(X-Rite: Grand Rapids, MI) -- X-Rite Inc., a global leader in color science and technology, announces the Judge LED light booth, designed for precise visual color evaluation as industries shift from fluorescent to energy-efficient LED lighting. Building on 60 years of lighting innovation, X-Rite’s new light booth incorporates advanced LED technology to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and help brands and suppliers transition smoothly to LED-based color assessments, maintaining quality without operational disruptions.

The global shift to LED lighting, driven by energy efficiency mandates and governmental regulations, presents a new challenge for industries such as textiles, automotive, paint and coatings, plastics, and packaging that depend on color accuracy. Fluorescent and LED illuminants have distinct spectral power distributions (SPD) that can dramatically affect color perception. To maintain color consistency across the supply chain—from design to production to retail—visual evaluation programs must integrate LED standards into their color workflows.

“The Judge LED light booth is a future-proof solution for brands and manufacturers transitioning from fluorescent lighting to comply with new energy regulations,” says Albert S. Laforet, director of strategic projects at X-Rite. “Our custom-designed LEDs are optimized to offer the best SPD match for legacy fluorescent tubes, including U30, U35, CWF, and TL84, ensuring seamless integration into color workflows. This allows companies to meet regulatory requirements, ensure color consistency, and prevent color discrepancies before final product assembly.”

“The Judge LED light booth is ready for use immediately and allows for faster and more consistent color assessments,’ says Carmen Keim, colorist and digital pioneer at Sympatex Technologies, a pioneer in high-tech functional materials in clothing, footwear, accessories, and technical fields. “Our goal is to make color management more efficient across our global supply chain.” 

Fast, reliable, and consistent color assessment

The Judge LED light booth delivers precise and consistent color evaluation with seven distinct light sources that simulate a variety of lighting conditions. The seven light sources can be selected from a wide range of industry-leading standard illuminants, including LED D50, D65, LED-B2 3000K, LED 3500K, LED-B3 4000K, UV, A, CWF LED, TL84 LED, U30 LED, and U35 LED.

Key features of the Judge LED light booth

Instant warm-up: Eliminates waiting time to improve daily efficiency. 

Stabilized illuminants: Ensures color evaluation consistency by delivering calibrated illuminants that offer fixed intensity levels and stable chromaticity.

Directional D65 daylight: Facilitates defect inspection and surface evaluation for characteristics like orange peel to ensure superior product quality on complex finishes.

Digital evaluation: Offers an optional integrated calibrated monitor, allowing for comparison of physical samples with digital material twins to ensure consistency between digital prototypes and physical products.

Energy efficiency: Operates quietly, produces minimal heat, consumes less energy, and has longer-lasting illuminants than fluorescent light booths.

Standards compliance: Meets ISO, ASTM, AATCC, and BSI visual assessment requirements.

Laforet says, “The Judge LED light booth integrates visual and digital workflows, allowing designers, material suppliers, and marketers to compare digital renderings or material twins with physical samples under precise LED lighting. Paired with X-Rite’s end-to-end digital color solutions—including color specification, measurement, PANTORA virtual material creation, color formulation, and quality control software—companies can improve decision-making, streamline approval cycles, and accelerate time to market while ensuring consistent quality.”