Densitometer vs Spectrodensitometer

  Should I Use a Densitometer or Spectrophotometer in My Pressroom – this a question we hear all the time from printers across all segments of the industry. While the densitometer has been around for many years and was widely adopted, there is no doubt that the momentum has now shifted towards using spectrophotometers in the pressroom. Today’s pressroom spectrophotometers (sometimes called “spectro-densitometers”), offer all of the capabilities of a densitometer and also have the ability to actually…

Demystifying the CIE ΔE 2000 Formula

By Carlos Stanza & Jinkai Qian Understanding the perceptual differences between colors is essential in various fields, such as printing, graphic design, branding, packaging, paint and coatings, textiles, and more! In this context, the Delta E value serves as a crucial metric. Delta E quantifies the disparity between two colors and plays a pivotal role in determining their visual discernibility. Generally, a 1 DE00  is deemed the threshold, indicating that any value below it signifies an imperceptible difference,…

SpectroJet: A Closed Loop Color Solution Within Reach

Are you currently relying solely on a handheld densitometer for print quality control in your pressroom? Most have considered implementing a closed-loop color control system for their older offset press, but are discouraged by the perceived high cost. Well, we have great news for you. Techkon has a closed loop system  that falls within the mid $30,000 price range. Techkon has a complete closed-loop system equipped with the same software features as the fully automated…

What are the Advantages of Using an Automatic Scanning Color Spectrophotometer

The Power of Automation The adoption of automated print color quality control has transformed the printing industry by delivering significant improvements in color measurement accuracy, efficiency and consistency. By utilizing advanced technologies such as automatic scanning color spectrodensitometers coupled with color QC software solutions, businesses can enhance their production capabilities to meet the ever-increasing expectations of today’s customers. Here are some of those advantages go leveraging Automatic Scanning Color Spectrophotometers: Real-time Data Analysis Data plays…

CIE ΔE* (Color Difference) Equations

Pictured above is a combination handheld spectrophotometer and densitometer, the SpectroDens 4.  The intent of using deltaE (ΔE) is to describe the distance between two colors. The Just Noticeable Difference (JND) of deltaE is usually 1. In other words, if two colors have a deltaE less than 1 it is imperceptible and larger than 1 is perceivable. Unfortunately, due to the nature of human color perception (our eyes), the visual perception of colors is different….

Beyond the Densitometer – Part 3

Improve Pressroom Efficiencies – Part 3 Two weeks ago, we kicked off our 3-part blog series looking at “Good”, “Better”, and “Best” upgrade options for packaging printers to reduce their make-readies, improve their color matching process, and attain more consistent color throughout their pressruns. In part 1, we examined the benefits of switching from densitometers to handheld spectrophotometers in flexographic pressrooms. In part 2, we looked at the benefits of adding press-side color quality software solutions…

Beyond the Densitometer – Part 2

Improve Pressroom Efficiencies – Part 2 Last week, we kicked off our 3-part blog series looking at “Good”, “Better”, and “Best” upgrade options for packaging printers to reduce their make-readies, improve their color matching process, and attain more consistent color throughout their pressruns. In part 1, we examined the benefits of switching from densitometers to handheld spectrophotometers in flexographic pressrooms. As discussed, this is a relatively easy upgrade because these instruments still measure the familiar process…

Beyond the Densitometer

Improve Pressroom Efficiencies – Part I While handheld densitometers have already been adopted in many flexographic pressrooms, it’s important to remember that these devices do not actually measure color and are therefore incapable of reporting the accuracy of brand or spot colors on press.  The best that desitometers can do is to measure and report the densities (ink film thickness) of solid color patches and the tone value increase (TVI) of halftone dot areas.  While these…

Sheetfed Closed-Loop Color Control

“It’s Easier Than You Think!” Is your closed-loop color control system showing it’s age or require expensive repairs? Any chance it was made by that “X” company? Upgrading to a new Techkon SpectroDrive can improve your productivity enough to cover the cost. Find out why KBA, Heidelberg, Manroland, Komori, RMGT, Sakurai, Goss, Akiyama and more are retrofitting their presses with Techkon press-side color measurement solutions. After reading about the advantages for sheet-fed offset presses, use…

Optimizing Density for Non-Process Colors

When printing colors other than CMYK, many users understandably turn to colorimetric information (CIE LAB, Delta-E). Frequently overlooked, however, is the importance of using optimized density metrics for process control in the offset lithographic pressroom.  One such metric, available on many spectrodensitometers, is spectral density (sometimes called “density-by-wavelength” or “lambda density”). A brief illustration of how a densitometer “sees” color ensues, followed by an overview of spectral density. Consider looking at a printed cyan ink…

3 Reasons Offset Printers Need Automated Color Control

While color measurements can be taken by hand, calculated, and worked out to verify a ‘passing’ sheet, for most offset printers this is not practical. The time it takes, both to measure and to calculate all the required print attributes, is prohibitive. When printers ask about doing this, we advise that while it can be done, for most printers they will not be successful. Many brand customers care about a variety of attributes such as…

The Importance of Color Quality for Brand Owners

We invited Sonja Dearden, Print Production Manager at Lindt Chocolate, to a discussion on color quality for brand owners and developed this Question & Answer Guide to provide valuable insights on the importance of print standardization when managing color around the globe. QUESTION: Why do we need print standardization? ANSWER: An international company can have many different designers, pre-press agencies and print vendors around the globe working on their brand. If they all start from…

Beyond the Brand Requirements: Using On-Press QC for Efficiency

Screen from ChromaQA, Color Quality QC software, showing ink Delta E, as well as recommended adjustments to improve Delta E. For printers, being able to see if the print is good during makeready and production is important. Most press consoles do not have any easy way to see if a print is measuring to the print standard. Press consoles typically show metrics such as dot gain, density and even solid ink LAB values but they…

How to Clean a Color Densitometer or Color Spectrophotometer by Techkon

If you’re wondering: “How do I clean a color densitometer or spectrophotometer?” or “What’s the best cleaning solution to use to clean my densitometer or spectrophotometer?” Your color management support team at Techkon USA has the answer. It’s especially important during these uncertain times that we work collaboratively to ensure the safety and health of all our employees, customers, and partners involved in the supply chain. We also want to be sure you take the…

Make the Switch – to Techkon Color Quality Solutions

Commerical and packaging printers in all markets and of all sizes are making the switch from their current densitometers, spectrophotometers, and color software to newer Techkon solutions. The reasons are compelling and plentiful – so we decided to create comparison charts for some of our key products including the SpectroDens, SpectroDrive, and the SpectroPlate. If you are interested in why so many printers around the world are switching, check out these links: SpectroDens – Make…

3 Reasons You Will Love the Techkon DENS

February has been called the “month of love” by many and it’s certainly a time when some of us give pause to our busy lives and remember why we love those closest to us (even though sometimes it’s only long enough to scribble our names onto a Hallmark card). So for Valentine’s Day in 2020, I would like to give pause and reflect on all the reasons why I think YOU will love the Techkon…

Chroma LT – We can help press operators match spot colors faster!

Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog series on ChromaLT. As a reminder, ChromaLT is the ultimate companion software for your handheld pressroom spectrophotometer and by far the easiest color quality solution for packaging printers to deploy in their pressroom. Throughout this blog series, we’ll be highlighting specific pressroom use cases and illustrate how ChromaLT can increase the efficiencies of your press operators and ultimately lead to better color matches and a higher…

What’s the Best Spectrophotometer for Automation in the Pressroom?

I know what you’re thinking…..”he’s the ‘Techkon guy’ so naturally he’s going to say that a Techkon spectrophotometer is best”. And you would be right! Then, I could go on and on and give all the reasons why our instruments are so much better than the other, “x-type”, devices. However, I’ll save that comparative information for another session because the focus of this blog is about how to automate your pressroom color measurements for increased…