Proof Viewing Stations

As we all know, we cannot view the color of an object without the light source, because colors do not exist in the absence of light. Natural light is the most ideal light source for color viewing. However, restricted by time and place, we cannot engage in color matching under natural light all the time. Under most circumstances, we have to rely on artificial light. When using an artificial light source to observe colors, we often encounter the following phenomenon: two subjects appear to be identical in color under one artificial light, but completely different under natural light (or another artificial light). This phenomenon is known as metamerism of objects in physics.

To overcome the influence of metamerism on product quality during the process of color reproduction, International Standard Organization(ISO) and National Quality and Technology Monitoring Bureau demands that color reproduction and matching industries, such as advertising, graphic arts, printing and manufacturing of inkjet and toner, have to use standardized lighting condition for color observation.

As a result, ISO came up with a regulation in 2000, i.e. ISO3664:2000, regulating in detail the requirements for artificial spectrum used in standardized lighting condition, the brightness of the light source and the surrounding environment.

Gamut distributes and supports numerous standardized lighting products for the market. For many years, these products have been widely used in prepress, digital proofing, press proofing, color printing, color matching etc, serving as a necessary tool for quality control and color management.