Pre-Launch of Newest SpectroDens | Densitometer and Spectrophotometer

Customer feedback has always driven our product development and innovation; and the latest updates to our SpectroDens are no exception. As a member of our Techkon community, you are the first to hear about and be able to PRE-ORDER at no additional cost the newest SpectroDens to be unveiled in January. Here is a sneak preview of some of the new features:

SCCA Reference value correction
The practice of following print standards like ISO 12647 that pre-defines the combination of ink, paper and target reference colors for commercial printers to use in production is invaluable. But if the paper does not fall within the specified target values the accuracy of the press run is greatly diminished. The more out of spec the paper is the worse the color match will be.

One member of the IDEAlliance Print Properties & Colorimetric Committee, David McDowell, developed a formula that recalculates the dataset with new aim points based on the specific paper color being used on press. It is called SCCA (Substrate Corrected Colorimetric Aims).

Techkon became aware of this new specification and implemented the ability to measure the paper and based on those measurements and using the SCCA formula calculates new aim points right on the instrument. This feature will allow printers to quickly and easily achieve an acceptable color match regardless of the presence of optical brightening agents in their substrates.

SCAN function with strip detection
The SpectroDens enhanced scanning feature includes:

• Scan a color bar containing up to 54 patches.
• Define the color bar by uploading a color library to the SpectroDens or by scanning a color bar with the instrument.
• Advanced pattern recognition algorithm’s that automatically detect that the color bar being scanned is correct, has the correct number of patches and the colors are in the right sequence.
• If the incorrect number of patches are scanned or the scanning speed is too fast or too slow the SpectroDens will display an error message informing you.
• No guide bar required. The 4 wheels keep straight alignment while scanning.
• Easily export scanned measurement data to other software applications automatically with SpectroConnect software (included with the instrument at no cost).

Whiteness Berger, Stensby
Paper Whiteness is defined by how closely a surface matches the properties of a perfect reflecting diffuser, i.e. an ideal reflecting surface that neither absorbs nor transmits light, but reflects it at equal intensities in all directions. For the purposes of this standard, the color of such a surface is known as preferred white. Whiteness is closely related to our visual perception of the color of paper. Sometimes these variations in whiteness are subtle. For instance two pieces of paper that fall at different ends of the spectrum on the CIE whiteness index may appear white by themselves however when juxtaposed; their variations are revealed.

The type of light paper is viewed under can affect how it looks to the human eye along with other elements like optical brightening agents (OBAs) used in paper production. For example, when OBA’s are applied to a dull sheet of paper it will look brighter in natural light and dull in artificial light. When there are little to no OBA’s applied the paper will look brighter in artificial lighting when compared to its counterpart with larger amounts of OBA’s.

The Techkon SpectroDens uses the Stensby and Berger formula’s for quantifying the whiteness of a print substrate.

Brightness TAPPI 452
Like whiteness, paper brightness is also a measurement of the amount of light reflected from paper. Unlike whiteness, it is focused on a narrow wavelength of blue light as opposed to all wavelengths in the spectrum. The higher the number on the brightness scale, the more light a particular sheet reflects. Brightness is just one part of the equation when determining the visual aspects of paper. Two sheets with identical brightness can look drastically different because shade and whiteness are not taken into account.

In general, there are two measurement systems that are widely used for determining paper brightness. One (used in North America) is the TAPPI scale. The other (used primarily in other parts of the world) is the ISO system. Some papers can have a rating higher than 100 on the brightness scale. This is due to optical brightening agents present in the paper. When these are applied, the paper can actually reflect more light than is coming from the source. An easy way to remember this is the brighter, the whiter.

Yellowness CIE
Yellowness is the degree that the color of a surface is shifted from preferred white (or colorless) towards yellow.

Opacity
Opacity refers to the transparency or opaqueness of paper. Papers with lower opacity tend to let text and images show through more than papers with higher opacity. Opacity is expressed as a percentage in paper. For example, paper with 98% opacity means that 98% of light is not allowed to pass through the paper.

Display option L*C*h* for “Colour Circle” Display
An option to display L*a*b* or L*c*h* measured color results in the CIE Color Circle feature.