I don't use the strip reader. Some time ago we did a comparison of my manual reading with the Spyder v. strip reading by other spectros (I forget which models). My manual reading was more accurate. It takes about a minute to read a strip.
What many do for QTR is read three random 21-step targets, using a strip reader. I suspect this gets a better read, but those targets don't have the gradient on them. That gradient is often what can tell you if you have a glitch between patches. You can see what looks like a line or some other discontinuity. I would feel I was missing too much information if I did not have the gradient to look over.
There are decreasing returns to super accuracy. For example, I know there are variances across the paper caused by the roller. So, for a while I printed the strips vertically. I stopped that -- just not worth the trouble.
After doing hundreds of profiles one learns where the weaknesses are, and the limits of the spectro are usually not it.
So, each to his/her own, but putting up with some of the hassles I hear with other spectros, if I were to replace my old Spyder, I'd probably just buy a new one.
Paul
www.PaulRoark.com