Light audit
according to ISO 3664:2009

What does a light audit do?

IPM Light Audit – Colour-compliant sampling and reliable assessment

The influences of room lighting on standard lighting equipment, soft-proofing monitors and the viewer’s perception are frequently under-estimated.

To ensure that complaints are not given the opportunity to arise, customers simply need to be happy with the printed results.

The IPM audit provides you with the necessary recommendations for you to sustainably optimise the lighting situation in your company

Why is a lighting audit useful?

Despite a largely industrial and standardised production process, and despite the fact that the finished print products match the proof (in measuring technology terms), printing service providers are constantly faced with the problem that the printed products look very different in the eyes of their customers than how they imagined they would when they were being created. It is always the (colour-) correct lighting that determines how your customers perceive printed products.

The IPM light audit will help you to ensure truly effective colour communication. Our experts ensure that your standard light corresponds to the applicable quality criteria, that ambient lighting does not have too great an influence on the lighting situation in the standard light booth, and also that the best sources of light are present in the offices and meeting rooms where proofs are viewed and print products are scrutinised.

Whether it be energy-saving bulbs or conventional fluorescent tubes, the different colour temperatures and lighting levels can literally change the perception of colour. IPM examines the lighting situation in your company – from the standard light at the matching stations in the pre-press and printing room to the viewing situations in your meeting rooms.

What influence does the light have?

Light has a considerable influence on the quality of visual matching and colour communication. The right lighting therefore constitutes an important criterion for success that should not be under-estimated.

IPM Light Audit according to ISO 3664:2009
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How does the IPM lighting audit work?

The IPM lighting audit includes the following points:

Phase 1

Inventory of the matching stations as per ISO 3664:2009

Measuring technology evaluation of the lighting situation in matching areas. This includes the standard light and the ambient light, since even a 10% to 20% amount of extraneous lighting is enough to noticeably deteriorate the colour reproduction properties of a print product.

Phase 2

Advice on handling optically brightened media (OBA and UV elements):

OBA is the abbreviation for optical brightening agents.

Function: the human eye can only perceive a tiny fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum of light,
which is expressed in wavelengths (nanometres). This part of the spectrum is known as the visible spectrum and lies between 380 nm (ultra-violet limit) and 780 nm (ultra-red limit).

Optical brighteners are molecules that absorb electromagnetic rays of between 300 and 400 nm (outside the visible spectrum) and reflect them back in the visible spectrum of between 400 and 500 nm (towards blue). This phenomenon is referred to as fluorescence.

Disadvantages: the natural cellulose fibres (which are omnipresent in paper manufacturing) tend to absorb wavelengths in the blue range and therefore look yellowish. An optical brightener artificially “compensates” for this loss in the spectrum (the blue and yellow colours cancel each other out as complementary colours). The fluorescence effect therefore makes the paper look whiter and brighter. Optical brighteners can also lose their properties over time, which can cause “white loss” of the paper to occur. Influences that should be borne in mind.

Lichtaudit-und-Beleuchtung-am-arbeitsplatz

Phase 3

Lighting technology analysis of general lighting as per the Workplace Ordinance (ASR A3.4 and DIN EN 12464-1):

Measuring technology analysis of the light in offices, meeting rooms and printing halls, where proofs and print products are observed and evaluated with the customer independently of the matching process.

Phase 4

Investment advice:

Every one of us is obliged to act sustainably, meet the requirements of climate protection and meet budget targets. If you are considering the idea of investing in a new lighting system, we will ensure that your investment is no lottery. This is because an understanding of the overall running costs.

Phase 5

5. Inspections with professional lighting evaluation and proposals for a conversion concept:

Once the evaluations are complete, you will of course receive a comprehensive report offering recommendations as well as possible alternatives, costs and benefits.

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The IPM light audit serves to capture all of the influences of the current light situation, which are then used as the basis for an assessment and optimisation. Existing standard light equipment, all of the room lighting, the dimensions of the room, the positioning of the workstations and factors such as glare, mirroring, extraneous light and the overall quality of the diffuse light are measured using lighting technology, systematically documented and analysed.

Light auditaccording to ISO 3664:2009