In a global world, electronically communicating brand colors accurately and consistently is quickly becoming a requirement. Global and in-house workflows from designer to press are demanding common, adequate and effective means to communicate color and appearance.

X-Rite’s Color Exchange Format (CxF) was designed to meet these requirements. CxF files allow the seamless digital communication of all commercially significant aspects of color across devices, applications and locations.

CxF/X-4 is defined in ISO 17972 as a subset of the CxF3 standard. CxF/X-4 files characterize a spot color in conjunction with a print substrate by means of its spectral reflectance data and include a wide range of metadata.

The PDF V2.0 format is defined in ISO 32000-2. PDF 2.0 files can embed CxF/X-4 data and print order information. This accurately characterizes the spot colors used in the file. PDF/X files with embedded CxF/X-4 data provide all the color information required along the entire supply chain.

Printers are provided with press-critical variables such as target colors, TVI aims, opacity and ink laydown order. Proofing applications can use the spectral data to provide excellent matches of spot color tints and overprints. Ink formulation software uses CxF/X-4 data to accurately formulate ink recipes.