Epson has printers with a 'spectroproofer'. Gimmick?

[swmcl]

All,

If you were to buy an Epson printer in May 2019 would you consider the Spectroproofer? Does it save buying a densitometer? Is it needed? Really?

Chime in please!

[Christopher Barrett]

Shouldn't the ink dry down a bit? Reading it as it spools out seems premature.

[Tin Can]

Most likely not a gimmick, just new tiny sensors and technology.

Your cellphone will become a TriCorder soon.



I read https://www.photonics.com/

Spectroscopic OCT: Seeing Under the Skin with Depth-Resolved Spectroscopy (https://www.photonics.com/Webinars/Spectroscopic_OCT_Seeing_Under_the_Skin_with/w175)

https://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=64606&refer=Spectroscopy&utm_source=Spectroscopy_2019_05_07&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Spectroscopy

https://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=64321&refer=Spectroscopy&utm_source=Spectroscopy_2019_05_07&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Spectroscopy

[Jeff Donald]

The SpectroProofer is used in prepress work to insure color accuracy and repeatability. It is not used in printing photos. It will not replace a densitometer and it can’t be used for profiling the printer or making ICC profiles.

[pherold]

As the name implies, the SpectroProofer is mainly intended for those printing proofs in a print shop. The in-line spectrophotometer can measure the color bars, or a control strip that is on the same page as the proof, in order to verify that it actually has the correct colors it is supposed to have. It is very relevant in 2019 int= the printing world - just not much use for photography printing...

[Ron McElroy]

I will echo what others have said about the spectro. We just had a new Epson 9000 installed at work and added the spectro for inline calibration. With Heidelberg prepress software it helps to automate the calibration process and you can chose to print a test target that is read by the spector and the results are printed on the proof. Ours works within the GraCol color space. I do not know if can work within any other specification. That said on my printer at home I always work within the RGB colorspace.