The X-Rite eXact 2 is a versatile press spectrophotometer with applications across the full range of commercial printing contexts - from small job printers managing a handful of brand accounts to large operations running complex multicolour packaging jobs across multiple presses. Understanding the specific ways that the eXact 2 adds value in different commercial printing contexts helps press rooms target their measurement investment where it will have the greatest impact.
The eXact 2's most fundamental use is brand colour verification - measuring spot Pantone and brand-specific colours on press sheets against stored colour targets and reporting the Delta E compliance result. This is the application that drives most purchase decisions for the eXact 2, and it is where the instrument delivers the most immediately visible commercial value. When a press operator measures a brand colour on a running job and sees a ΔE2000 of 1.8 against a tolerance of 2.0, they know the job is passing - and they have the documented measurement to prove it to the customer. When the reading shows 2.5, they know the job needs adjustment before it can continue - and they can make that adjustment without waiting for the customer to reject finished goods. The full eXact 2 range is available through Seaga Group in Australia.
Press Setup and Makeready
The eXact 2 significantly improves the efficiency of press makeready - the setup phase before a job begins production. Traditional visual makeready relies on the operator's judgement and experience to assess whether colour is acceptable, typically requiring multiple adjustment cycles before an experienced supervisor is satisfied with the result. The eXact 2 makes makeready objective: the operator measures each colour on the setup sheet, sees the ΔE against the target, and knows whether to adjust and in which direction. Makeready is complete when every measured colour is within tolerance - not when the press supervisor decides it "looks right."
This measurement-guided makeready approach consistently reduces makeready time and waste compared to visual assessment. The reduction in substrate and ink waste during setup is real and recurring: across an entire production calendar, the savings can be substantial. For smaller commercial printers where every metre of substrate counts, this waste reduction makes the eXact 2 economically compelling even for operations that don't have demanding brand colour customers driving the purchase.
Process Colour Verification and Press Characterisation
The eXact 2 is also the tool for characterising the press's process colour (CMYK) response - measuring the printed output of a characterisation target like IT8 or ECI2002 and using the data to build ICC profiles for the press. Accurate ICC profiles underpin colour-managed prepress workflows, ensuring that digital files are converted to the press's specific colour space correctly and that the finished print reproduces colours accurately relative to the design intent.
Press characterisation with the eXact 2 is faster than with older instruments because of the auto-scan measurement capability - the ability to measure multiple patches in rapid succession by scanning continuously across the printed strip. What might take 20 minutes of individual patch measurements with a conventional instrument takes a fraction of that time with eXact 2 auto-scan, making press profiling a practical part of the production workflow rather than a laboratory exercise reserved for scheduled maintenance windows.
ISO 12647 Compliance Verification
For commercial printers working toward or maintaining ISO 12647-2 certification - the international standard for offset print quality - the eXact 2 provides the measurement capability needed for compliant press condition verification. ISO 12647-2 requires M1 measurement condition, specific density and TVI (tone value increase) targets, and documented measurement records at regular intervals. The eXact 2 meets all of these requirements natively, generating M1-compliant measurements and data that integrates with Color iQC software for the structured reporting that ISO certification audits require.
For printers who have not yet pursued ISO certification but are considering it, the eXact 2 is the starting investment that makes certification achievable. The measurement data it generates can be used both for production colour management and as the foundation of the measurement record that ISO auditors review during certification assessments.
Wide Format and Digital Print Quality Control
Although the eXact 2 is most commonly associated with offset press environments, it is equally applicable in wide format and digital printing operations where colour accuracy and brand colour matching are important. Wide format printers producing retail graphics, vehicle wraps, signage, and display materials for brand-conscious customers face the same brand colour specification requirements as packaging printers, and the eXact 2 provides the same measurement capability in these environments. Digital press operations using the eXact 2 for press characterisation and quality verification can demonstrate the measurement infrastructure that print-on-demand and variable data printing customers increasingly expect from professional print suppliers.
The eXact spectrophotometers range offers options suited to different printing contexts, and Seaga Group's team can help commercial printers identify the configuration that best matches their specific application requirements and customer colour specifications.
Conclusion
The X-Rite eXact 2 adds value across the full range of commercial printing applications - from brand colour verification and makeready efficiency in sheet-fed offset to press characterisation for ICC profiling and ISO compliance verification. Its combination of production-practical design and comprehensive measurement capability makes it the single instrument that replaces multiple older tools while expanding a print operation's measurement capability to meet current professional standards. For Australian commercial printers investing in colour quality management, the eXact 2 is the central instrument around which a professional measurement program is built.