ChromaLT is the ultimate companion software for your press-side spectrophotometer that makes matching color on press quick and easy.

1. ChromaLT
Quick Start Guide
v092719

2. Introduction
Congratulations on your decision install Techkon ChromaLT on your PC!
Whether you’ve already purchased the software or are just beginning
your product trial, we are excited for you to see first hand how this
solution can help you in your color production environment.
This short Quick Start Guide is intended to guide you through the
installation procedure and get up and running quickly with the basics of
the product.

3. Table of Contents
• Part 1 – Software Installation
• Part 2 – Running ChromaLT for the First Time
• Part 3 – Software Layout
• Part 4 – SpectroDens Connection
• Part 5 – The Basics of Running a Job
• Part 6 – Creating a Report
• Part 7 – ChromaStandards Module
• Part 8 – Building a New job
• Part 9 – The “Options” Dialog
• Addendum – X-Rite eXact Connection

4. Part 1 - Software Installation
1. Once you have downloaded the ChromaLT installer using the link
provided, go ahead and double click on the installer application to
begin.
2. Then just follow the prompts provided by the installer until the
installation process is complete
NOTE – To install this software on your PC, you must be logged in on
your computer as a user with Administrator privileges. If you are
unsure about your account privileges, consult with your IT department.

5. Part 2 - Running ChromaLT the First Time
1. Double Click on the ChromaLT icon
located on your desktop
2. When the application launches,
copy and paste your unique Product
Key into the field provided. You can
find your unique Product Key in the
email we sent you that also
contained the software download
link.
3. Now click the ”Activate” button to
continue

6. Part 2 - Running ChromaLT the First Time
continued…
4. Choose the location where
ChromaLT will store your color
data. Just click “Continue” to use
the default location OR click on
the “Browse…” button to choose
another location and then click
“Continue”
NOTE – If you are installing ChromaLT on more than 1 computer, be sure to pick
a location that all computers can reach (like a network location) so they all have
access to the same color standards and ChromaLT jobs.

7. Part 3 – Software Layout
You have now arrived at the
Home screen. From here, you
can access the following:
• ChromaMatch module for
creating and running jobs in
production
• ChromaStandards module
for storing and managing
you colors
• Settings window (”gear” icon
in lower right)

8. Part 4 – SpectroDens Connection
1. In the lower left corner of
the window, check the
connection status of your
SpectroDens.
2. If it shows “No Device”,
please connect the USB
cable now and wait for the
status to change to
“SpectroDens” indicating
the device is connected.

9. Part 5 - The Basics of Running a Job
ChromaLT ships with sample
colors and a sample job so
you can begin exploring the
software right away.
1. To begin, click on the
“ChromaMatch” button

10. Part 5 - The Basics of Running a Job continued…
2. In the job list, click on
the job named “Techkon
Press Sheet Sample Job”
3. Now click on the “Run”
button , in the
bottom left corner, to
open the job in the
measure window

11. Part 5 - The Basics of Running a Job continued…
4. Click on the green
“Start New
Measurement Set”
button in the upper
left to add a new
Measurement Set to
the job. (Follow any
additional instructions
given by the
software.)
5. Using the Techkon
sample press sheet,
begin measuring Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow, and
black color patches.
HINT – You can measure colors in any order and measure each of them more than once if you desire.

12. Part 5 - The Basics of Running a Job continued…
The Main measure
window shows results
for all colors in your job.
However, you can see
more detailed results for
any color by clicking on
the View Details
icon.
6. Click on one of the
View Details button
now

13. Part 5 - The Basics of Running a Job continued…
Detail Window Basics:
• You can choose to view
either CIELab or InkCheck
graphs using the 2 tabs at
the top
• The gray arrows on the left
and right sides will switch
you to the next color
• To return to the Main
window, click on the X icon
in the upper right
HINT – If you prefer this detailed view, you can also take new color measurements in this mode and the
software will automatically switch to the correct color you are measuring.

14. Part 5 - The Basics of Running a Job continued…
Detail Window Basics:
• If you have more than 1
measurement for this
color, they will appear in
the list on right side
• To plot all measurements
at once, click on “Select
All”
• You can delete
measurements by
selecting them in the list or
the CIELab plot and then
using either the “-” button
or right click on the
measurement and use the
”delete” option that pops
up
• It is also possible to create a new color standard from the average of all measurements by clicking on
the button in the lower right corner.

15. Part 5 - The Basics of Running a Job continued…
InkCheck:
• Click in the ”InkCheck” tab
to see what density
adjustments you can make
to improve the deltaE
match for that color
• In the example shown, the
current density is 1.55 and
the current deltaE is 2.21.
• The graph and table show
us that a deltaE of 1.59 can
be obtained by decreasing
density by 0.08 to a
density value of 1.47

16. Part 5 - The Basics of Running a Job continued…
Here is the recommended
workflow for using this
software in a print production
environment:
• For every new printed
sample coming off the press,
click on the “Start New
Measurement Set” button
• This puts a date/time stamp
on each Measurement Set
and allows you to measure
and see a ∆E trend over time
for your different printed
samples in the press run
• You can also take multiple
measurements of each color
from different location on
the printed sample.
• The flag button to the right of the ”Measurement Set” list can be used to indicate if that printed sample is
either “Make Ready” or “Production”. When you open a new job, by default, you are in Make Ready mode. Using
this flag allows you to automatically filter out Make Ready measurements when building a report for the job.

17. Part 6 – Creating a Report
1. To create a report
for your job, click on
the “Print Report…”
button at the
top. The software
will open the Report
preview window.

18. Part 6 – Creating a Report continued…
2. Use the controls on the left
side of the window to
configure your job report
for your needs.
3. When ready, click on the
“Print” button in the lower
right.

19. Part 7 – ChromaStandards module
ChromaStandards is the place
where you will store and
organize all of your color
standards.
To open the ChromaStandards
module, click on the large
ChromaStandards button on
the Home screen.

20. Part 7 – ChromaStandards module continued…
Storage Hierarchy:
• Colors are stored in
Books
• Books are store in
Libraries
• Libraries are stored in
the ChromaStandards
module
• Use the “Explore” tab
on the left side to see
how libraries and
books are arranged.
• Click on the “+” button next to either a Library or Book to reveal its’ contents.

21. Part 7 – ChromaStandards module continued…
Storage Hierarchy:
• Click on a book in the
Explore tab to load its’
colors and make changes
to the book
• Now you can add, import,
duplicate, edit, and delete
colors using the buttons
located near the top
center of the window
• Click on “+” to add a new
color. You can either
manually enter the L, a, b
values OR take a
measurement with your
connected
spectrophotometer
• The buttons at the top left, above the “Explore” and “Search” tabs, allow you to create and delete
new Libraries and Books to create a storage hierarchy that fits your needs.

22. Part 7 – ChromaStandards module continued…
Search by Name:
• A powerful search tool is
included that allows you to
easily find colors in your
Libraries and Books. You
can search for colors by
their name or by just some
text contained in the
name.
• To Search by name, click
on the “Text” option and
then enter in the name (or
partial name) of the color
you wish to find. Then
click the ”Search” button.

23. Part 7 – ChromaStandards module continued…
Search by deltaE:
• It is also possible to search for
colors based on a deltaE color
difference to another color
standard. For example, if your
customer provides a color swatch,
you can measure it and then search
your color books to find existing
colors that are within a specified
deltaE tolerance to the measured
color.
• Use the “∆E-Measure” option to
measure in your desired color
• Use the “∆E-Import” option to load
in your desired color from a file
• Use the “∆E-Lab” option to
manually enter in the L, a, b, values
of your desired color
• Use the “∆E-Browse” option to
select your desired color from one
of your color books

24. Part 7 – ChromaStandards module continued…
Search by deltaE:
• After selecting your desired
color, set the ∆E tolerance
and ∆E formula type and then
click on the “Search” button
to see your results
• The results will be shown in
the list below the ”Search”
button.
• Click on a color in the list to
see the color match details
and delta a*b* plot on the
right side
• Click on “Select All” in the
bottom left corner to see all
results plotted on the graph

25. Part 8 – Creating a New Job
ChromaLT allows you to build
jobs with a maximum of 8 colors
in the job.
1. To create a new job, click on
the “+” button in the bottom
left corner.
HINT – After you create a job for
a specific item, if you print that
item again in the future, you can
use the “Duplicate” button
to make a clean copy of that job.
The duplicate will have the same
measurement settings & color
standards but it will NOT contain
any of the measurements.

26. Part 8 – Creating a New Job continued…
2. Enter a unique name for your job
3. Choose the measurement
settings you would like to use in
the pressroom.
4. Select the deltaE formula you
would like ChromaLT to use for
the job
5. Click “Next” in the lower right
corner to move on to Step 2
HINT – You can change the default
measurement condition parameters
in the “Settings” window located on
the Home screen

27. Part 8 – Creating a New Job continued…
6. You need to add the colors in your job
one at a time. Use the either the
“Explore” or “Search” tabs at the top
left left to locate a color for your job.
Once located, click on the color you
want to add.
7. Now click on the first arrow button to
add that first color to your job.
8. Repeat this process until you have
added all the colors required by your
job.
9. Set the “∆E Tolerance” for each color.
This tolerance will be used to indicate
Pass/Fail conditions to press
operators running the job.
10. When finished, you can either save
the job for future use OR if you are
ready to take live measurements, you
can save and run it right now. This
will open the job immediately in the
measurement window.

28. Part 9 – The “Options” Dialog
• The “Options” dialog can be
accessed by clicking on the
gear button located in the
lower right corner.
• This dialog is then separated
into 3 tabs that let you perform
the following:
1. Set default parameters for
color measurements and job
building
2. Manage where your data is
stored & enable the “User
Roles” feature
3. Manage any data that has
become locked in your
system

29. Part 9 – The “Options” Dialog continued…
Measurement Settings
• The first 3 setting will define how the SpectroDens
is configured when measuring in new colors in the
ChromaStandards module and when adding
measurements into a job in the ChromaMatch
module.
• The first 7 items will be used as the default values
shown on Step 1 when creating a new job in the
ChromaMatch module.

30. Part 9 – The “Options” Dialog continued…
Advanced Settings
• Data Location shows where your ChromaLT data is currently
stored and allows you to do the following:
• Point ChromaLT to another data storage location using the
“Browse…” option
• Copy the current data folder and save it to another location – good
for making backups of your data
• Move the data folder to another location
• Sample Data will create a sample job in ChromaMatch and a
sample Library & Book in ChromaStandards. This sample data is
only intended to help get you using the software faster
• User Roles creates 2 levels of users within ChromaLT
• Admin users have full access to create new colors, jobs, and delete
colors and jobs
• Standard users have full access to the program but cannot delete
colors or jobs
• Once User Roles is enabled, Admin users will be required to enter
the password
• You can choose the default User Role for your computer

31. Part 9 – The “Options” Dialog continued…
Locked Data
• If ChromaLT should ever quit unexpectedly while a color
book was being modified in ChromaStandards or when
running a job in ChromaMatch, it’s possible that those
items could become “locked”. Once ChromaLT is re-
launched, you can “unlock” those items here if they
appear in the list.
NOTE - It’s is also possible to see jobs or color books in this
list that are currently being used by another user. While it is
possible to ”unlock” those items here, it is generally not
recommended to do so and this may result in the loss of
changes made to those items by the other user.

32. Congratulations!
You have finished this short tutorial on how to install and get started
using Techkon’s ChromaLT. For specific product questions, feel free to
contact us directly:
• Email: service@techkonusa.com
• Telephone: 978.777.1854
Best regards,
The ChromaLT Product Team

33. Addendum – X-Rite eXact Connection
ChromaLT supports measurements from the X-
Rite eXact device with the help of X-Rite’s
DataCatcher software. DataCatcher software can
be downloaded from X-Rite’s website and must
be installed and running on your computer.
Before you attempt to use the eXact with
ChromaLT, follow these steps:
1. Download DataCatcher from X-Rite’s website
(www.xrite.com)
2. Run the DataCatcher Installer and follow the
prompts to install DataCatcher
3. Now return to the Home screen in ChromaLT

34. Addendum – X-Rite eXact Connection continued…
4. In the lower left corner of the
window, you can check the
connection status of your eXact
device. If the lower left status
shows “No Device”, please connect
the USB cable and be sure the
eXact is powered on and in the
CIELab mode
5. ChromaLT should then recognize
the device and the status should
change to show “eXact” in the
lower left corner.
6. With the eXact now connected &
recognized, click on either
ChromaMatch or ChromaStandards.

35. Addendum – X-Rite eXact Connection continued…
7. ChromaLT will
automatically launch
DataCatcher. If you
see the error message
shown to the right,
just click “OK”
8. Just follow the steps
outlined for you in
the “X-Rite eXact
Setup” window and
click on the “Options”
button in the
DataCatcher window.

36. Addendum – X-Rite eXact Connection continued…
9. Proceed to configure the
DataCatcher Options
window as instructed in
the “X-Rite eXact Setup”
window
10. When finished
configuring DataCatcher,
click “OK” in the lower
right corner of the
“Options” window.
11. Now click “OK” in the “X-
Rite eXact Setup” window

37. Addendum – X-Rite eXact Connection continued…
You are now ready to begin taking measurements with the eXact device.
NOTE – ChromaLT has hidden the DataCatcher application but it is still
running in the background on your PC. You must keep DataCatcher
running at all times so measurements can be transferred to ChromaLT.