中文Techkon, the German developer of precision color measurement instruments and software, has released ChromaQA 7.5, a substantial update to its color quality management suite that introduces 18 new features and enhancements across the Spec, Press, Standards, Admin, and SmartInk modules. The release is aimed squarely at printers and brands that need tighter, more flexible control over color from artwork through press.
At the heart of version 7.5 is greater user control over how color standards are created, measured, evaluated, and reported. Martin van Balkom, Vice President of Marketing at Techkon USA, said the update offers more flexible color quality control for printers and brands than ever before. That flexibility shows up in several practical ways.
When creating templates in Chroma Spec, users can now upload a PDF or JPG image of the printed artwork. This gives the press operator visual confirmation of the job and lets the user specify exact measurement locations within the image after selecting the relevant color standards. The result is less ambiguity about where on a complex layout a reading should be taken.
Building job templates in Chroma Spec also gains the ability to import print standards directly from an ICC profile, in addition to the existing routes through Chroma Standards, PantoneLIVE, or GMG OpenColor. CIELab values and TVI curves can be imported, with support for ICC v2 and v4 as well as CMYK and multi-channel profiles. For operations already managing color through ICC workflows, that bridge reduces duplicate effort.
Chroma Standards now supports customized drawdown reports created in a few clicks and shared as PDF with end customers. When accessing PantoneLive colors, Techkon added the option to select an illuminant and observer combination, after which ChromaQA targets the CIELab values for that specific condition while sampling.
A new Substrate Opacity metric appears in Chroma Press. When enabled on a color bar, the operator sets an aim opacity value and tolerance in the template, then measures over white and black; the opacity result is displayed and attached to the job record. This addresses a real-world need where substrate show-through can undermine perceived color accuracy.
Chroma Admin gains the ability to create and customize multiple ScoreCards for different scoring requirements, such as in-house, GMI, or brand-specific schemes. A new upper-limit threshold feature lets users set a ceiling no single color may exceed, helping catch outliers that averaged values might hide. Users can also disable colors from standard color bars to work with simpler layouts.
SmartInk benefits from the ability to import a Colibri colorant set, with ChromaQA automatically creating a matching set for use within SmartInk, saving time and avoiding manual drawdowns. SpectroCheck now supports a calibration report showing reference, measured, and deltaE values, useful documentation for ISO compliance.
Other refinements include more precise SmartInk corrections when using the Show in Cups feature, with corrections automatically rounded to a quarter cup and recalculated to show predicted delta E. Color Book sorting by name, creation date, and modification date eases work with large collections. Master templates in Chroma Spec simplify what was previously a duplicate-and-edit process, and individual color deltaE tolerances can now override the global template value.
The cumulative effect is a suite that meets printers where their workflows actually are, whether that means PantoneLIVE-driven brand programs, ICC-based process control, or GMI audit preparation. As color expectations from brand owners tighten and audits proliferate, tools that reduce setup friction while improving documentation are finding eager adoption.
Techkon’s update reinforces a broader trend: color management is shifting from specialist discipline to embedded production workflow, with software doing more of the heavy lifting so operators can focus on interpretation rather than administration.
Source: Labels and Labeling (original article: Techkon releases ChromaQA 7.5, October 14, 2026).
The most telling detail in this release is the Substrate Opacity metric, a small addition that addresses a chronic, under-discussed source of color disputes. When a substrate shows through a printed layer, the perceived color shifts, and arguments between printer and brand owner over who is at fault can consume more time than the print run itself. By measuring opacity over white and black and attaching it to the job record, Techkon gives both parties a shared, defensible fact. The multiple ScoreCards feature points the same direction: different customers score color differently, and a system that forces one global standard will always frustrate someone. Letting users define in-house, GMI, and brand-specific ScoreCards in one tool removes a common workaround of maintaining parallel spreadsheets. The ICC import route is equally pragmatic, recognizing that many operations already live inside ICC workflows and should not have to re-key standards. Taken together, ChromaQA 7.5 is less about flashy new science than about removing the administrative friction that stops good color practice from being consistent practice. For printers juggling dozens of brand programs, that friction reduction is the real product.
