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Overview ColorScout A+

Have you ever thought about automating your handheld measuring device?
Then the XY stage ColorScout A+ is the solution for automation. The ColorScout A+ is available in versions for the following manufacturers and devices (Please keep in mind, that some devices are sold under different brandnames like EFI, Elcometer, Ihara, Shamrock, Sheen, ...):

Byk-Gardner (member of the Altana group):
old micro tri gloss
micro haze plus and other
new micro tri gloss and other
color guide in different versions with sphere in/ex, 0/45, gloss
spectro guide
BykMac / BykMac i
WaveScan

Datacolor:
Mercury
Check3

Dino-Lite:
microscopes

GretagMacbetch (now X-Rite):
Spectrolino
EyeOne
SpectroEye
D19C

KonicaMinolta:
CM-2300d
CM-2500c
CM-2500d
CM-2600d
MULTI GLOSS 268 and other
FD-5 / FD-7
CM-700d
CL-500A
CM-25cG
CM-26dG
MYIRO-1

RhoPoint:
IQ / IQ-S
new NOVO GLOSS series (planned)

Techkon:
SpectroDens
SpectroPlate
SpectroDens IV

TQC:
Solo-Gloss, Poly-Gloss

X-Rite:
SP60, SP61, SP62, SP64
960, 962, 964, 939
938, 948, 968
504, 508, 518, 520, 528, 530
MA98
VS450
eXact
i1, i1 Pro 2
Ci52, Ci61, Ci62, Ci64, Ci64 UV
MAT-6, MAT-12

The benefits of the ColorScout A+ are large measurement areas, low noise and speed performance.
The ColorScout A+ for Spectrolino is an inexpensive replacement for the SpectroScan. The ColorScout A+ for Eye-One combines the speed of the Eye-One with the comfort of an XY-table. The ColorScout A+ helps you to automate your measuring process, which gives you more safety (stability and repeatability) and time. The ColorScout A+ is a unique solution. The standard maximum adjustable measurement height is 30 mm for automatic measurement of textiles, thick plates and other special materials. For more than 30 mm we can offer other versions.

The ColorScout A+ is designed for connecting any handheld measuring device on customer demand for an automatic scan processes. Several versions were build to carry glossmeters for measuring gloss.

Where are the application areas?
Color management, quality control, research & development in a big variety of industries like paper, plastic, foil, aluminium, ceramic, glass and textile printing, tests in the paint, coating, ink, detergent and furniture industry, and many, many more. (Some are shown below)

Some customer just measure single plate by single plate with just 3 measurements on each. R&R gauge tests at customer sites have shown, that the measurents get more reliable due to measure always at the same place and always settling down the measurement device the same way.
-> more throughput, more stability, more comfort, more ...
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Software support for ColorScout A+

The ColorScout A+ is supported by software of the following manufacturers:
AVA CAD/CAM, Axiphos, BASF, basiCColor, Byk, CGS-Oris, CMA, ColorDoc, ColorGate, ColorWare, DevStudio, ErgoSoft, Heidelberger, HighTex, InEdit, InTeSa, KonicaMinolta, LexMark, Océ, various universities, WideGamut.
If you miss one, please let us know!
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Technical Data ColorScout A+ in A4+

Measurement area	depending on the mounted device. For BykMac, Ci64, CM-2600d, eXact, FD-7, SpectroDens, µ-gloss at least: landscape: approx. 266 mm x 304 mm using calibration standards landscape: approx. 380 mm x 304 mm no calibrations standards used portrait: approx. 195 mm x 345 mm => almost B4 format!
Power supply	100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
Dimensions	600 mm x 500 mm x 160 mm
Weight	approximately 17 kg

Technical Data ColorScout A+ in A3+

Measurement area	depending on the mounted device. For BykMac, Ci64, CM-2600d, eXact, FD-7, SpectroDens, µ-gloss at least: landscape: approx. 466 mm x 304 mm using calibration standards landscape: approx. 580 mm x 304 mm no calibrations standards used portrait: approx. 380 mm x 345 mm => almost B3 format!
Power supply	100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
Dimensions	800 mm x 500 mm x 160 mm
Weight	approximately 20 kg

Technical Data ColorScout A+ in A2+

Measurement area	depending on the mounted device. For BykMac, Ci64, CM-2600d, eXact, FD-7, SpectroDens, µ-gloss at least: landscape: approx. 706 mm x 504 mm using calibration standards landscape: approx. 820 mm x 504 mm no calibrations standards used portrait: approx. 635 mm x 545 mm => almost B2 format!
Power supply	100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
Dimensions	1040 mm x 700 mm x 160 mm
Weight	approximately 30 kg

Technical Data ColorScout A+ in A1+

Measurement area	depending on the mounted device. For BykMac, Ci64, CM-2600d, eXact, FD-7, SpectroDens, µ-gloss at least: landscape: approx. 1046 mm x 744 mm using calibration standards landscape: approx. 1149 mm x 744 mm no calibrations standards used portrait: approx. 975 mm x 785 mm => almost B1 format!
Power supply	100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
Dimensions	1400 mm x 940 mm x 180 mm
Weight	approximately 55 kg

Technical Data ColorScout A+ in A0+

Measurement area	depending on the mounted device. For BykMac, Ci64, CM-2600d, eXact, FD-7, SpectroDens, µ-gloss at least: landscape: approx. 1400 mm x 1020 mm using calibration standards landscape: approx. 1500 mm x 1020 mm no calibrations standards used portrait: approx. 1300 mm x 1070 mm => almost B0 format!
Power supply	100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
Dimensions	1760 mm x 1220 mm x 180 mm
Weight	approximately 80 kg

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Accessories

There are many special holder / guides for different targets like textiles / fabrics, plastic and metallic plates available. Elestrostatic paperholder is available too. Also large addon plates for integrating white, gloss and haze standards on the ColorScout A+.
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Customers / References

We have installations, to name a few, at the following companies:
Aerogen, Agfa, Armstrong World Industries, AVA CAD/CAM, BASF, Bayer, BoschSolar, Byk, Canon, CGS-Oris, CM/PCM-Services, Color Solutions, ColorGate, Cooperativa Ceramica d'Imola, Dai Nippon Printing, Dalli Werke, Donnelley Europe, Dow Chemicals, Ecolab, Epson, ErgoSoft, Euro Digital, Eurofins Test Center, FOGRA, GMG, GRAFE Group, Heidelberger, Henkel Düsseldorf, Henkel Spain, HighTex, Hollanders Printing Systems, HP, Kodak, KonicaMinolta, LexMark, M2Carpets, Mc Bride, Merck, NexPress, Océ, Procter&Gamble (P&G), Roland, Reger Studios, Schlenk, Stork, Sun Chemical, Thierry, Veco Precision, Volkswagen (VW), Wide Gamut, Xerox, X-Rite, Zumtobel Staff and many, many more
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Sample application areas

Here the ColorScout A0+ in the digital carpet printing:

The ColorScout family is not only used in the printing industry, but also in many other industrial fields. There are for example:

Analysing washing tests in the detergent and cleaning service industry.

Color and pigment development and formulation in the chemical industry.
Waiting for more images to come

Color tests in the leather and textile industry.
Waiting for more images to come

Aging and other tests in the coating industry.
Waiting for images to come

Measuring device tests at manufacturers.
Waiting for images to come

In the ceramic industry.

And many more

A project with KonicaMinolta for VW: measurement system with automatic sample handling

A latest version of measurement system with automatic sample handling by robot arm

A different version of measurement system with automatic sample handling without robot

A special solution for measuring solar panels

A special version for large measurement heights without adjustment

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Overview ColorScout S (discontinued)

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The spectrophotometer ColorScout S with all its components is an extraordinary versatile measuring instrument for all color analyzing purposes, especially for the printing and prepress industry. The compact and ergonomic design with two buttons make it an easy to use device. Color profiling and densitometry measurements in the prepress field are two of the many applications. ColorScout S makes positioning easy: The nozzle of the measuring head is visible and can easily be positioned - without any complicated mechanism as seen on other devices. These features make it unique among spectrophotometers with 45/0° circular illumination optics.
Accessories like the ColorScout A and ColorScout P extend the functionality of ColorScout S in the areas of color profiling and densitometry.

Color profiling

For the automatic chart scanning we offer the XY-table ColorScout A family. The ColorScout S fits easily into the according receptable of ColorScout A.
A color profiling software controls the movement of the ColorScout S on the XY-table ColorScout A reading the color patches on the test chart.

Densitometry

ColorScout P, a personal digital assistant (PDA) with a large, clear color display, allows the usage of Color Scout S not only as a flexible and precise densitometer, but as an instrument with a wide variety of functions.

Technical Data ColorScout S (discontinued)

Spectral module	monolithic spectrometer module with focussing echelette diffraction grating, quartz fiber optic, 256 elements photo diode line, 16 bit A/D-conversion, no moving parts
Spectral range	380 to 780nm
Optical resolution	10 nm
Sampling resolution	3 nm (corresponding to 134 Bands)
Modi	remission, transmission
Sensor geometry	45/0° circular illumination optics
Aperture diameter	4 mm
Light source	tungsten, gas filled, illumination type A
Measuring time:    remission    transmission	< 0.5 s approximately 3 s
Measuring range	density DIN 16536: D 0.0 - 2.5
Inter-instrument agreement	typical 0.4 dE on BCRA tiles
Linearity	±0.01 D
Short term repeatability	±0.03 dE across 10 measurements on white
Density repeatability	±0.01 D
Measuring parameters
White reference	absolute, relative
Illumination type	A, B, C, E, D50, D55, D65, D75, arbitrary Dxx-illumination, G, P, Xe, F1 .. F12
Observation angle	2°, 10°
Density norm	DIN 16536, DIN 16536-NB, ANSI Status A, ANSI Status T, ANSI Status E, ANSI Status M, ANSI Status I
Color metrics	CIE-XYZ, CIE-Lab, CIE-xyY, CIE-Luv, Dichten CMYK
Data interface	serial
Power supply	100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
Dimensions	115 mm x 66 mm x 40 mm
Supplied software	(requiring Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista)
Densitometry	Density, L*a*b*, dE*, XYZ, xyY, adjustment of slope and Yule-Nielsen factor
Supports color profiling	Reading of IT8.7/3-Charts, manually oder automatically withColorScout A

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Overview ColorScout P (discontinued)

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The optional ColorScout P, a personal digital assistant (PDA), turns the ColorScout S into a very flexible and versatile densitometer on a spectral basis. The ColorScout P features well arranged and comprehensive data windows on a large and clear color display. It is connected to the ColorScout S by a serial interface.

Functions:

Window	Displayed data
CMYK	All densities C, M, Y, K and screen percentages of the dominant printing ink. Slope und Yule-Nielsen factor can be adjusted in separate windows.
Lab	L*a*b* and Delta-E* values relative to a reference or to the last measured value.
QC	Quality control. Up to eight reference colors can be defined. Following measurements show the nearest color and the corresponding color difference (dE) to the nearest color. This allows to check whether a color is within an allowed tolerance range. This is especially convenient for package printing.
Spectrum	Spectral curve. Moving a hair line across the curve displays the corresponding values.
XYZ	Color metric values of X, Y, Z.
xyY	Color metric values of x, y, Y.
Slope	Slope values can be entered and sent to the ColorScout S separately for C, M, Y and K. This allows to simulate the behaviour of other instruments, e.g. color densitometers.
YNF	Input of the Yule-Nielsen factors for C, M, Y, K for dot size determination.
Settings	Various parameter adjustments: transmission/remission 2°/10° observer angle density filters ANSI-A, ANSI-T, DIN, DIN-NB illumination A, B, D50, D65 These settings can be transferred to the ColorScout S.

Technical data ColorScout P (discontinued)

CPU	Hitachi SH7709a 32-Bit CPU, 100 Mhz
Display   display size	240 x 320 pixels 55 mm x 74 mm brilliant colors background illumination
Memory	8 MB RAM, 8 MB ROM
Dimensions	130 mm x 81 mm x 22 mm
Weight	approximately 250 g
	The ColorScout P is based on the PDA Hewlett-Packard Jornada.

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Overview ColorScout A (discontinued => ColorScout A+)

Click to enlarge.

We offer the XY-table ColorScout A for the automatic reading of color charts. ColorScout A is connected to a PC via the serial port. The ColorScout S fits easily into the according receptable of the XY-table. A color profiling software controls the movement of the ColorScout S on the XY-table ColorScout A corresponding to the color patches on the test charts and measures them.

For color profiling we offer the color profiling software family basICColor by ColorSolutions. This software is available for Apple Macintosh or Windows PC systems. The profile charts are measured online with ColorScout S and basICColor.

There is also an offline interface to all compatible color profile creating software via data files. These data files are created by the software ColorChart for Windows, which comes with the ColorScout A. 
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Technical Data ColorScout A (discontinued => ColorScout A+)

Maximal usable area	325 mm x 292 mm
Power supply	220-240 V, 50/60 Hz versions for other countries available on request
Dimensions	670 mm x 460 mm x 130 mm
Weight	7.4 kg

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Overview ColorScout AX (discontinued) / ColorScout AXT (discontinued)

ColorScout AX

ColorScout AXT

Large format ColorScout AX

The ColorScout AX is a high speed, high precision Automatic Chart Scanspectrophotometer on air cushion basis with air cooled high performance optical light probe. This air cushion technology ensures a preservative treatment of the charts. The continuous airflow also helps to keep the charts free from dust. The scanning time for the IT8.7/3 chart with 928 patches is about 4.0 min, for the ECI2002 chart with 1485 patches it is less than 6.0 min. The maximum chart format is A3+. The charts can be designed in any format. Due to its low noise emission, the ColorScout AX can be used in office atmosphere in contrast to other fast measuring systems.
The ColorScout AXT is a ColorScout AX with a installed transmission option.
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Technical Data ColorScout AX (discontinued)

Overall performance

Measuring time:    IT8.7/3 target    ECI 2002 target

approximately 4.0 min for 928 patches approximately 6.0 min for 1485 patches

Technical Data of the XY-table part

Maximal usable area	440 mm x 360 mm (for other sizes and options, please have a look at the pricelist)
Data interface	serial / USB adaptor
Power supply	100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
Dimensions	700 mm x 500 mm x 170 mm
Weight	approximately 17 kg

Technical Data of the spectrometer part

Spectral module	monolithic spectrometer module with focussing echelette diffraction grating, quartz fiber optic, 256 elements photo diode line, 16 bit A/D-conversion, no moving parts
Spectral range	380 to 780nm
Optical resolution	9 nm
Sampling resolution	3.5 nm (corresponding to 115 Bands)
Modi	remission
Sensor geometry	45/0° circular illumination optics
Aperture diameter	3.5 mm
Light source	tungsten, gas filled, illumination type A
Measuring time:    remission	< 0.1 s (< 0.3 s positioning included)
Measuring range	density DIN 16536: D 0.0 - 2.5
Inter-instrument agreement	typical 0.4 dE on BCRA tiles
Linearity	±0.01 D
Short term repeatability	±0.03 dE across 10 measurements on white
Density repeatability	±0.01 D
Measuring parameters
White reference	absolute, relative
Illumination type	A, B, C, E, D50, D55, D65, D75, arbitrary Dxx-illumination, G, P, Xe, F1 .. F12
Observation angle	2°, 10°
Density norm	DIN 16536, DIN 16536-NB, ANSI Status A, ANSI Status T, ANSI Status E, ANSI Status M, ANSI Status I
Color metrics	CIE-XYZ, CIE-Lab, CIE-xyY, CIE-Luv, densities CMYK
Supplied software	(requiring Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista)
Densitometry	Density, L*a*b*, dE*, XYZ, xyY, adjustment of slope and Yule-Nielsen factor
Supports color profiling	Reading of charts (e.g. IT8.7/3-Charts, ECI2002-Charts) automatically. Creating charts.

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