Jinkai Qian, Techkon USA

Evaluation of Available ISO 13655 Backing Materials and Measurement Differences for the Packaging Industry

Jinkai Qian, Techkon USA

The Annex A of ISO (International Standard Organization) 13655 defines sample backing materials used for the graphic arts industry. Due to the versatile aspects of print processes, different vendors and print manufacturers are using various backing substrates for color calibration or measurements.

This study has two parts: 1) Evaluate backing products available on the market based on the ISO requirements. 2) For all compliant backer substrates, a simple opacity comparison test using 0/45-degree geometry spectrophotometer on multiple film samples will be conducted to see the variation when using ISO compliant backers.

The goal of this research is to find out the feasible backer solutions for print suppliers and brand owners as well as to understand common tolerance when various ISO backers are used when discussing print quality control requirements.

Jinkai Qian joined Techkon USA since 2015 as an Application Engineer for providing consultation, training, and technical support to clients globally. Being an certified G7 expert and BrandQ supply chain expert, his goal is to bridge the gap between brand and print supplies for efficient communication and  print color fidelity. Meanwhile, Jinkai is actively involved in the company’s research & development projects on both hardware and software.

Prior to employment at TECHKON, Jinkai spent several years working at different aspects of the graphic arts industry, such as brand color reproduction, prepress automation, etc. Jinkai currently holds a master degree in Print Media from Rochester Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Digital Printing from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.