Looking for a centralized location to manage your X-Rite products and services? Check out My X-Rite. Whether you need product information or support, service details, or access to learning resources, our free online portal is just a few clicks away. 24/7 Access: Easily access your personal dashboard from your computer or mobile device around the clock. Personalized Dashboard: See what matters most to you in one convenient location. Effortless Service & Support: Submit and track...

In the sign and display graphics business, as in many other segments of the printing industry, shorter runs and reduced cycle times can stress even the most efficient wide format printing operations. By implementing a color-managed RIP-to-roll (or RIP-to-rigid media) workflow, these operations can ensure that color is right the first time and every time to help speed work through the shop and meet color expectations. Photo by Peter Saunders Today we are share tips from our Color Experts that c...

What happens when you have more than 2,000 brand colors to manage across a complex global packaging supply chain? Things get complicated! Although it may seem easier to create a new color than to dig through databases or binders of color drawdowns to find the closest match, the problem comes later when you’re faced with a huge, unmanageable library. One of our clients, a well-known fast-moving consumer packaged goods (FMCG) company, understands how easily things can get out of control. They wer...

Does your quality control program include visual evaluation? If not, it should. Using the SpectraLight QC as part of a color evaluation workflow. No matter your industry, judging color is more than just measuring samples with a color measurement device. Just because a spectrophotometer says your color is within tolerance, doesn’t necessarily mean it will look right to the human eye. To minimize customer rejects, your color control process needs to include visual evaluation in a light boo...

This time of year, the internet is full of Top 10 Countdowns. It’s a tradition we’ve embraced since 1940 when the Billboard published its first chart ranking the top selling recorded songs. Since then, others have jumped on the bandwagon to highlight the most popular trends of the previous year.   We’ve been publishing our top-read blogs since 2016, and we’re happy to see some educational topics like color perception, tolerancing, and spectrophotometers continue to r...

It’s important to ensure design intent is realized each time and everywhere a product appears. But with so many variables to impact print quality, how can brands utilize suppliers around the world and still achieve consistent color? Our X-Rite Pantone Packaging Color Experts have designed a series of consulting services and workshops to help you get the most from your print, packaging, plastic or textile value chain.   Offered both online and onsite, these interactive sessions i...

색상이 중요하다고 말하지만, 중요한 이유를 아세요? 사실 색상은 제조 공정에서 매우 중요한 요소입니다. 유감스럽게도 많은 제조업체는 올바른 컬러를 얻는 것이 예전보다 훨씬 어렵다는 것을 깨닫고 있으며, 그들이 거래하는 브랜드는 더 엄격한 허용오차를 충족하도록 요구하고 있습니다. 그 이유는 다음과 같습니다. 색상 기술의 발전(예: 메탈릭 포장, 펄 광택 피니시, 맞춤형 직물 및 생동감 있는 새로운 컬러)이 고객을 유혹하지만 일관성 유지 작업은 훨씬 어렵게 만듭니다. 예를 들어 복합 데크를 생각해보세요. 예전에는 회색 또는 갈색의 두 가지 선택이 있었습니다. 그리고 데크 전체에 조화가 있는 한 고객은 만족했습니다. 그러나 이제는 짙은 나뭇결 패턴과 이국적인 컬러 등 다양한 옵션이 있으므로 제조업체는 두세 가지가 아닌 수십 가지 색상을 관리해야 하며, 일관성을 유지하는 것은 훨씬 어렵습니다. 포장도 또 하나의 좋은 예입니다. 예전에는 인쇄된 상자를 배치했던 매장 진열대에 이제는 호일...

When customers are just getting started with color management, they often ask, "What is the difference between a spectrometer and a spectrophotometer?". With such a minute spelling difference, it's easy to make a quick typo and get the wrong answer for this color question. So...what's the difference? Spectrometers vs. Spectrophotometers    What is a Spectrophotometer? A spectrophotometer is a color measurement device that is used to capture and evaluate color on just about anything, in...

How many trial and error steps does it take you to formulate a color? If you answered more than three, it might be time to enlist the help of a computerized solution. Computer-aided color formulation can bring huge benefits to your business. Out of the gate, even beginners can hit color targets faster, saving time, money and expensive colorants. Once you have established an accurate method, you can expect to match 95% of your color formula requirements within a reasonable color distance on the f...

With more consumer package goods (CPG) brands implementing packaging quality control programs to monitor color tolerances, converters and package printers need color measurement solutions that integrate directly with reporting systems. Our IntelliTrax2 Pro and eXact Auto-Scan Pro Scanning Solutions combine the power of our industry-leading automated scanning devices with the power of our end-to-end software solutions to meet the needs of brands, packaging converters, and commercial printers alik...

X-Rite acquired GretagMacbeth in 2006, making most GretagMacbeth handheld and benchtop spectrophotometers 20+ years old. If you're still using one of these legacy spectrophotometers and color consistency is important to your business, we encourage you to consider upgrading to a new, ISO-certified X-Rite device for the best experience. Here at X-Rite, we continue to research and improve our color measurement technology so our customers can meet tighter color control tolerances. Improved color mea...

In a perfect world, you should be able to put ink in the press and simply run a job. Unfortunately, every year flexo and gravure printing operations waste ink, substrate and press time trying to get color right. Although advancements in technology have made it easier to achieve color accuracy, the variables that affect color still exist. In this three-part series, we're sharing over two dozen reasons your color might be wrong on press. If you missed the first article - Instrumentation - check i...

In a perfect world, you should be able to put ink in the press, run a job, and achieve color consistency. Unfortunately, every year flexographic and gravure printing operations waste ink, substrate, and press time trying to get color right. Although advancements in technology have made it easier to achieve color accuracy, the variables that affect color still exist. In this three part series we’ll share over two dozen reasons your color might be wrong at press side. Today’s topic lo...

In a perfect world, you should be able to put ink in the press and simply run a job. Unfortunately, every year flexo and gravure printing operations waste ink, substrate and press time trying to get color right. Although advancements in technology have made it easier to achieve color accuracy, the variables that affect color still exist. In this three-part series, we’re sharing over two dozen reasons your color might be wrong on press. We’ve already covered two important factors &nda...

The International Standards Organization has defined ISO 12647 as a set of Graphic Arts standards for printing. Included are eight parts: Part 1:  Print parameters and measurement methods Part 2:  Offset lithographic processes Part 3:  Coldset offset lithography on newsprint Part 4:  Gravure printing Part 5:  Screen printing Part 6:  Flexographic printing Part 7:  Proofing processes working directly from digital data Part 8:  Validation print processes wo...

Color measurement is used to specify, quantify, communicate, formulate, and verify color quality for color critical work. Because everyone perceives color differently, color measurement is more precise than visual evaluation.  How to Measure Color Wavelength To measure color, a color measurement device called a spectrophotometer shines light onto a sample and captures the amount of light that is transmitted or reflected in the 380 nm to 780 nm wavelength range, which is the wavelength rang...

Learn about light, reflection curves, optical brighteners, and more.     Illuminants Electro magnetic radiation in the wavelength range from 380 nm to 730 nm is seen as light by our eyes. Low wavelengths show as blue light, then the spectrum continues from green to yellow, orange, and red. UV radiation is located in the range below 380 nm; the range above 730 nm is called infrared radiation. The visual impression of a colored body changes by the composition of the incoming light. ...

표면 상태는 때때로 색상 인식에 큰 영향을 미칠 수가 있습니다. 예를 들어 광택이 나는 잡지의 지면에 조명이 직접 비치는 경우, 색상을 선명하게 보기 위해서는 잡지를 이리 저리 기울여 반사각을 변경해야 제대로 보이는 경우가 있습니다. 마찬가지로, 거친 질감이 있는 표면은 동일한 물체의 매끄러운 표면과는 또 다른 색으로 인식 될 수도 있습니다.  분광 측색 장비는 기본적으로, 측정하고자 하는 대상의 표면에 빛을 비추고 그 반사된 빛을 기반으로 색상의 스펙트럼 값을 분석합니다. 따라서 올바른 측정을 위해서는 기기 및 적절한 측정 모드를 선택하는 것이 매우 중요합니다. 장비 및 측정모드의 적절한 선택은 색상 샘플이 허용오차를 통과하거나 실패하는지 여부 및 육안 관찰 검사와의 상관 관계와 직접적인 관련이 있습니다.   적분구 방식의 분광 측색 장비는 페인트, 코팅, 플라스틱 및 직물 산업분야에서 측정 장비로써 널리 사용 되고 있습니다. 그 이유는 바로 측정 대상...

COVID-19 has forced many companies to rethink the way they communicate, approve, and produce color.  For some, that means trying to conduct “business as usual” from a remote location. For others, it means finding ways to manage color without travel. Either way, we know our customers are doing everything they can to sustain business while keeping their employees healthy and safe. We want to help. Over the past few months we’ve been adding new resources to our virtual resou...

As brand owners compete to make packaging stand out, commercial and flexible packaging converters and label printers are charged with achieving accurate color – on unique substrates – with shorter print runs. Many spend a lot of time mixing ink, then end up throwing it away when the color isn’t right. Others mix ink, store it, and spend way too much time trying to reuse it for future print runs.  If you’re stuck in this cycle, you’re essentially paying for ink...