product images for do-it-yourself items · - with a clipping path. it is very important for the...

Product images for do-it-yourself items

Manual based on the GS1 Product Image Specification

Release 1.2, Ratified, 26 April 2018

Document Summary

Document Item Current Value

Document Name Product images for do-it-yourself items

Document Date 26 April 2018

Document Version 1.2

Document Status Ratified

Document Description Manual based on the GS1 Product Image Specification

Log of Changes

Release Date of Change Changed By Summary of Change

0.1 14-04-2014 Suzan Buss Draft version.

0.2 10-06-2014 Suzan Buss Draft version, agreed with retailers.

0.3 1-9-2014 Suzan Buss Draft version, agreed with suppliers.

1.0 13-11-2014 Suzan Buss First definitive version, following agreement with STC and sector.

1.1 10-2-2015 Suzan Buss

- Definitions (composite photo, detail photo) added.

- Layout of exceptions and additions summary.

- White border specified and illustration added (1.2).

- Minor clarifications to Table 2.1.

- Table 2.2 added (file naming for composite and detail photos).

- Examples added (3-5 supporting elements, 3-6 composite photo, 3-7 detail photo).

- Name of clipping path ‘Pad 1’ changed to international name ‘Path 1’.

- A few textual enhancements/corrections.

- Glossary added.

1.2 26-4-2018 Suzanne Deveer - Added a visual to table 1.1 (filling knife)

Disclaimer

GS1, under its IP Policy, seeks to avoid uncertainty regarding intellectual property claims by requiring the participants in the Work Group that developed this Product images for do-it-yourself items to agree to grant to GS1 members a royalty-free license or a RAND license to Necessary Claims, as that term is defined in the GS1 IP Policy. Furthermore, attention is drawn to the possibility that an implementation of one or more features of this Specification may be the subject of a patent or other intellectual property right that does not involve a Necessary Claim. Any such patent or other intellectual property right is not subject to the licensing obligations of GS1. Moreover, the agreement to grant licenses provided under the GS1 IP Policy does not include IP rights and any claims of third parties who were not participants in the Work Group.

Accordingly, GS1 recommends that any organization developing an implementation designed to be in conformance with this Specification should determine whether there are any patents that may encompass a specific implementation that the organization is developing in compliance with the Specification and whether a license under a patent or other intellectual property right is needed. Such a determination of a need for licensing should be made in view of the details of the specific system designed by the organization in consultation with their own patent counsel.


Release 1.2, Ratified, 26 April 2018 © 2018 GS1 Nederland of 18

THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGMENT, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR ANY WARRANTY OTHER WISE ARISING OUT OF THIS SPECIFICATION. GS1 disclaims all liability for any damages arising from use or misuse of this Standard, whether special, indirect, consequential, or compensatory damages, and including liability for infringement of any intellectual property rights, relating to use of information in or reliance upon this document.

GS1 retains the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice. GS1 makes no warranty for the use of this document and assumes no responsibility for any errors which may appear in the document, nor does it make a commitment to update the information contained herein.



Table of contents

1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 5

2 General agreements ..................................................................................... 6

2.1 Supplied images ............................................................................................................. 6

2.2 Supply specifications ....................................................................................................... 6

2.3 Colour and quality ........................................................................................................... 7

2.4 Views ............................................................................................................................ 8

2.5 Determining the front face ............................................................................................. 10

2.6 Additions and exceptions ................................................................................................ 11

3 File naming ................................................................................................. 12

3.1 GTIN based file name construction .................................................................................. 12

3.2 File construction composite and detail photos ................................................................... 14

3.3 Examples ..................................................................................................................... 14

4 Appendix .................................................................................................... 16

4.1 Glossary ...................................................................................................................... 16

4.2 Future developments ..................................................................................................... 18



1 Introduction

The use of images has always been important for businesses, and this has burgeoned with the growth in online marketing and sales. As the consumer cannot pick up and touch the product, it is important to have a clear representation of it, so as to produce more sales and fewer returns. With the advent of webshops the numbers of product images needed has grown enormously. Nowadays product images are needed for the whole range of products available online, not just promotional items in flyers. Organizing and exchanging images is not always without its problems, however. Unless there is a standard format for images, exchanging them between the various parties is a complex and inefficient process. On top of this, retailers invest large amounts of money

in taking photos of products that their suppliers have already photographed. Aim The aim of this document is to develop a standard method for organizations in the DIY sector. This standard method describes how images are created, associated and exchanged with trading partners. In addition, a unique naming convention is denoted. These standard organizational processes are needed to improve

efficiency and reduce the cost of exchanging images. Using uniform file naming for images – with a worldwide

agreed standard – makes it clear to everyone what the image (and view) is without opening the file. Unless explicitly stated, the rules apply to both shelf management and the commercial (online/offline) exchange of images. This document has been designed for suppliers and retailers, but it also provides a framework for others

supplying services to them. This guide is based on the existing GS1 Product Image Specification standards. Exchange This manual will be followed by a survey of how product images can be exchanged in the sector, preferably via a central database: using the standards set out in the guideline and a central database will make for an even greater improvement in efficiency, resulting in cost benefits. Product images will only have to be supplied once for various applications and buyers. On top of this, it will reduce the time to market for online sales, as images

for every product will be available immediately. This follow-up phase is to start in 2015.

http://www.gs1.org/sites/default/files/docs/gdsn/Product_Image_Specification.pdf



2 General agreements

2.1 Supplied images

All images supplied must comply with the guidelines set out in this document, unless a particular view has no added value for consumers. This is the case with certain product groups in the DIY sector, as there is a wide variety of products. The side of a piece of sandpaper or a detail photo of a plug will not provide any useful information, for instance. It is understood that there are instances where images other than ‘product’ photos will be needed. Also,

situations may arise where product shots are needed at a size or resolution that exceeds the standards in this guideline. In these cases, where there are exceptions to the guideline, or in case of doubt, the supplier should consult with the retailer.

2.2 Supply specifications

Images must be supplied at the maximum resolution possible and may also be extracted at lower resolutions (e.g. for shelf management). The images supplied must comply with the following specifications:

- TIFF file.

- LZW compressed.

- Adobe RGB 8 bits per channel colour mode.

- 300 dpi.

- Image size: minimum 2400 x 2400 pixels, maximum 4800 x 4800. In the case of smaller products

the image must be able to be displayed at a size at least twice the original format (at 300 dpi).

- Image size to be a 1:1 square aspect ratio.

- White border to be 60 pixels all round (see figure 1.1).

- Image to be free-standing.

- With a transparent background.

- With a clipping path. It is very important for the purpose of batch image repurposing that the clipping path be named ‘Path 1’ (N.B. initial capital and space).*

- Default flatness setting should be 1-device pixels.

* A transparent background plus a clipping path would seem to be unnecessary duplication, but we recommend doing both so as to ensure that the background really is separate from the product area.



2.3 Colour and quality

Instructions for quality image capture and processing:

- No colour casts.

- The image must be colour-accurate.

- Reflections must be realistic and within the product area, i.e. there must not be any reflections

visible outside the product area.

- Reflections of the environment (e.g. the photographer) must not be visible, or only minimally.

- Shadows must be realistic and neutral and within the product area, i.e. there must not be any

shadows visible outside the product area.

- Retouching must be as seamless and undetectable as possible and be convincing at a minimum of 200% magnification (e.g. removal of expiration/best before dates).

- The image may be mirrored if the product is symmetrical.

- A rendered image (converted from 3D to 2D) is permitted.

- The subject should preferably be evenly lit with the light coming from the left.

- No alpha channels or layers, guides or rulers.

- No transfer functions or PostScript colour management.

- No signatures, ‘finger printing’ or visible watermarks.

- No compression artefacts.

- No artificial enlargement (interpolation).

- No scanning from printed pages.

- No visible dust, scratches, dents, damage or fingerprints.

- No manufactured shadows.

- Moiré patterns must be minimized.

- Any ‘price’ indication must be omitted. This also applies to stickers such as ‘fragile’ and ‘display

model’.

- No persons or animals in the image.

- No props or additional products are allowed within the primary image areas unless they are needed

for clarification.

Figure 1.1: White border 60 pixels all round



2.4 Views

At least the following views of products must be available:

Ap

plic

atio

n

View Product with packaging – contents also photographable without packaging

Product with packaging – contents not photographable without packaging

Product without packaging

Lamp, tap Cement, sand, adhesive

Putty knife, lock

Shelf m

anagem

ent

1. In

packaging,

straight-on front

NOT REQUIRED

2. In packaging, straight-on

left

NOT REQUIRED

3. In packaging, straight-on top

NOT REQUIRED

4. Out of packaging, straight-on front

NOT REQUIRED NOT REQUIRED

5. Out of packaging, straight-on

left




Ap

plic

atio

n

View Product with packaging – contents also

photographable without packaging

Product with packaging – contents not



6. Out of packaging,

straight-on top


Sale

s

7. Out of

packaging,

oblique (plunge) left

NOT REQUIRED

8. Out of packaging, oblique (plunge) right

NOT REQUIRED

9. Out of packaging, oblique (plunge) top

NOT REQUIRED

10. In packaging,

oblique (plunge) left

NOT REQUIRED

NOT REQUIRED

11. In packaging, oblique (plunge) right

NOT REQUIRED

NOT REQUIRED



Ap

plic

atio

n

View Product with packaging – contents also


Product with packaging – contents not



12. In packaging, oblique

(plunge) top

NOT REQUIRED

NOT REQUIRED

Table 1.1: Views of products that must be available in shelf-management and sales

Note 1: In the case of some products it is also necessary to supply an image of the back or underside to enable the product to be recognized or to show its uniqueness. This is the case, for example, with outdoor loungers, switches and top-class products. In these cases the advice is to supply this view/these views as well. The same applies to products that need to be shown in use so as to clarify what the product does.

Note 2: The ‘oblique’ angle (plunge) is 30º for side views (see figure 1.2) and 10-15º for top views (see figure 1.3). For side views there is a tolerance of ±10º (i.e. anything between 20º and 40º is permitted).

Figure 1.2: Angle of side view Figure 1.3: Angle of top view

2.5 Determining the front face

The front facing of the products is determined by the GS1 package Measurement Rules. All other facings are taken in relation to the front face.

The GS1 Package Measurement Rules state that:

- The default front is the side with the largest surface area that is used by the manufacturer to ‘sell’ the product to the consumer. In other words, the side with markings such as the product name.

- Some product packages have more than one possible front with the same surface area. These

products can be presented both vertically and horizontally on the shelves. If a product package has more than one possible front, the highest side is considered to be the default front.

30° (20-

40° permitted)

10° - 15°

http://www.gs1.org/sites/default/files/docs/gdsn/GDSN_Package_Measurement_Rules.pdf



2.6 Additions and exceptions

Some products would seem to be incompatible with the above-mentioned standards, so they are listed here along with the rules agreed for them. The following rules apply to the product groups listed, unless a particular

view has no added value for consumers. The omission of particular views should always be agreed with the retailer. Composite photos: In a composite photo images are placed over one another in layers to produce a complete image. Examples are a screwdriver with a close-up of the tip, or a box of nails with one or more nails out of the package in the

foreground. These are compositions. Important: the resolution of the smallest image in the composition must be 300 dpi. Important: all images must have an active clipping path. It is very important for the purpose of batch image repurposing that the clipping path be named ‘Path 1’ (note the initial capital and space).

Detail photo: A detail photo is a photograph, line drawing or other graphical representation of a particular product attribute. It is used to emphasize a particular detail or attribute of an item. This includes photos of a small part of a consumer unit in the case of products that are too large to be shown in their entirety (timber or plastic panels or pipes). Important: a clipping path is required.

Products on a roll, such as carpet and wallpaper: These products must be partially unrolled on the ‘oblique’ photos (photographed at an angle) so that the print is visible. Products that are attached to something when in use, such as a garage door or a toilet roll holder: Should be photographed detached.

Apparel: Should be photographed flat, not stuffed, straight-on front and straight-on back. Longer products: For longer products it is permitted to overshoot the image on the left. Again, the top angle must be 10-15º and the angle at which the product overshoots the image must be 30º.

Measures of capacity: If a product has more than one measure of capacity (e.g. paint) a unique photo of each size should be taken. Colours: A unique photo should be taken of every colour variant of the product (e.g. paint).

Promotional packaging: If a product has a promotional packaging as well the regular packaging, unique photos should be taken of both.

Volume products: For volume product an Image of the standard consumer unit is needed plus one loose product. For example: tiles are always sold in sets of four, then the image should show a stack of four tiles plus a close-up of a loose

tile. Light fittings: The light should be on, unless an image with the lights off provides more information. Handles (e.g. on paint can): Paint cans and other products with handles should be photographed with the handle at the backside. The handle

attachments must not be cut off. Pumps/nozzles: Pumps and nozzles should be put at the left side while photographing.



3 File naming

The file name of the image should be based on the 14-digit GTIN of the item being photographed. The remaining characters should indicate the various views.

3.1 GTIN based file name construction

Minimum requirements:

Position in the file name

Symbol View Explanation

1-14 GTIN GS1 article number

15 _ Underscore spacer

16

A

B

Still shot of product, single GTIN

Still shot, single GTIN,

with supporting elements

Does the image show only the item, or are supporting elements also visible?

B also applies to mood images

17 1

2

3

7

8

9

Front

Left

Top

Back

Right

Bottom

Facing indicator

18 C

L

R

N

Centre

Left

Right

No Plunge

Plunge: Angle reference relative to the face being represented

19 1

0

A

B

If the 16th character is ‘B’, optional

additions:

G

H

J

K

L

M

In packaging

Out of packaging

Case

Innerpack

Staged

Held

Worn

Used

Family

Open Case

Table 2.1: Minimum requirements file name



The following characters are optional additions to be used if the product being imaged requires them in the order in which they should appear.




21-22 aa Language Indicator (2 character alpha):

Example of French version:

(GTIN)_A1L1_fr

ISO639 format - Example syntax for populating a country variation of a Language Code attribute: aa or optionally aa-BB where aa = ISO 639

code list, must be lower case, where

BB = ISO 3166-1 Country Code, 2 Alpha character representation, must be upper case (to be used only if multiple faces of dissimilar languages occur).

21-26 MMYY Image end date/promotional (4 character numeric)

MMYY that image is valid until (i.e. if good until 1206 (Dec 2006) then to be removed after 1 January 2007).

21-29 sNN Sequence Number (3 character alphanumeric)

Lowercase ‘s’ followed by numeric digits for Sequence number will be added at the end of file name with the following format: underscore, lowercase ‘s’ and then two mandatory numeric

characters.

Table 2.2: Optional additions file name



3.2 File construction composite and detail photos

File name construction for composite photos and detail photos.



1-14 GTIN GS1 article number Use the GTIN to which the image is linked.


16 M

F

Composite photo

Detail photo

See the definitions above.


18 + 001 Unique sequence number

Table 2.3: File name construction for composite and detail photos

3.3 Examples

In the examples (GTIN) represents the 14-digit product GTIN. The following examples are of products in their packaging that cannot be photographed out of their packaging. For the other views see the respective file naming in the table above.

Figure 2.1: Products in its packaging (not photographable out of its packaging)



Figure 2.2: File name construction for product in its packaging (this item is not photographable out of its packaging, therefore shelf management photos also show it in its packaging)

(GTIN)_A1C1 (GTIN)_A7C1 Figure 2.3: Product with more than one marketable face (the highest vertical face is shown as ‘1’)

(GTIN)_A1L1_nl (GTIN)_A1L1_fr Figure 2.4: The same product in dissimilar languages

Figure 2.5: End date for time-specific promotional packaging



(GTIN)_B1CK (GTIN)_B9RK Figure 2.6: Still shot of product with supporting elements

(GTIN)_M_002 (GTIN)_M_123 Figure 2.7: Composite photo

(GTIN)_F_001 (GTIN)_M_002 Figure 2.8: Detail photo

4 Appendix

A.1 Glossary

Name Definition

Adobe RGB colour space

The colour of a pixel is defined as the sum of its blue, red and green values. By ‘blending’ these colours virtually any colour can be created. Standards are needed to ensure that different devices such as your camera, computer, monitor and printer reproduce colours the same way. Adobe RGB is a colour space developed by Adobe Systems Inc. which is in general use as a standard.

Alpha channels

An alpha channel is part of an image enabling it to be reproduced partially translucent. The process involved is known as ‘alpha blending’: the image is combined with a background so that it appears to be transparent.



Name Definition

Clipping path/clipping mask

A clipping path or clipping mask is a selection and cut-out of part of the original complete image. It is used e.g. to place objects free-standing.

Compression artefacts Compression artefacts are caused by non-lossless

compression. In highly compressed JPEG photos in particular sharp transitions become splodgy or frayed e.g. in the case of text. The JPEG compression mechanism often causes these artefacts to occur in 8 x 8-pixel patterns.

LZW compressed

LZW stands for Lempel-Ziv-Welch, the names of the three

creators of this data compression technology. Data compression is the process of reducing file size by summarizing the data. Smaller files can be downloaded faster and require less disk space. LZW is one of the most popular compression algorithms and is used in many programs and image formats.

Moiré patterns

Moiré is a kind of digital artefact that occurs when two patterns intersect, forming a new pattern. As the new pattern is always coarser than the two original ones, the shape changes depending on the screen frequency and angle. The finer the two original patterns the easier the moiré is to see.

Photoshop layers

Photoshop layers can be compared with sheets of

transparent paper on top of one another. The underlying layers can be seen through the transparent parts of an upper layer. A layer can be moved to change the position of its content, just as a sheet of transparent paper in a

stack can be moved to a different position. The coverage of a layer can also be changed so as to make the content partially transparent.

PostScript colour management

This converts file data to the printer’s colour space. This option cannot be used if you want to include the image in another document with colour management.

TIFF files

Intended mainly for unedited/original files. TIFF format does not involve any loss of quality and can be opened by many programs. EPS files are used for vectors; JPG files involve loss of quality.

Transfer functions

Transfer functions are generally used to compensate for the point widening or narrowing that occurs when an image is transferred to film. Point widening is when the ink dots comprising a printed image are larger than in the halftone raster (e.g. as a result of spreading out on the paper). Point narrowing is when the dots are printed smaller. In this option the transfer functions are applied to

the file in the case of point narrowing.



A.2 Future developments

Heading Description 16th

Character

Status

Manuals/ construction drawings

Rules for the exchange of these documents

Expected: summer 2015

Effect on entire

document

Rules on the exchange of

future pictorial matter, e.g. 360º images and videos

n/a Expected: 2015/2016

product images for do-it-yourself items · - with a clipping path. it is very important for the...

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