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Isis – the goddess of profiling productivity

November 21, 2008 I have owned a GretagMacbeth SpectroScan for ten years. It was, and is, a very handy tool for measuring color targets to make ICC profiles.

I also own an X-Rite DTP-41, which is another handy instrument for the same purpose. And, I have an iOne Pro, and a Monaco Profiler instrument.


My university recently acquired an iOne Isis spectrophotometer made by X-Rite. This one changes the rules of the game. Building a press profile involves making a target set with hundreds, or thousands of color patches printed on it. I use targets built by Bill Atkinson, and they usually take about an hour to measure with the SpectroScan instrument. My technique is simple: start the SpectroScan reading, go to lunch. In about the time it takes to have a burrito, a soft drink and a basket of chips with salsa, the SpectoScan will read the 1400+ patches on a single-page target. Sometimes a short siesta added to lunch is necessary.


The Isis will read 1617 patches in less time than it takes to make a burrito (four minutes flat). In busy shops where profiling is done on a regular basis, this device will make the process much, much faster. On Monday last week I measured and made six press profiles in a matter of two hours. With this instrument I now have no time to go to lunch.

Isis targets are prepared with two rows of diamonds along the edges, aligned to the rows of color patches. When the device reads the patches, it uses the diamonds to position its head, which traverses the inside of the instrument to read two rows of targets per pass.

The instrument has the ability to automatically include a UV filter or not, that filter switched in or out according to your wishes.

I use X-Rite ProfileMaker Pro software to build the profiles once the data are acquired, and that still takes time (surprisingly, it takes as long as fifteen minutes to calculate a CMYK profile). But the acquisition time is so short that I was celebrating as I read target set after target set from our HP Indigo press. The speed of this instrument takes the tedium out of profiling, and makes the profiles available sooner. This would make a great difference in a production plant.

According to Wikipedia, “Isis was a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship was adopted by other ancient cultures such as Rome. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife, patron of nature and magic; friend of slaves, sinners, artisans, the downtrodden, as well as listening to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers.” I would add that Isis is the goddess of profiling productivity.

And I am a believer!

[Historic note: Today is the 225th anniversary of man’s first flight. Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes took off November 21, 1783, from the Chateau de la Muette in Paris, France, in a hot-air balloon made by Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. The Montgolfier Brothers were the sons of the founder of a paper company which is still in business today – Cansons et Montgolfier, Annonay, France.]

Posted by Brian Lawler on November 21, 2008 | Comments (0)