format is defined in a completely open way so that all aspects of a color can be communicated, even when the application and the color communication features required are unknown. This means that every software vendor implementing and supporting CxF3 is able to easily and accurately extend the information throughout global workflows.
X-Rite established the first version of CxF in 2000. Since then, the company has continued to invest in and improve the specification, using knowledge gained from serving a wide range of markets. X-Rite also established a website where the CxF3 specification and examples are publicly available for download (www.colorexchangeformat.com). This website has facilitated the wide distribution of CxF3 and provided strong support for the creation of the 17972 series and the publication of the earlier ISO standards.
“Physically correct and accurate color communication is critical to an efficient workflow in the graphic arts,” says Ray Cheydleur, printing and imaging product portfolio manager at X-Rite. “X-Rite's CxF3, and now ISO CxF, ensures an accurate and efficient exchange of digital standards, measurements and metadata. The publication of this standard provides a framework for sharing color data at all steps in the workflow – from brand owner through to production. Many companies and products have already benefited from CxF3, and now that it is an ISO standard, many more will benefit in the future.”
