Quick Guide

Overview
SpectroSync profiling software improves inter-instrument agreement
throughout a manufacturers supply chain. As more and more
businesses around the globe implement color-management programs,
they rely less on physical samples for color approval. SpectroSync lets
companies exchange comparative color data anywhere in the world with
business partners who may have various types of color-measurement
instruments.

SpectroSync Usage Recommendations

NOTE: To ensure SpectroSync performance, make sure that all of your
instruments are kept clean and in good working order. Daily
calibration is still needed, whether you are using a SpectroSync profile
or not. Keep in mind that SpectroSync is a tool to improve interinstrument agreement; it is not intended to improve repeatability.
This is why it is still necessary to send your instruments in for their
recommended recertification.
1.

Set up users in X-Admin (even if this is an upgrade) and apply

appropriate permissions. Keep in mind that the purpose of
SpectroSync is to draw instruments closer together. If a user
is allowed to circumvent the system, data integrity could be
compromised. For an upgrade, all existing users will have the
SpectroSync permissions turned off.

2.

You will probably only want to give one or two people

permission to create/edit Master Color Sets. The Master Color
Set File is what gets distributed (along with the corresponding
color standards) to each location wanting to profile their
instrument to your master instrument. Once a Master Color
Set (MCS file and color standards) has been distributed, no
changes should be made to that file. A separate MCS file and
set of color standards should be distributed to each location.
The MCS file is an XML file that gets created in C:\Program
Files\X-RiteColor Master\SpectroSync\Color Sets\ and is
named by the master instruments model and serial number,
and the color set name. The MCS file needs to be placed in the
same location for remote location PCs (not necessary for Web
Edition systems).

3.

A Master Color Set needs to contain at least ten colors (two of

which are black and white), but performance will be limited.
As with any type of profiling, the larger the gamut of the
profile, the better the results. In addition, the closer your
Master Color Set is in regards to texture and gloss to what you
will be measuring, the better the results will be. Our default
ColorSet provides good results, but you may want to add a
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few of your most common colors to them to further enhance

the performance of the profile. In any case, the ColorSet
should be kept as clean as possible (avoid marring the surface)
and be stored in a dry, dark place.
4.

It is recommended that you profile your master instrument to

itself before creating any additional Master Color Sets. In the
case of a Virtual Master, choose one of the instruments used to
be your working standard and profile that instrument to the
virtual one. This is so that you can maintain your master
instrument as close as possible to its original performance. In
addition, if your master instrument should fail, you can profile
a replacement instrument to your master until it is repaired.
Upon receipt of the repaired master instrument, you can reprofile to ensure you are back to your original state.

5.

Whenever you are creating a Master Color Set or profiling a

secondary instrument, it is recommended that you use some
type of fixture to eliminate any errors in positioning of the
sample. In lieu of a fixture, it is suggested that you average
several measurements together. Make sure that your color
standards are handled with care, as any changes to its surface
can affect your profile quality. It is also important to maintain
your ambient temperature so that the profile will be accurate
as possible. Because certain colors are thermo chromatic, it is
important that you control the ambient temperature (and
humidity) as much as possible.

6.

Your best results will be obtained when the apertures between

the master instrument and the profiled instruments are the
same. In addition, the larger the aperture size, the better the
performance.

7.

X-Rite recommends profiling a minimum of once a month for

best performance. The ambient temperature during profiling
should be 4F (2C) of the temperature recorded during the
color set creation.

Creating a Color Set

X-Rite offers a complete X-Rite ColorSet consisting of 24 ceramic tiles
that were chosen from a wide gamut of color space to optimize the
performance of SpectroSync. However, there are ways to improve the
performance of SpectroSync by creating your own color set based on
the materials used in your process, or by augmenting the X-Rite
ColorSet with your colors developed from your materials. If you choose
to create your own color set, the following guidelines are provided to
help you create the most efficient SpectroSync color set.
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Selecting Colors

When selecting colors for your color set, make sure that you have
as wide of a color gamut as possible. A minimum of 10 colors is
required to create a color set, however the more colors you use ,
the better SpectroSync will perform. The following 24 L*a*b*
values are provided as a starting point for creating your color set.

SPIN data under D65/10 Illum/Obs

L*

25.99
93.37
62.21
74.62
37.31
56.45
61.44
33.31
69.6
34.28
75.38
37.09
85.53
37.06
64.75
38.29
51.08
50.71
82.81
43.55
29.57
41.83
25.5
60.61

a*

0.12
-0.27
-2.24
-10.34
-12.03
-5.14
-1.6
9.6
15.04
2.93
-4.04
19.47
1.96
-11.41
4.01
3.12
6.92
-15.69
1.37
-8.39
-0.04
49.85
9.26
56.02

b*

-0.13
2.07
-15.06
32.15
-2.61
14.09
-1.47
-4.59
51.38
-19.71
6.61
6.1
61.96
4.72
7.34
10.51
-7.78
-0.48
8.34
3.95
-5.87
24.54
-17.26
56.5

Do not use fluorescent colors in your color sets, as these are

unstable and will react significantly different between instruments.
NOTE: A fluorescent color is one that has a reflectance value over
100%. If you are measuring optically brightened papers, try
adding one of these into your color set.

If your main concern is controlling your corporate colors, it is a

good idea to add those to your color set as well. For instance, if
you are a furniture manufacturer, make sure you have a few
blacks, browns, tans, and whites to add to the default colors.

Color sets developed from materials similar to those used in

normal production will typically further improve the performance of
SpectroSync.

If you do not have the resources to establish a complete color set

on your own, please consider adding a few of your colors to our
default X-Rite ColorSet.
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Maintaining Your Colors

If you decide to create your own color sets, keep in mind that:

All samples deteriorate over time. Make sure that you are
entering the appropriate expiration time for your color sets when
creating the files with SpectroSync.

Pigment stability and substrate/material aging should be taken

into account.

You will also need to consider handling of the color sets and how
often users are going to use them to profile with.

All of this will affect the overall stability of the color sets and ultimately
the overall performance of SpectroSync.
No matter what approach you decide to take, keep in mind that you
should have a distribution of colors across as much of color space as
you can in order to optimize SpectroSync performance.

Setting SpectroSync Permissions

SpectroSync permissions are set through the Database Administration
(X-Admin) program. You will first be prompted to enter the
administrator's password. (If you do not know the password, you
cannot perform administration functions. See your System
Administrator for assistance.) After entering the correct password, you
can then set up the SpectroSync permissions.
To Set SpectroSync Permissions:
1.

From the Options menu, choose Administrative to open

the Administrator Login dialog.

2.

Enter your password and click OK.

3.

The X-Admin Database Administrator dialog appears. Click the

SpectroSync Permissions tab.

4.

From the Users list, select the user for whom you want to set
up user permissions.

5.

Under Permissions, select which functions the user can

perform.
Check All can be used to check all boxes and Clear All can
be used to clear all boxes.

6.

Select the appropriate check boxes to give the user permission

to use those functions; de-select a check box to remove the
permissions.

7.

When you have made all of your selections, click Apply to set
the user permissions.

Creating a Master Color Set

The Create Master Color Set function is used to create color sets that
will be distributed to users wanting to use SpectroSync to profile their
instruments.
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To Create a Master Color Set:

1.

From the SpectroSync menu, choose Create Master Color

Set.

The Master Color Set dialog box.

2.

In the Color Set ID box, enter a name for the Master Color
Set, or click Select at the end of the text box to choose an
existing color set to edit.

3.

In the Color Set Expiration Date box, enter the date that you
want to set as the expiration date for that specific color set.

4.

In the Warn _ days before expiration date box, enter the

number of days to be warned before the expiration date of the
color set.

5.

In the Reprofile every_days box, enter in the interval you

want for profiling the target instrument.

6.

In the Warn _ days before reprofiling box, enter the number

of days to be warned before the expiration date of the Profile.
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7.

In the Ambient Temperature box, enter the current ambient

temperature.

8.

Choose the Color Set you wish to use from the Choose a Color
Set drop list. You can either select the default X-Rite Color
Set, or choose Create your own to enter in a custom
Color Set.

9.

If you would like to group together instruments to create an

averaged virtual data set, check Virtual Master Instrument
and enter or select the number of instruments.

10. Enter the number of colors in your Color Set.

If you are using the default X-Rite Color Set, this value will
be automatically set for you. In addition, you will not be
required to enter in color names for this set.
11. Click Start to open the measure window.
12. You will be prompted to initiate instrument calibration. After
calibration is completed, Black appears in the Measure
Color box. If you would like to average more than one
measurement for the color, check Average and enter or select
the number of measurements. Averaging is set per color.
13. Measure the black color by lowering the instrument (hand-held
units) or clicking Measure (benchtop units). Continue to
measure the black color if averaging is used.
After you finish measuring the color, the program updates
the color display area with the new color information. You
can change the display options to more accurately analyze
the color data.
14. White appears in the Measure Color box. Select the
averaging option if desired.
15. Measure the white color.
16. After the white color measurement is finished, a blank text box
appears. Enter a name for the next color into the box and click
Next. Measure the color.
17. Continue with additional colors. A minimum of 10 colors must
be measure to create a color set.
18. When the last color has been measured (according to the value
entered in), you will get a message telling you that you are done.
Once colors are measured, the order that they appear in the Color
Set list can be changed. Simply click on a color in the list and click
Move Up or Move Down to move it one position.
Add is used to add an additional color to the Color Set.
Delete is used to remove a selected color from the list.
Rename is use to rename the selected color in the Color Set list.
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Remeasure is used remeasure the selected color in the Color Set

list.
19. Click Save to save the Master Color Set.

Creating a Profile of the Instrument

The Create Profile function is used to profile a given instrument to a
master instrument so that they measure very close to one other.
To Create a Profile:
1.

From the SpectroSync menu, choose Create Profile.

The Create Profile dialog box appears.

2.

For Master Color Set, click at the end of the text box to
browse to the Color Sets directory. Choose the Color Set file
you want to load.

3.

In the Ambient Temperature box, enter the current ambient

temperature.

4.

Click Start to begin measuring the colors in the Color Set file.
You will be prompted to initiate instrument calibration. Once
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calibration is completed, you will be lead through the proper

measurement sequence in the Instructions section.
5.

Measure the colors by lowering the instrument (hand-held units)

or clicking Measure (benchtop units). You will be prompted to
take additional measurements if averaging is used.
a.

6.

If you make a mistake during a measurement, click Back

to move back one color so you can remeasure.

Continue with additional colors until complete.

After the last color is measured, pass/fail is determined for each

color, as well as the entire profile. The results are then displayed.
If the profile passes, it is automatically saved along with a copy of
the report.
If the profile fails, you will be prompted with a message informing
you of the failure. The profile will not be saved, however a copy of
the report is still saved automatically.
Click Print if you wish to print a report.
(Sample Report)

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Loading a Profile
The Load Profile function is used to load previously created Profiles.
NOTE: SpectroSync must be enabled for the profile to be used.
To Load a Profile:
1.

From the SpectroSync menu, choose Load Profile.

The SpectroSync Profile Files dialog box appears.

2.

Choose the name of the Profile you want to load from the list
and click OK to load the Profile.

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Enabling SpectroSync
The Enable SpectroSync function is used to enable and disable the
selected profile from being used during measurements. An indicator in
the toolbar displays the current status of the profile.

Enabled =

Disabled =

(dimmed indicator)

From the SpectroSync menu, choose Enable SpectroSync to enable

profiling.

A checkmark () appears next to Enable SpectroSync when it is

enabled.
To disable profiling, select Enable SpectroSync again to remove the
checkmark.

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