Recently, Digital Transitions has become the sole North American distributor for Image Engineering’s Universal Test Targets (UTT) and associated analysis software, IQ Analyzer-X. Designed to analyze image quality in accordance with ISO 19264, this package is similar to the Golden Thread tools most of our North American clients are familiar with for working with FADGI guidelines.
We are now offering UTT targets in addition to our traditional Golden Thread tools. The UTT system allows us to meet the needs of our international Cultural Heritage clients who wish to work with the ISO standards more closely.
The UTT system was initially designed for the Metamorfoze Preservation Imaging Guidelines in 2012. When the ISO 19264 standard was developed, the UTT target was specified for validating this standard. The goal of ISO 19264 is to standardize Cultural Heritage imaging, and in effect combines measurement elements from FADGI and Metamorfoze. In the North American Cultural Heritage field, FADGI is still considered the predominant standard, and with the newest revision, meeting FADGI standards will very nearly resemble meeting ISO-19264 standards. While FADGI 2*, 3* and 4* generally align with ISO Level A, B and C, full measurement and analysis will require the UTT, and IQ Analyzer X.
Because ISO 19264 does not specify a target resolution for media types, the UTT system is designed to evaluate different common object and field sizes. It is available in sizes from A0 to A4 depending on the size of object you plan to work with. UTT is evaluated by Image Engineering IQ analyzerX software, available for PC. Version X has a free version that allows limited analysis against generic measurements. For users interested in learning more about the software and how the analysis works before committing to a purchase, the free version is a good introduction.
So when would a user want or need to use UTT targets and software? For the most part, North American users can stick with Golden Thread targets and the FADGI guidelines. As mentioned earlier, the 2022 release of FADGI closely aligns 4* with ISO level A, 3* with Level B and 2* with Level C. However, if a user is working with European partners and they are requesting concrete validation that their images comply with ISO-19264, the use of the UTT target and software will be necessary to achieve that validation.
If you think that the UTT Targets might be a useful addition to your imaging department, or if you have any questions about these processes, please don’t hesitate to contact our support department so we can discuss what may work best for your specific workflow.
You can contact our support team here: http://www.digitaltransitions.com/dt-support
John Pike is a Support Specialist at Digital Transitions. He has a background working as a photographer, as well as experience working as a lighting assistant and digital technician on product, lifestyle, and fashion photography shoots in Los Angeles and New York. Through his work on set and time at Digital Transitions, John has gained extensive knowledge of commercial and Cultural Heritage digital imaging techniques. John holds a Master’s in Fine Arts in Photography from Bard College and a Master’s in Library Sciences in Archiving from the University of North Texas.