Techkon
Techkon USA, a Datacolor subsidiary, provides spectrophotometers, densitometers, and color quality management software for the global printing and packaging industry, serving commercial printers, brand owners, ink manufacturers, and OEM press manufacturers across 100,000+ worldwide installations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1984
- HeadquartersDanvers, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Techkon does
Techkon USA, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Danvers, Massachusetts, develops color measurement instruments and quality control software for the commercial printing and packaging industry. The company serves commercial offset printers, flexography operations, brand owners, ink manufacturers, and printing press OEMs, with 100,000+ cumulative worldwide installations and enterprise customers including Westrock, FedEx, Sun Chemical, Berry Global, Heidelberg, Graphic Packaging, Komori, Koenig & Bauer, and Lindt Chocolate.
The product portfolio spans handheld spectrodensitometers (SpectroDens 4), standalone densitometers (DENS), automatic and manual scanning spectrophotometers (SpectroDrive, SpectroJet), and inline spectrophotometers (SpectroVision, SpectroView, SpectroEdge), alongside the ChromaQA software platform offered in Ink, Lite, and Suite tiers. Proprietary technical components include the patented side-mounted aperture on SpectroDens, UHD spectral sensors sampling in approximately 3nm increments across 400-700nm, NIST-traceable calibration, and compliance with ISO 13655 (M0-M3 conditions), G7, and Fogra standards. AI-driven features include SmartInk, which generates spectral data from CIELab values to address metamerism, and SmartAnilox, a predictive anilox recommendation system exclusive to ChromaQA 7. Color management technology is embedded as OEM in printing presses from Komori, Ricoh, Manroland, Koenig & Bauer, Ryobi, and Mitsubishi.
Revenue is generated through hardware unit sales (multiple device categories with tiered feature sets), ChromaQA annual subscriptions, one-time software licenses for Colibri and ExPresso, OEM embedded licensing royalties, accessories and consumables, and professional services including technical support and recertification. Distribution is primarily direct enterprise sales with quote-based, consultation-driven pricing, complemented by an e-commerce storefront for software and accessories and an OEM-embedded channel. The company operates from two offices (Danvers, USA and Königstein, Germany) with 101-250 employees, and was acquired by Datacolor in July 2025 while continuing to operate as Techkon within the larger color science platform.
Techkon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Techkon
- Legal name
- Techkon USA
- Website
- https://techkonusa.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1984
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Techkon USA, a Datacolor subsidiary, provides spectrophotometers, densitometers, and color quality management software for the global printing and packaging industry, serving commercial printers, brand owners, ink manufacturers, and OEM press manufacturers across 100,000+ worldwide installations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Techkon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Print Color Measurement Instrumentation
- NAICS
- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)
- SIC
- Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Color Matching, Tinting & Colorant Systems (IMAEAHAL)
Keywords
Where Techkon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Danvers
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Techkon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales - Spectrophotometers & Densitometers: Sale of handheld color measurement devices including SpectroDens (spectrodensitometer), SpectroDrive (scanning spectrophotometer), SpectroVision (inline), DENS (densitometer), and SpectroPlate (plate reader). Available in multiple performance tiers (Basic, Advanced, Premium).
- Software Subscriptions - ChromaQA: Cloud-based color quality management software available in three tiers: ChromaQA Ink, ChromaQA Lite, and ChromaQA Suite. Provides ink room/press room color platform, analytics, and reporting capabilities.
- Software Licenses - Colibri Ink Formulation: Ink formulation and color matching software for ink room management and color formulation.
- Accessories & Consumables: Sale of accessories including apertures (1.5mm and 3mm), certified demo devices, and other measurement accessories.
- OEM/Embedded Technology Licensing: Color management technology embedded in printing presses from OEM partners including Komori, Ricoh, Manroland, K&B, Ryobi, and Mitsubishi.
- Professional Services: Technical support, service requests, RMA, warranty services, and planned maintenance/recertification programs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | SpectroDens 4 available in Basic, Advanced, and Premium tiers |
| Subscription | Annual | ChromaQA available in three configurations: Ink, Lite, and Suite |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Techkon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Techkon designs, manufactures, and sells color measurement instruments and quality control software for the commercial printing, packaging, and flexographic printing industries. Its product portfolio includes handheld spectrodensitometers (SpectroDens 4), scanning and inline spectrophotometers (SpectroDrive, SpectroJet, SpectroVision, SpectroEdge, SpectroView), densitometers and plate readers (DENS, SpectroPlate), closed-loop press systems (PressLink), and the ChromaQA cloud-based color QA software with AI-driven SmartInk formulation and SmartAnilox recommendation capabilities.
Product overview
Techkon provides a comprehensive portfolio of color measurement and quality control solutions for the printing and packaging industry. The product lineup centers on handheld spectrophotometers and densitometers (SpectroDens 4, SpectroPlate, DENS, SpectroCheck), scanning systems (SpectroDrive, PressLink, SpectroJet), inline monitoring solutions (SpectroVision, SpectroView, SpectroEdge), and the ChromaQA software platform. ChromaQA is available in three tiers (Ink, Lite, Suite) and integrates AI capabilities through SmartInk (ink formulation engine) and SmartAnilox (predictive anilox recommendations, ChromaQA 7 exclusive). The ecosystem also includes Colibri ink formulation software, ExPresso open-loop management, SpectroConnect device utility, and cloud-based ChromaAnalytics reporting. Techkon was acquired by Datacolor in 2025 and maintains headquarters in Danvers, MA and Königstein, Germany.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ChromaQA: Color quality management software for pressrooms, inkrooms, and brand color management.
- SpectroDens
- SpectroDrive
- SpectroVision
- SpectroEdge
- SpectroJet
- SpectroPlate
- DENS
- SpectroCheck
- PressLink
- SmartInk
- Colibri
- ExPresso
- SunQ
Products and services
- SpectroDens 4 All-in-one handheld spectrodensitometer combining spectrophotometer and densitometer functionality for press operators and ink technicians, providing precision color control with InkCheck, GrayGuide for G7 compliance, Wi-Fi connectivity, and support for M0, M1, M2, M3 measurement conditions per ISO 13655.
- SpectroPlate Digital microscope for inspecting and measuring printing plates in pre-press operations, intended for quality control of plate output.
- DENS Handheld Densitometer Handheld color densitometer for measuring density values in printing applications where spectral functions are not required.
- SpectroCheck Handheld color reference tool that also functions as a device manager/utility for creating, editing, and managing Techkon color libraries.
- SpectroDrive Automatic scanning spectrophotometer for offset printing that enables automated color measurement across press runs.
- PressLink Closed-loop color management system for offset printing that automates color control feedback to press operators during print runs.
- SpectroJet Manual scanning spectrophotometer for offset printing operations, providing operator-driven color scans.
- ChromaQA Cloud-based color quality management software platform for pressroom and inkroom operations, available in three configurations - ChromaQA Ink (ink management), ChromaQA Lite (basic pressroom), and ChromaQA Suite (full pressroom and inkroom) - with real-time PASS/FAIL feedback, G7/ISO/Fogra standards support, and cloud-based analytics.
- SmartInk AI-driven ink formulation engine that generates accurate spectral data from CIELab-only color standards using corresponding colorant sets, addressing metamerism and providing recipe corrections for color matching.
- SmartAnilox Predictive anilox recommendations system that analyzes prints across different anilox volumes for each ink system and substrate combination, then displays predicted Delta E outcomes for all anilox rolls via the InkCheck graph. Exclusive to ChromaQA 7.
- Colibri Ink formulation and color matching software for inkroom operations, enabling precise ink recipe creation, correction, and management.
- ExPresso Open-loop color management software for pressroom operations providing recipe and color control without closed-loop press integration.
- SpectroVision In-line spectrophotometer for flexo and digital printing, providing continuous color measurement during production on flexo and digital press lines. Winner of the FTA Innovation Award 2025.
- SpectroView Inline color quality monitoring system for continuous production color verification on printing lines.
- SpectroEdge Inline spectrophotometer designed for digital press manufacturers, providing color measurement integrated into OEM press systems for vendors including Komori, Ricoh, Manroland, Koenig & Bauer, Ryobi, and Mitsubishi.
- SunQ Custom quality software platform co-developed with Sun Chemical that integrates with SAP for ink production testing, combining color and physical testing in one interface; implemented across 30 Sun Chemical plants in North America for automated quality traceability and batch-to-batch consistency.
- ChromaAnalytics Web-based reporting module within ChromaQA providing dashboards, job scores, Delta E results, PQX job reports, and accessibility from laptop, tablet, or phone.
Quantifiable outcome
- Cut make-ready times in half
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Techkon
Customer profileNamed customers19 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Techkon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability3 records
Feature10 records
Techkon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Sun ChemicalcoreTechkon USA and Sun Chemical co-developed and launched SunQ, a custom quality software platform that integrates with SAP to manage ink production testing. The software combines color and physical testing in one interface and has been implemented in 30 Sun Chemical plants across North America, enabling automated quality traceability and batch-to-batch consistency analysis.
- DatacolorcoreDatacolor acquired TECHKON USA, based in Danvers, Massachusetts. The acquisition builds on prior acquisitions and aims to broaden Datacolor's market reach with Techkon USA's color management solutions. This move strengthens Datacolor's global footprint and service offerings in the printing and packaging industry.
- KomoricoreAward-winning color management technology embedded in Komori printing presses as OEM partner.
- RicohcoreColor management technology embedded in Ricoh digital printing presses as OEM partner.
- ManrolandcoreColor management technology embedded in Manroland printing presses as OEM partner.
- Koenig & BauercoreColor management technology embedded in Koenig & Bauer printing presses as OEM partner.
- RyobicoreColor management technology embedded in Ryobi printing presses as OEM partner.
- MitsubishicoreColor management technology embedded in Mitsubishi printing presses as OEM partner.
- FograminorTechkon participates in Fogra Colour Management Symposium events, positioning the company in industry discussions on color management and related technologies alongside approximately 200 industry professionals.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Techkon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Strengths5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Techkon social profiles
Digital presenceTechkon compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Techkon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Techkon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Techkon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Techkon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Techkon
What does Techkon do?
Techkon designs, manufactures, and sells color measurement instruments and quality control software for the commercial printing, packaging, and flexographic printing industries. Its product portfolio includes handheld spectrodensitometers (SpectroDens 4), scanning and inline spectrophotometers (SpectroDrive, SpectroJet, SpectroVision, SpectroEdge, SpectroView), densitometers and plate readers (DENS, SpectroPlate), closed-loop press systems (PressLink), and the ChromaQA cloud-based color QA software with AI-driven SmartInk formulation and SmartAnilox recommendation capabilities.
Is Techkon a public or private company?
Techkon is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Techkon founded?
Techkon was founded in 1984. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Techkon based?
Techkon is headquartered in Danvers, United States, in the North America region.
How does Techkon make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales - Spectrophotometers & Densitometers are the primary driver. The others are software Subscriptions - ChromaQA, software Licenses - Colibri Ink Formulation, accessories & Consumables, OEM/Embedded Technology Licensing and professional Services.
Does Techkon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Techkon.
What industry is Techkon in?
Techkon's product category is Print Color Measurement Instrumentation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAEAHAL, Color Matching, Tinting & Colorant Systems. Its NAICS code is 334516 and its SIC code is 3826.