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FIRST Implementation Specialist Certification yields experts in the field of flexographic printing support, consultation and communication, who are proficient in communicating the principles and practices of FIRST.


With Implementation Specialist Certification,
You’ll Be Able to:

Understand and communicate the elements of FIRST methodology.

Analyze and communicate FIRST design practices.

Educate all internal and external team members to apply FIRST specifications.

Analyze and communicate FIRST prepress practices.

Conduct package product development workflow meetings as they relate to FIRST.

Analyze, apply and communicate FIRST print specifications.

Facilitate successful optimization, fingerprint and characterization print trials.

  • Understand and communicate the elements of FIRST methodology.
  • Analyze and communicate FIRST design practices.
  • Educate all internal and external team members to apply FIRST specifications.
  • Analyze and communicate FIRST prepress practices.
  • Conduct package product development workflow meetings as they relate to FIRST.
  • Analyze, apply and communicate FIRST print specifications.
  • Facilitate successful optimization, fingerprint and characterization print trials.

Who It’s
Designed for

  • Production Management
  • Workflow Support Staff
  • Technical Support Staff
  • Suppliers

Who It
Improves Working with

  • Suppliers
  • Plate Makers
  • Plate Mounters
  • Customer Service
  • Ink Technicians
  • Designers
  • Prepress Providers
  • Press Operators
  • Suppliers
  • Plate Makers
  • Plate Mounters
  • Customer Service
  • Ink Technicians
  • Designers
  • Prepress Providers
  • Press Operators

What Certified Individuals
Have to Say

“There has been a significant change in both external and internal communication. The change has been noticed not only in the content of the communication but also the improved clarity during the communication.”

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“Internally, it has helped us by quantifying our processes. Issues that may have taken hours to figure out in the past are now caught before they even occur, or if they do occur it only takes minutes to find the root cause.”

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“I can now identify a problem sooner and backtrack to where it started from. This alone will help decrease downtime by knowing who to immediately ask.”

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“It makes it easier to communicate with customers, separators and artists. There is a level of respect we have earned that seems so much more obvious since the certification.”

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Earning Certification Is a
Three-Step Process

Level One

Six Weeks
Self-Paced

Whether you’ve been on the job for two days or 27 years, Level I teaches the foundational building blocks crucial for every flexographer.

Level Two

12 Weeks
Self-Paced

Every job has its own function. Level II becomes more specific to the user’s specific roles, applications and equipment.

Level Three

12 Weeks
Self-Paced

Level III demonstrates how to apply the science of FIRST methodology by running to the numbers to control the process.

Get Your FIRST Implementation Specialist Certification

Sign up and begin your online training today.

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All About the
FIRST Methodology

Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances (FIRST) supports the methodical approach to process control, optimization, fingerprinting, characterization and process improvement as outlined in CGATS TR 012-2003 (Graphic Technology – Color Reproduction and Process Control for Packaging Printing). While each organization may use its own workflow based upon its specific needs, there are certain fundamentals universal to the flexographic printing process.

With a firm understanding and application of the FIRST methodology, flexographers can: identify potentially troublesome issues, benchmark press performance, utilize statistical analysis to maintain optimal conditions, perform accurate device calibrations, identify improvement opportunities and preserve stable conditions for repeatable results—all with the end result of satisfactorily reproducing the graphic design.