X-Rite Unveils New Multi-Angle Spectrophotometers

X-Rite Incorporated said its newests multi-angle spectrophotometers – MA-T12 and MA-T6 – “set a new standard” for characterizing effect finishes.

The MA-T12 (a 12-angle device) and the MA-T6 (a six-angle device), X-Rite said, are the first instruments “to combine color imaging and multi-angle spectral measurement to quantify color, sparkle and coarseness.”

The new MA-T family is designed to help manufacturers set, communicate, and ensure conformance with global standards for effect finishes – encompassing color, sparkle and coarseness – to achieve a new level of consistency and harmony, per X-Rite Public Relations Manager Alicia Libucha. 

“The MA-T family represents a significant advance over current multi-angle measurement technology,” said Chris Winczewski, VP, Strategy and Product Planning. “The combination of a color camera and up to 12 angles of measurement gives manufacturers and their supply chain partners an entirely new level of sophistication in the definition and measurement of even today’s most extreme effect finishes. This new technology delivers results that more closely approximate the way the human eye perceives color, reducing approval cycles, minimizing costly rework, and accelerating time-to-market.”


The MA-T family of portable spectrophotometers has 2.5 times the repeatability and 2 times the reproducibility of any other multi-angle device on the market when measuring color, sparkle and coarseness, according to Libucha. The devices have an ergonomic design with a centrally located aperture and positioning pins to ensure stable measurement, she added. A touch screen navigation makes operating the devices simple and intuitive, per Libucha. A real-time preview of measurement areas or “check zones” ensures accurate targeting, streamlining the overall measurement process, the PR manager noted.

Both models feature an RGB camera and white light illumination “to ensure the most accurate capture of color, sparkle and coarseness and quantifiable results that match the way the human eye perceives color,” Libucha said. 

Per X-Rite, the MA-T family interfaces with new AutoQC software, a cloud-based solution that ensures that color standards, measurement procedures, and data are clearly communicated and effectively managed across distributed supply chains. New visual tools, including performance trend charts and stored images of specific measurements, enable real-time performance monitoring and provide actionable insights that speed up the process of troubleshooting out-of-tolerance product, Libucha said.

The MA-T12 and MA-T6 are both backwards compatible with X-Rite MA68 and MA94, MA96, MA98 portable multi-angle spectrophotometers, ensuring agreement with legacy data, Libucha added.