Spectroproofer or not? that is the question....

[drigatti]

Hi to everybody,

Let me introduce myself. Born in Venice, living now in Milan, I have been a longtime lurker and avid learner from this forum; not a professional photographer, but an amateur since a couple of decades to say the least.

Now the question.

I am going to switch from my Epson 4800 to a 7900, and even if I am tempted by the spectroproofer option, the local Epson rep tells me that for fine art printing I can create custom profiles for the various papers only using an external spectrophotometer (I currently use eyeOne), while the spectroproofer "on board" is useful only for certified printing, professional labs and so on.

I hoped not to have to go back and forth on the various sheets with my dear old eyeOne, but apparently I'll have to stick to that for some years more....

Thank you for your input

Diego

[Sven W]

Of course you can make custom profiles with the Spectroproofer, but you have to build the profile with an external software, such as ProfileMaker et al.
Your local rep. is right when e.g. the Efi ColorProofer is one of a few solutions, working together with the SP.
So just relax and go on using your EyeOne.

/Sven

[digitaldog]

The idea is for those making proofs that need some kind of measured certification. You’ll spend less and get more functionality getting an “off board” Spectrophotometer like an EyeOne Pro assuming you wish to build your own profiles. Since you own presumably the EyeOne Pro (not the EyeOne Display), there’s no need for this extra expense.

[vandevanterSH]

"assuming you wish to build your own profiles."
********
Have hardware/paper manufacturers products and profiles reached a quality point where "home cooked" profiles are  no better or perhaps worse?

Steve

[digitaldog]

"assuming you wish to build your own profiles."
********
Have hardware/paper manufacturers products and profiles reached a quality point where "home cooked" profiles are  no better or perhaps worse?

It depends. They can almost as good (custom profiles are often better but not by a huge amount). They can be a lot worse.

[sakharov]

Last week spend one day in 7900 with SpectroProofer configuration.
In my case it simply can not perform ColorBase calibration.
I mean special version of ColorBase for SpectroProofer.

So, in my next projects I try to avoid this nice device and use my old i1 pro :-)

[Dick Roadnight]

I have a 7900 and it came with a Spectroproofer - Niel told me it was mainly for pre-press bu might be useful when and if ColorBurst supports it, which I think it now does?

[sakharov]

SpectraProofer could be used for printer linearization with ColorBase.
In case it works 

[gromit]

I am going to switch from my Epson 4800 to a 7900, and even if I am tempted by the spectroproofer option, the local Epson rep tells me that for fine art printing I can create custom profiles for the various papers only using an external spectrophotometer (I currently use eyeOne), while the spectroproofer "on board" is useful only for certified printing, professional labs and so on.

The SpectroProofer is just another spectrophotometer and, in my evaluation, delivers better measurements (and a lot more easily) than with the i1 Pro. A thing to consider is that it (currently?) only works with roll media on the 7900/9900. The SpectroProofer Utilities software has also been updated to limit the drying time in recognition that most will be using it a proofing environment. You'll be up for software to build the profiles from the measurements which isn't such a big deal. You can use Match that came with your i1 but better software exists ... my preference is for basICColor print. If the bundled cost isn't too high it may be worthwhile considering, but if funds are limited I'd recommend putting them into basICColor print instead.

[digitaldog]

The SpectroProofer is just another spectrophotometer and, in my evaluation, delivers better measurements (and a lot more easily) than with the i1 Pro.

My understanding is the instrument is itself an EyeOne Pro (it uses the same measuring technology).

[gromit]

My understanding is the instrument is itself an EyeOne Pro (it uses the same measuring technology).

It's not.

[digitaldog]

It's not.

OK fine, so its an iSis? Its made by X-Rite.

[gromit]

OK fine, so its an iSis? Its made by X-Rite.

From memory, the instrument is an X-Rite ILS20. While the underpinnings may be the same as the i1 Pro it uses a tungsten light source (the current i1 is LED), has much larger aperture and light window and isn't reliant only on USB power (a significant limitation of the i1).

[digitaldog]

From memory, the instrument is an X-Rite ILS20. While the underpinnings may be the same as the i1 Pro it uses a tungsten light source (the current i1 is LED), has much larger aperture and light window and isn't reliant only on USB power (a significant limitation of the i1).

Ah, OK. I think I said it was based on the EyeOne Pro technology. And if the current i1 is LED, that’s kind of news to me. Its not on my Rev D and I don’t see X-Rite saying it should be. The iSis, yes, its LED (as is the Munki). But I think, and I’m willing to be proven wrong, that the technology in i1P and spectroproofer are more similar than dissimilar. Agreed, there is a difference in the two in terms of Aperture (3.5 vs 4.5). Both appear to be using Tungsten lamps, certainly spectroproofer, and LED seems to be the technology X-Rite is moving towards.

I don’t know if I’d say the power supply is an issue in terms of the quality of the measuring device. I wouldn’t expect an embedded Spectrophotometer to use a USB for power (or perhaps a USB at all).

[gromit]

I don’t know if I’d say the power supply is an issue in terms of the quality of the measuring device. I wouldn’t expect an embedded Spectrophotometer to use a USB for power (or perhaps a USB at all).

The ILS20 has two connectors, USB (for data) and a separate one for power ... presumably to better illuminate the target. I wouldn't say the differences between the i1 Pro and ILS20 are night and day, but the resulting profiles (same software) deliver cleaner results.