ChromaChecker can analyze a variety of file formats. One of the most popular is CGATS.17. This file format has some limitations but in many cases, it is easy to understand and implement. 

Open SGATS architecture makes it possible to add some metadata and the following document specifies the recommended way. Also, we provide a schema that supports not only CMYK but also HiFi, ECG, and spot inks. 

Sample CGATS header

CGATS.17
LGOROWLENGTH 6
LGOMCCHANNEL02 "InkName = 'Cyan'  LabFullToneColor = '57.0 -39.2 -46.0' InkPriority = '0' IndividualInkLimit = '100' "
LGOMCCHANNEL02 "InkName = 'Magenta' LabFullToneColor = '50.0 76.0 -3.0' InkPriority = '0' IndividualInkLimit = '100' "
LGOMCCHANNEL03 "InkName = 'Yellow' LabFullToneColor = '91.0 -5.1 95.0' InkPriority = '0' IndividualInkLimit = '100' "
LGOMCCHANNEL04 "InkName = 'Black' LabFullToneColor = '18.0 -0.8 -0.6' InkPriority = '0' IndividualInkLimit = '100' "
LGOMCCHANNEL05 "InkName = 'Orange' LabFullToneColor = '73.2 53.6 81.4' InkPriority = '0' IndividualInkLimit = '100' "
LGOMCCHANNEL06 "InkName = 'Violet' LabFullToneColor = '34.6 41.9 -57.7' InkPriority = '0' IndividualInkLimit = '100' "
LGOMCCHANNEL07 "InkName = 'Custom Blue 3' LabFullToneColor = '32.6 1.3 -52.5' InkPriority = '0' IndividualInkLimit = '100' "
CREATED "2020-12-02T16:08:06+01:00"
ORIGINATOR "Custom provider name here"
INSTRUMENTATION "X-Rite eXact_Advanced SN009513"
MEASUREMENT_SOURCE "Illumination=D50 ObserverAngle=2° WhiteBase=Abs Density=Status E Filter=Undefined"
MEASUREMENT_GEOMETRY "2.0"
JOB_ID "XYZ_Broshure_012"
JOB_INAME "Flying Dreams"
CUSTOMER "ABC_Industries"
OPERATOR "John Smith"
PRESS_COUNTER "5224331188"
SAMPLE_BACKING "white"
POLARIZATION "none"
KEYWORD "SAMPLE_ID"
KEYWORD "SAMPLE_NAME"
KEYWORD "SAMPLE_DUD"
KEYWORD "SAMPLE_CHANNEL"
KEYWORD "SAMPLE_TINTDEFINED"
KEYWORD "INKZONE"
DEVCALSTD XRGADAMPING "Unknown"
SCAN_SIDE "Any"
SCREENING "New Screening"
ILLUMINANT_MODE "M1"
PRESS_NAME "New Print Device"
PAPER_NAME "New Substrate"
PRINTER_NAME "New Printer"
SITE_NAME "New Site"
MAKEREADY_MODE "Production"
SHEET_NUMBER "8"
NUMBER_KEYS "32"
KEY_SIZE "32"
FIRSTKEY_WIDTH "32"
LASTKEY_WIDTH "32"
INKZONE_WIDTH "1024"
COLORBAR_NAME "D36_2"
COLORBAR_LOCATION "Trailing"
NUMBER_OF_FIELDS 54
BEGIN_DATA_FORMAT
SAMPLE_ID SAMPLE_NAME SAMPLE_DUD SAMPLE_CHANNEL SAMPLE_TINTDEFINED INKZONE 7CLR_1 7CLR_2 7CLR_3 7CLR_4 7CLR_5 7CLR_6 7CLR_7 LAB_L LAB_A LAB_B XYZ_X XYZ_Y XYZ_Z D_VIS D_RED D_GREEN D_BLUE SPECTRAL_NM_400 SPECTRAL_NM_410 SPECTRAL_NM_420 SPECTRAL_NM_430 SPECTRAL_NM_440 SPECTRAL_NM_450 SPECTRAL_NM_460 SPECTRAL_NM_470 SPECTRAL_NM_480 SPECTRAL_NM_490 SPECTRAL_NM_500 SPECTRAL_NM_510 SPECTRAL_NM_520 SPECTRAL_NM_530 SPECTRAL_NM_540 SPECTRAL_NM_550 SPECTRAL_NM_560 SPECTRAL_NM_570 SPECTRAL_NM_580 SPECTRAL_NM_590 SPECTRAL_NM_600 SPECTRAL_NM_610 SPECTRAL_NM_620 SPECTRAL_NM_630 SPECTRAL_NM_640 SPECTRAL_NM_650 SPECTRAL_NM_660 SPECTRAL_NM_670 SPECTRAL_NM_680 SPECTRAL_NM_690 SPECTRAL_NM_700
END_DATA_FORMAT
NUMBER_OF_SETS 36
BEGIN_DATA
1 1 FALSE M TRUE 1 100.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 28.4968 8.6876 -22.4255 6.21589 5.64434 10.0523 1.26153 1.22543 1.23557 0.904714 0.063 0.0879 0.1153 0.1308 0.1378 0.1374 0.1305 0.1192 0.1056 0.0927 0.0822 0.074 0.0666 0.0587 0.0513 0.0449 0.0399 0.0391 0.0436 0.0503 0.0568 0.0609 0.063 0.0644 0.0657 0.0688 0.0722 0.0739 0.0724 0.0704 0.06881 1 FALSE M TRUE 1 100.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 28.4968 8.6876 -22.4255 6.21589 5.64434 10.0523 1.26153 1.22543 1.23557 0.904714 0.063 0.0879 0.1153 0.1308 0.1378 0.1374 0.1305 0.1192 0.1056 0.0927 0.0822 0.074 0.0666 0.0587 0.0513 0.0449 0.0399 0.0391 0.0436 0.0503 0.0568 0.0609 0.063 0.0644 0.0657 0.0688 0.0722 0.0739 0.0724 0.0704 0.06882 2 FALSE C TRUE 1 40.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 66.9596 -20.8402 -32.3519 29.4553 36.5785 55.6474 0.489081 0.685777 0.316435 0.193182 0.208 0.361 0.5448 0.6498 0.6999 0.7113 0.7023 0.6918 0.6843 0.6828 0.6702 0.6332 0.5751 0.506 0.4356 0.3651 0.3018 0.2564 0.2319 0.2197 0.2088 0.2012 0.1998 0.203 0.2081 0.2194 0.231 0.2369 0.2314 0.2246 0.2164

...

END_DATA

Fields

Mandatory fields (RED)

LGOMCCHANNEL01 "InkName = 'ABC'

That is the definition of channel (corresponds to printing unit). Chanel number will be used to define tint percentage in the DATA section If the press has 8 units  in data tint for unit 3 will be specified by 8CLR_3

CREATED

This is a timestamp — please use a format that is based on UTC standards.

SAMPLE_ID

Any unique number.

XCLR_Y 

Tint value for the patch. X means the total number of units used for printing, Y - channel number

SPECTRAL_NM_XXX

Spectral data for a given wavelength.

NOTE:
If the measurement instrument is not capable to deliver spectral data it is possible (but NOT recommended) to use colorimetric data (LAB_L LAB_A LAB ) instead.

Optional fields that CC analyzes - we recommend using them!

LabFullToneColor - How does CC use it?

This parameter can be used to define the target value for spot color that is not listed in either Color Library or Color Palette assigned to Track. In the first step, CC is searching if the name defined by "InkName" is listed by the ICC profile assigned to the track. CMYK and Hi-Fi process inks can typically recognize typical names: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black ( for CMYK process) and Orange, Violet, Green, or other (Hi-Fi n-CLR profiles). For process inks, LabFullToneColor is ignored - value from ICC profile has a higher priority.
If the name is not recognized - in the next step, CC will search if the name exists in Color Palette, then Color Library. If NOT then LabFullToneColor will be used. This is the ONLY scenario when CC will use this information.

ILLUMINANT_MODE 

If this information is missing - CC will apply the default value specified in Track preferences, however, we recommend using it if possible - the system will check potential mismatches and that may help to resolve issues. Typical values Are M0, M1, M2, or M3. 
It is important to remember that the M-condition of measurement should correspond M-condition of ICC profile assigned to the Track.

SAMPLE_BACKING 

If this information is missing - CC will apply the default value specified in Track preferences. If "Black" backing is selected an SCCA algorithm is applied - goal values are recalculated to the measured substrate. We recommend specifying this parameter. 

SCAN_SIDE

This is important only for presses that print double sides. If this information is missing - CC will apply the default value specified in Track preferences. This information is critical fo curve generation to know which printing units are analyzed.

MAKE_READY

This information ca flag measurement with makeready or production status. It enables us to judge only production mode and analyze the make-ready/production ratio. Performance analysis uses this information in many scenarios.

Highly recommended optional fields for automatization purposes.

PRESS_NAME,  PAPER_NAME

Those two parameters are critical for the auto-track recognition feature. Data can be split into several tracks automatically.

JOB_NAME,   JOB_ID,   CUSTOMER

Any of those fields can be used for Job analysis, and flag auto-assigning and are critical for advanced reporting features. At least one of those fields can be used for improving system automatization. It is highly recommended to transfer job identification data into proper fields.

OPERATOR

Identifies the press operator and assigns measurements to a specific employee.

PRESS_COUNETR

Returns the counter of the printing machine. This reading after comparison with subsequent measurements allows you to calculate the number of copies printed. If the measurements additionally have the status of make-ready/production - more advanced production analytics is possible. The expected number is the state of the main counting meter since the beginning of the machine's operation.

SHEET NUMBER,  COLORBAR_NAME, INSTRUMENTATION, INKZONE 

Additional information that the system can use - we recommend including them.

SHEET_NUMBER is a print run counter (recommended)  or measurement counter for a specific print run (resettable for the next job).

COLORBAR_NAME - might be used for some custom purposes if required

INSTRUMENTATION - returns measurement Instrument vendor, model, and/or serial number. 

INKZONE  is returning the location of the patch in a specific ink zone and it is used for creating graphs and variation analysis

SAMPLE_DUD

It makes it possible to skip the selected patch. The system will ignore when value = TRUE