Excursion: Single-color measurement with UPPCT

Single-patch measurement is made possible by the link to the UPPCT software from Ugra, the Swiss Center of Competence for Media and Printing Technology. The UPPCT software runs under Windows and Mac OSX operating systems, permitting the measurement and analysis of proofs and prints and, starting with the latest Version 1.5, also measurement of individual colors, wedges and test charts in conjunction with ColorLogic products. The ColorLogic products using this capability are CoPrA 2.2 and DocBees-Reprofiler 1.6.

Thanks to the link to the UPPCT software from Ugra, measurements can be performed using the following measuring instruments:

• X-Rite i1Pro (1 and 2)
• Konica-Minolta FD-5 and FD-7
• Barbieri SpectroPad
• Barbieri SpectroLFP
• X-Rite Pulse
• Datacolor Spyder3PrintSR

What to do:

1. Connect your measuring instrument to your computer via a USB port.
2. Then click on the Measure button in the main program.
3. The UPPCT software starts. The next steps are performed entirely in UPPCT.
4. Usually, you select the Others radio button under the Wedge Types heading on the Measure tab and then, in the dropdown menu, the reference file for the test chart or the wedge that you have in printed form and want to measure. In the event of single-patch measurement, however, these options are grayed out, and a single color patch (shown in white) is already preselected for the measurement.
   
5. Under the Measurement Instrument heading, then use the dropdown menu to select the measuring instrument you have connected by USB, click on the Connect button and follow the instructions, e.g. for white calibration, which can differ from one measuring instrument to the next.
   Note: On some measuring instruments, such as the two Konica-Minolta FD-5/-7 devices or the Barbieri SpectroPad, you have the choice of switching the measuring mode to M1, M0 or M2. Select the mode that suits your task. Measuring instruments such as the X-Rite i1Pro measure with M0 as standard.
6. Now perform the measurement by operating the button on the instrument.
   Note: Single-patch measurement is not available for the two Barbieri measuring instruments, which are optimized for test chart measurement.
7. Once you have finished measuring, the measured color appears in UPPCT, along with a dialog indicating that the measurement is complete and can be transmitted back to the main program by clicking on the Transmit button. If you click on the Transmit button, UPPCT closes and the measurements are directly available in your program. You do not need to save the measured values in UPPCT.
   Note: In single-patch measurement, only one color or one color graduation at a time is measured in UPPCT and transmitted. In the event of an incorrect measurement, you can use the Repeat button to repeat the measurement.