I would say it depends on what types of media you are wanting to profile. The X-Rite i1Pro 2 is a great universal instrument, but does have its drawbacks. It's inexpensive and can serve as a monitor calibrator, profile measurement device, and is used by many RIP manufacturers. That being said, hand-held devices are not very consistent. I get more accurate results using an automated device as opposed to hand measuring charts. Plus, with the small aperture, the repeatability and accuracy of the i1Pro 2 isn't all that good on rough surfaces or coarse screening printing devices. You can increase the patch width (some RIPs allow this) to improve the accuracy, but it's still hand-held, which introduces some degree of inconsistency. I would say it's the budget choice.
Next up would be adding the i1iO table to the i1Pro 2. It gives you automation that helps improve accuracy and still gives you the flexibility of the i1Pro 2 itself. I'm not a big fan of the i1iO table as it is all plastic and can sometimes give inconsistent results due to the instrument not being held perfectly perpendicular to the media when the arm is extended vs. in close. Also the calibration plaque is not the same plaque that comes with the i1Pro 2, so there is a mis-calibration opportunity happening and because of the raised platform the calibration plaque is on the device is calibrating in a non-perpendicular setting. The i1iO does have the ability to measure media with some thickness, but not extremely thick.
For thin material and ease of transport I use the i1iSis 2. It's automated and much more accurate than the i1Pro 2 when in hand-held mode. You lose the flexibility of being able to calibrate monitors or measure thicker media (only thin media, canvas being about the thickest).
That's about it for the X-Rite family. Next up is the Barbieri instruments. The have a semi hand-held device, the SpectroPad, that has a larger aperture than the i1Pro 2, but to me is a bit clumsy to operate. It's a hand-held that is physically hooked to a base with a sliding rail like a drawer slide. It works, but I find it a bit clumsy. You can set it on any thickness of media and with a 6mm aperture is a bit better at measuring rough surfaces or coarse screening printing devices.
The device I use most frequently for grand format (almost all of my grand format shops use this one) is the Barbieri Spectro LFP. It is the only device on the market that can measure transparent or translucent material (a big plus for backlit) and has the largest aperture at 8mm. It is very stable and repeatable on all types of media and can measure media up to 20mm thick. It can also be fitted with a UV-cut filter or a polarizing filter (M3). I find the polarizing filter quite useful for matte medias, textured media (like canvas), and extremely glossy media. This devices is quite bulky and not easy to transport along with being quite expensive (over $10K with options). It's the best choice for fabric, canvas, and coarse screening printing devices due to the 8mm aperture option. It's the only choice for backlit material.
Barbieri has introduced a new model that is a superset of the LFP called the LFP qb that is faster and has an M1 mode to measure fluorescent inks. It's even more expensive than the LFP, but not by too much.
Konica Minolta has a couple of hand-held devices, the FD-5 and FD-7, along with an automated device, the FD-9, that is similar to the i1iSis, but with some nice features. In my opinion it's biggest detractor is that it has a very small aperture. I believe it is around 2mm. Not good for rough surfaces or coarse screening printing devices.
Of course none of the Barbieri instruments can be used for monitor calibration, so you lose that flexibility, but for a professional dealer that offers profiling, including backlit, I wouldn't go with anything less than an LFP and only use it in the 8mm aperture mode. I'd then add an X-Rite i1 Display Pro at around $270 list for monitor calibration.
My 2 cents.
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Bruce Bayne
President
Alder Technology
Portland OR
(503) 226-7598
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-05-2018 08:56 AM
From: Efrain Carrero
Subject: New Profiling Device - Wide/Grand Format
All,
Our Color Profile device has recently been damaged and we started noticing irregularities in the creation of ICC Profiles. When asked for support it appears the lens had a crack. No worries as I had this unit longer than I like to admit. I'm looking to replace my Xrite with a new one, does anyone have any recommendations? We mainly use it for monitors, and most importantly creating ICC profiles for Grand Format equipment. We have had enough success with Xrite so I'm curious which model is best suited for today. As we continue to see media that changes from roll to roll it seems to be a norm to reprofile media that is not created with the same raw materials. As exchange rates have increased clients purchasing media out of the country don't understand that from batch to batch the media is different - no worries for us as we are charging per profile. That being said I need a reliable unit that we can quickly get a profile created on the field.
Please advise
Cheers,
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Efrain Carrero
President
Sign It Right, LLC
San Antonio TX
(210) 655-7446
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