Mutoh America, Inc. has been awarded a second US patent for its SpectroVue VM-10 on-printer spectrophotometer. Mutoh has received five total patents, US and foreign, for the SpectroVue, with additional patents pending.

Designed by Mutoh's Advanced Engineering Group, the SpectroVue is a compact micro spectrophotometer that attaches to

most of the print heads of the company's ValueJet family of wide-format Eco-solvent color printers. It can be used to help automate printer calibration, process control, and ICC color profile generation by allowing color charts to be measured on-printer, rather than sheeting off for measuring with an external instrument.

"The ability to take measurements on-printer without needing to cut off sheets to hand feed into a stand-alone spectrophotometer, is a significant time saver for our customers using the SpectroVue," says Christopher Brown, Manager of the Advanced Engineering Group responsible for development of the SpectroVue. "The entire process is quicker and more seamless, especially when used with our unattended take-up system."

"The SpectroVue VM-10 enhances productivity, reduces time and wasted media, and encourages better in-shop color management practices - providing our users superior and reliable color reproduction," shares Brian Phipps, General Manager of Mutoh America.

The SpectroVue is supported by a number of third-party RIP packages, including PhotoPRINT and Flexi Cloud software from SA International, and ProductionHouse X10 from Onyx Graphics. With compatible RIP software, printer operators can use the SpectroVue to linearize and calibrate the ValueJet, build custom ICC color profiles, and run periodic process control checks to ensure consistent color reproduction start to finish. The SpectroVue can be further enhanced with Mutoh's ColorVerify and VSM software.