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Colomeasure Tool

RedlineGraphics14

RedlineGraphics14

New Member
Hey everyone. first post here and finally taking my sign business to the next level but I'll get to that in the introduction section. Anyway has anyone used the MeasureColor app and tool? I came across it in the Big Picture magazine and was curious about it. I have a job and struggling to match the color perfectly to the one that's from a previous sign guy. If anyone has any more suggestion on how to match it that would be great. Thanks in advance.
 
Pauly

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
That thing is like a toy compared to proper spectrophotometers.

You'd be better off with this. IMO this is a good starter pack. Xrite spectrophotometers are good and quite reasonable prices compared to others.
You want the "i1 publish pro 2" kit
You should be able to calibrate your monitor, printer and scanners with it.
And you can use it to measure spot colours to match them like you are currently trying to do. But with a calibrated printer, it should be a lot easier to match.

https://www.amazon.com/X-Rite-i1Bas...48&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=i1+publish+pro2&th=1
 
RedlineGraphics14

RedlineGraphics14

New Member
Thanks for the quick reply's, the xrite is a bit out of my price range currently. I really need to step up my designs and printing side. I'm a one man show and just moved into my first official space so trying to step everything up and get my company rolling.
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
2CT Media said:
The Nix Color Sensor is a single purchase and does almost everything this does.
Click to expand...

I bought this and returned it after a week, I don't see how it can work in a digital printing environment as there is no baseline, let me explain.

Say I go to a site and scan a colour I need to match, i get the CMYK values of the item, but I have absolutly no way of knowing that the colour coming off my machine is a match, I can scan the printed output and compare, but at that point I may as well do the old fashoned swatch book method.
 
RedlineGraphics14

RedlineGraphics14

New Member
Glad I asked here seems like there is a ton of knowledge here. All of this color calibration is new, I haven't had to do much matching of colors. So I guess a few questions I have are:
1. If i were to purchase that xrite on ebay how in the workd do I use it and is it portable (The color I am trying to match is already installed on a window graphic)
2. How do you go about calibrating everything, I'm not asking for a full run through but is there a thread somewhere that someone could point me int the direction of.

A lot of my stuff I do is race car wraps, and usually I'm not trying to match old colors etc... everyone is pretty easy going and laid back, but as I get more into the commercial world of print I know I am going to need to be spot on with all of my colors.
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
RedlineGraphics14 said:
Glad I asked here seems like there is a ton of knowledge here. All of this color calibration is new, I haven't had to do much matching of colors. So I guess a few questions I have are:
1. If i were to purchase that xrite on ebay how in the workd do I use it and is it portable (The color I am trying to match is already installed on a window graphic)
2. How do you go about calibrating everything, I'm not asking for a full run through but is there a thread somewhere that someone could point me int the direction of.

A lot of my stuff I do is race car wraps, and usually I'm not trying to match old colors etc... everyone is pretty easy going and laid back, but as I get more into the commercial world of print I know I am going to need to be spot on with all of my colors.
Click to expand...

Easiest way is to print off a bunch of swatch books off your printer, pantone, CMYK, RGB,LAB and use them to match the item, these are hard copies that you know your printer can produce.
 
Pauly

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
RedlineGraphics14 said:
Glad I asked here seems like there is a ton of knowledge here. All of this color calibration is new, I haven't had to do much matching of colors. So I guess a few questions I have are:
1. If i were to purchase that xrite on ebay how in the workd do I use it and is it portable (The color I am trying to match is already installed on a window graphic)
2. How do you go about calibrating everything, I'm not asking for a full run through but is there a thread somewhere that someone could point me int the direction of.

A lot of my stuff I do is race car wraps, and usually I'm not trying to match old colors etc... everyone is pretty easy going and laid back, but as I get more into the commercial world of print I know I am going to need to be spot on with all of my colors.
Click to expand...

1: you need software to run it. Software in the printing industry is not cheap. Hence why i originally said to buy the i1 publish pro 2 as you get everything you need to improve your printing output. You can use the software i posted in my reply which is open source stuff (coloris) To use the ebay one, you'll need to download coloris, plug the i1 pro in a laptop, and get the LAB value of the colour you need. then to back to the office, and print off swatches in that LAB range and use coloris and the i1 pro to measure your printed colours. to be a good match, you want it to be with in DeltaE value of 3.

2: It should be in your caldera manual how to do it. or caldera should be able to provide you with instructions. I use Onyx, and on their website it has a section with documents on how to do to specific things.
 
Bly

Bly

New Member
If the colour is only onsite I'd get a Pantone match then go back and try and print the closest match.
If your printer is correctly profiled that shouldn't be too hard.
An i1 or similar would be one of the best investments any print shop can make regardless of size.
I'd also tell the customer we probably can't match exactly but should be able to get close.
 
J

Joe House

Sign Equipment Technician
This one will at least give you Lab color values. And it is extremely portable. I'm not sure if your RIP software will allow you to create special color tables, but if you can and have decent profiles, this should get you pretty close (Color management can't be totally covered here, so I'll leave at that)
And at that price, it's certainly worth a shot. I just got one and have only had the opportunity to match one color, but it came out pretty close. It was a gray which are always the toughest it seems.
 
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