The Spectro LFP measures whole charts on its own table: you lay the sheet down, the head finds the chart and reads every patch. CC Capture drives the instrument, and the job you open in ChromaChecker tells it which chart to expect.

Connecting: USB or Ethernet

USB works, Ethernet is much faster – transfer and measurement both, most of all when the instrument photographs the table.

USB: use a passive cable (USB-A to USB-C, or a plain USB-C 2.0 cable). Active Thunderbolt or USB4 cables can leave the instrument invisible to the computer, even very good ones. Cable price and quality do not matter here; "active" is what rules a cable out.

Ethernet: the instrument needs an IP address that never changes. Reserve one for it on your network router (ask your IT if you do not manage the router). Then, in CC Capture's Connect window, choose Ethernet, click "…" and enter that address.

Setup – how the instrument measures by default

Open it from the instrument icon (right-click, then Setup…) or from the device menu. What you set here is used for every measurement, unless the ChromaChecker job asks for something specific – then the job wins for that job only.

Measuring mode

• Up-Down – most precise, and the safe choice for delicate media: the head touches the sheet only while reading. Slowest.
• Fast – the head slides along the sheet; much quicker, but it can scratch coated stock or pull threads on fabric.
• Contactless – never touches the sheet; less accurate, keep the sheet flat.

Aperture

Automatic picks it from the patch size: 2 mm for small patches, 6 mm from 7.5 mm, 8 mm from 10 mm.

M-condition

The illumination condition your workflow uses (M0, M1, M2).

Chart positioning

How the instrument finds the chart – see below. The method you choose is a preference, not a rule.

Averaging

Several readings inside each patch, averaged. Steadier on textured or grainy prints; takes longer.

Different settings, different numbers – and that is not an error

The LFP can measure the same chart in several ways, and each way gives slightly different numbers. That is how measurement works, not a fault of the instrument.

Aperture. A 2 mm aperture reads a small spot; 6 and 8 mm average a larger area. On grainy, textured or unevenly printed patches the results differ.

M-condition. M0, M1 and M2 light the sample differently in the ultraviolet. On paper with optical brighteners, or with inks that fluoresce, the values will differ – sometimes a lot. That is exactly what the conditions are for.

Measured or calculated M-conditions. Many instruments today calculate more than they measure: one pass, and M0, M1 and M2 are derived from it. The ISO standard accepts that method, but it does not promise results identical to a physical measurement of each condition – sometimes not even close. The LFP can do either (Setup, M-conditions data: "Physical measurement – one pass per condition" or "Calculated – M0, M1 and M2 from a single pass"), and the two are not interchangeable.

Measuring mode. Up-Down is the most accurate; Fast and Contactless come close but are not identical. You cannot always choose Up-Down – it is the slowest – and Fast is out wherever the head would mark the print. Then Contactless is the right choice, with its lower accuracy accepted.

So never mix data measured with different settings. A reference measured one way and production measured another will show a difference that lives in the settings, not in the print. Wherever measurements are exchanged – between sites, between instruments, between you and your customer or supplier – agree on one set of settings (aperture, M-condition, measured or calculated, measuring mode) and use it on every instrument in the chain.

Chart positioning – four ways

• Automatic – registration lines
  Needs a chart from Barbieri's chart generator: two black lines printed along its edges. Works on every LFP. Each of the two lines has to end with its own end marker, and that sets a minimum size: the chart must cover at least 24 × 24 mm, so the rows together must be at least 24 mm tall: a single row needs patches 24 mm tall, two rows 12 mm, and only with three rows can the patches be 8 mm.
  
  
• Automatic – chart corners (camera)
  Needs the camera option activated on the instrument. No lines needed – the right choice for most customer charts. Patches at least 7 × 7 mm.
  
  
• Manual – laser, three points
  Needs nothing: you aim the laser at three marks yourself. Works with any chart and any patch size. Slow.
  
  
• Camera – patch recognition
  Needs the camera option activated. The instrument finds the patches itself and checks every line. Patches 8 mm and up – a chart with smaller patches is measured by registration lines instead.

The method is a preference, not a rule

The method set in Setup is the one the instrument tries first. If it cannot find the registration lines and the camera option is activated, it photographs the table and positions the chart from the photo instead – the scan goes on, and the camera lights up although you chose lines. Only when both fail does CC Capture stop the scan and show "Registration lines not found".

Without the camera option there is nothing to fall back on: the registration lines must be found, so print and lay the chart as described below.

With the camera option the instrument photographs the table on every scan, also when it found the lines. Over USB that adds about half a minute; over Ethernet much less.

Printing and laying a chart with registration lines

• Print at 100 % – never "fit to page" or any other scaling. A scaled chart is not where the instrument expects it, even if it looks right. Check with a ruler: one row must measure the number of patches times the patch size, for example 28 × 8 mm = 224 mm.
• Lay it near the top of the table – a chart laid low may not be found.
• Flat, fully on the table, the lines not covered or folded.

If a camera method reads "not available on this instrument", the camera option is not activated on your unit. Registration lines and the laser still work. Barbieri activates the camera per instrument with a TAN code, entered in Barbieri Gateway (Tools – Enter TAN; close CC Capture first, the two cannot use the instrument at the same time). Ask us or your Barbieri dealer about it. On a unit without the option the camera may still light up and photograph the table – that photo is not used to position the chart.

When positioning fails

• "Registration lines not found" – check the print scale, lay the chart higher on the table, flat, and measure again. A chart smaller than 24 × 24 mm cannot carry the lines.
• "The camera did not find the chart" – lay the sheet again inside the measuring area, or choose registration lines in Setup.
• Part of the chart reads shifted or mixed values – the print is probably not at 100 %. Measure one row with a ruler.

Barcode charts – the chart picks the job

The easiest way to measure without mistakes. Make one chart PDF per printer and paper, each with its own code. When the instrument reads the code, the measurement goes to that printer and paper automatically and starts by itself – the operator no longer has to keep track of which print came from where.

To use it:
1. The camera option must be activated on the instrument.
2. In Setup, Chart identity, turn on "Camera-based barcode automation".
3. Print on each chart the code ChromaChecker generates for it – any other code is not recognized. Best at least 20 × 20 mm, on the left side of the sheet.

The barcode button then appears in Print Inspector, in the middle of the bottom bar – only there, because only Print Inspector measures charts. Lay the chart on the table and click it. While the instrument is measuring, the button waits – read the code when the scan has finished.

The colour of the button tells you what happened:

•   Black (light grey in dark mode) – ready.
  
  
•   Purple – the instrument is photographing the table and reading the code.
  
  
•   Green – a code was read;
  the measurement starts by itself, and the button turns black again when it ends.
  
  
•   Red – no code was found.
  Check that the code is printed on the chart, on the table and not covered, and click again. Red also when the code was read but belongs to no chart; the page then says "Barcode not recognized".

Red stays until the next read.

The instrument's camera reads the code by itself. The Barcode Reader plugin is for separate, external barcode readers and is not needed here.

The spectral unit off the table

The LFP's spectral unit also measures on its own, by hand:
Always use the positioning adapter that slightly raises the unit – measurements without it are false.
One M-condition per session: choose it in Setup; the unit calibrates for it when it connects.
Several M-conditions at once, and OBA/FI work, need the table – dock the unit for those.
Start measurements from CC Capture, not from the unit's own button.
If the unit sleeps and disconnects, reconnect from the Connect window.

The recommendations window

After connecting, CC Capture shows short tips, one window per topic – the USB connection, measuring with the camera, barcodes – and only those that apply to your instrument and connection, each with a link to this page. "Don't show this again" hides that one tip; the others still appear.

To see all of them again, use "Barbieri – quick start…" in the app menu or the same button in Setup.