Scanning Spectros

[Prepper]

Setting up our new Epson 7900 today and watching the SpectroProofer option work, I have to ask, if this little slide on piece of automatic color measuring equipment can line up with a row of patches, press down a plastic piece to hold it in place, light up and scan across it, AND do all this for under $1500, why on earth is an EasyTrax press side scanner $13,000?

Someone needs to come up with something like this to go with PressSign software.

 

[Johu]

Well, Easytrax can read a patch with 3mm height and spectroproofer can do with about 12mm patch. It would be pretty big strip on your sheet. And the speed of spectroproofer is also somewhat slow. It takes about 7-8 minutes (out of top of my head) to read ~1500 patches of ECI 2002 where as Easytrax reads the B1 size strip of roughly 180 patches in few seconds...
I am not saying that easytrax is better than spectroproofer, but they all have their right places and Spectproofers right place at this time is not on operating panel of a printing press. At least not in my mind.

 

[Prepper]

Yes, that may all well be true, but, SpectroProofer can read a single strip pretty fast, and the main point of my post was $1400 compared to $14000.

 

[meddington]

"Someone needs to come up with something like this to go with PressSign software."

i1Pro with extended ruler?

 

[Prepper]

Yes, but that is a manual operation. Why not something that can scan that single row automatically, like the SpectroProofer for around $1400 AND it includes a spectro of some sort?
An i1Pro is what $1200 alone?

 

[meddington]

Its manual yes, but with the Easytrax you have to align the sheet and press a button, no? This just adds a long, swipe...and then a misread error and several re-swipes . Not perfect, but cheaper. To your overall question of "why $14k"?, i can't say, as I've wondered the same question. Probably because of profit and patents.

 

[Prepper]

Maybe they need to rethink their marketing, sell the scanner reasonably priced, sell software to run on it that needs an upgrade every year or 2.
Then they could make it automatic in the cloud updating and maybe collect monthly fees for that? Could be they'd sell many more scanners if they were in the three to four thousand dollar range, and make their money on the software to run it.

Just dreaming, wishing we could replace our old scanning densitometer with a new spectro one with the ability to keep ink Lab colors aligned and curves feedback on the fly, without having to use the i1 and ruler thing, but that may be where we end up.