Portable Spectrophotometer Measures Color & Gloss.

A new, hand-held spectrophotometer is said to be the first portable unit that can read both color and 60[degrees] gloss. The new ColorEye XTH from GretagMacbeth LLC, New Windsor, N.Y., reads both parameters at once in 1 millisec. It is especially useful because a slight difference in gloss can be perceived as a bad color match, according to product manager Mike Beering.

ColorEye XTH increases productivity by eliminating the need for multiple instruments and measurements. It also costs 30% less than separate gloss and color instruments. The new device is based on the company's XT5 optics platform unveiled a year ago for benchtop instruments. It enables measurement of large, small, and contoured samples.