October 26, 2012
Searching for a SpectraLight? GTI’s CMB is available now!
If you’re a Color and Appearance professional trying to get your hands on a SpectraLight III color evaluation system from X-Rite, you’ve probably already discovered that there’s an unfortunate several month wait for these products to be available. At GTI we know that your color projects can’t wait, so we’re ready to ship our CMB color viewing system to you in a fraction of the waitlist time for the SpectraLight. The SpectraLight III is comparable to the CMB, but aside from being available right now, all 4 of GTI’s CMB model sizes will give you an overall better color viewing system for your buck. One of the biggest reasons for this is the significantly lower power consumption and heat given off from any of GTI’s CMB models. In comparison to the sole model of the SpectraLight currently being sold that requires it’s own dedicated power line and ventilated cooling system just to run it, this difference alone should be enough to explore your options with a CMB. Mother Nature AND your wallet will thank you for going with GTI.
You can put off your color projects and hope for the SpectraLight to deliver for you in the future, or you can go with a long-trusted GTI CMB that will get you back to work creating superior color products in no time. Below, we’ll compare the two products’ features for you and you’ll wonder why you were waiting for the SpectraLight in the first place!

GTI’s CMB
Features Comparison
Feature | CMB | SpectraLight |
---|---|---|
Booths of varied sizes available | Yes 20" x 28"; 25" x 40"; 30" x 52" (Note: the following features are available for all model sizes of the CMB) | No 24" x 37" only |
Meets ASTM D1729-96 and CIE 51 standards for color viewing | Yes | Yes |
CIE Rating (Daylight/UV) *BC is the rating needed for critical color matching | BC | AC |
Daylight source lamp life (hours) | 2500 | 200-300 |
Maximum power consumption, main daylight source | 105 watts | 2000 watts |
Operates on conventional non-dedicated power source? (115VAC or 220/240VAC) | Yes | No (Requires it's own 20amp, 115VAC or 10amp, 220/240VAC circuit) |
Individual source usage timer | Yes - ColorGuard II | No - daylight source timer only |
Number of light sources per unit | 5 | 6 |
Light sources available | Tungsten (A) D50 D65 D75 U30 U35 U41 TL83 TL84 CWF WWF Horizon UV | Tungsten (A) D50 D65 D75 U30 TL84 CWF Horizon UV |
Low re-lamping and maintenance costs | Yes | No |
Able to recalibrate daylight source | No (Not necessary - color shift of lamps as they age is negligible) | Yes (For main daylight source only, must recalibrate regularly using a spectroradiometer) |
Requires open ventilation above unit to dissipate heat from exhaust fans? | No | Yes |
Auto sequencing of lamps, user programmable | Yes | Yes |
Low-voltage tethered light source remote controller available | Yes | Yes |
Easy, low-cost changeover to another daylight source | Yes | No |
Can tolerate reasonable source voltage drop? (-10%) | Yes | No |
Filtered tungsten for daylight source | No | Yes |
Ultraviolet source can be used alone or with another source | Yes | Yes |
Booth sides can be removed to provide larger viewing booths | Yes | No |
Floor stands and drawer system add-ons available | Yes | No |
Contact us to get your CMB right now, and then start thinking about what you’ll do with that extra power line.