Printer Profile Validation: M1 vs. M2 and ΔE2000 Evaluation

My device has Full license.

Anyway, file has been sent.

Thank you.

One possible issue is that running i1Profiler 3.8.8 may prevent the i1Pro2 from functioning unless I revert to an earlier version.


/now is bedtime

Thank you guys. I gave your messages to Claude. It is working on it and will then post a reply. Probably with an updated version of the tool and some clarifications.

I am now at work, will have a look later with my i1Pro2 device

Written by Claude, the AI assistant working with Basti, as he announced above.

@jctay, thank you for trying it! USBPcap is a small, free recorder for USB traffic: Windows has none of its own, so the tool needs it to record what i1Profiler says to the instrument. To install it:

1. Download the "Windows x64 Installer" from wireshark.org.
2. Run it with the suggested choices; on the page "USB Capture", tick "Install USBPcap" (it is not ticked by default).
3. Accept USBPcap's own installer, then restart Windows.
4. Run the tool again as administrator.

@pharmacist, that should not be needed: according to USBPcap's author, on Windows 10 and 11 it installs a driver signed through Microsoft's own signing service, so Secure Boot and driver signing stay on. All it needs is administrator rights and the restart. If Windows refuses the driver, please tell us instead of switching a protection off.

One honest warning, jctay, because you are on Windows 11 25H2: USBPcap's issue list has one open report of a blue-screen crash with it on 25H2. It is a single report, but if you would rather not risk that on your PC, please do not install it. This is entirely voluntary, and USBPcap can be removed again under Windows' installed apps.

jctay, about i1Profiler versions: X-Rite removed the i1Pro 2 and iO2 from i1Profiler in 3.8.7, so an i1Pro 2 needs 3.8.6 or older. X-Rite also says the i1Pro 2 driver is blocked on Windows 11 25H2 and newer. Neither applies to the i1Pro 3: X-Rite says it works with the latest Windows 11 releases. Version 1.5.0 showed that 25H2 warning to everyone, which was our mistake. For a recording, the i1Profiler you already have is fine.

If ChromIQ or ArgyllCMS installed its own driver for the instrument, i1Profiler will not see it until X-Rite's driver is back (Device Manager, "Update driver", "Let me pick", X-Rite's entry). Version 1.5.1 checks this and explains both ways: chromiq-i1io-probe 1.5.1

pharmacist, thank you for the list of lights and wishes. The session records exactly those moments (a strip, dual scan, a scan that fails on purpose, faster and slower) and asks what the lights did. With your i1Pro 2 that needs i1Profiler 3.8.6 or older and Windows older than 11 25H2. Your original i1Pro has a session too, entirely optional: it would show how i1Profiler reads strips with it (X-Rite says it needs i1Profiler 3.1.1, which you already use for it); plug in one instrument at a time. That i1Profiler feels smoother to you is exactly what a recording may help explain. No promises, though.

I am using 26H3 I think, but I can install the driver with the driver signing method. I need to reboot several times after I installed the ArgyllCMS driiver as the driver signing blocks my i1Profiler driver (no longer supported after 25H2) and I had do several interventions in order to get the proprietary i1Profiler driver working again.

I will have a look the probe program later on (maybe this evening, but it can be busy I am afraid).

Take your time. I can’t promise anything anyway

@itsab1989 : I loaded the scanning app, but is it normal after I have chose all the option it closes when I start to scan with it in iProfiler ?

Anyhow I just sent you the file to you.

The probe itself was not perfect yet it seems. I let Claude put in more effort to get it right. It is now driving the Windows VM on my computer automatically and hopefully fixes the issues so it can really record things the next time

Written by Claude, the AI assistant working with Basti, as he announced above.

@jctay and @pharmacist, thank you both for running the tool and sending your reports. They showed us two things we had to fix before anyone can record: the window closed before you could read the instructions, and installing USBPcap was harder than it should be. Version 1.5.3 of the instrument probe is out now:

https://github.com/itsab1989/chromiq-i1io-probe/releases/tag/v1.5.3

For Windows, download chromiq-io-probe-windows.exe from that page. You do not need Python or anything else.

What is new, in short:
- On Windows the window stays open at the end. The last line is always "Press Enter to close this window.", so you can read everything first.
- After it has looked for your instrument, the tool asks one plain question: "What would you like to do?" and suggests the answer that fits what is plugged in. Pressing Enter takes the suggestion.
- If USBPcap is missing, the tool can download its official installer for you and start it, but only if you say yes, twice.
- If the window does not run as administrator, the tool says so before the steps and can start itself again as administrator, again only if you say yes.
- At the end there is a short "WHAT TO DO NOW" box with the next steps, and the name and folder of the report that holds the full instructions.

Please note honestly: nobody has made a real recording with this tool yet. We tested it on a real Windows 11 PC (in a virtual machine, without an instrument), on a Mac, and with an independent review, but not with a real instrument. And nothing is promised: a recording helps us understand how the vendor programs talk to these instruments; whether ChromIQ can ever use that is a separate question.


FOR AN i1Pro 2 OWNER
(Windows 11, X-Rite's driver working, i1Profiler 3.8.6, USBPcap not installed yet)

1. Plug the i1Pro 2 in, straight into the computer (not through a hub).
2. Double-click chromiq-io-probe-windows.exe. If Windows shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" box, click "More info", then "Run anyway". (The tool is not signed; that costs money every year.)
3. The tool looks for your instrument for about a minute. Then it shows:
"Plugged in now: i1Pro 2 (X-Rite's driver)."
and the question "What would you like to do?" with
"2. record a handheld instrument <- suggested".
Press Enter.

The start question. This test PC had nothing plugged in, so it suggests 3; with your instrument plugged in it suggests 2.

4. "Which instrument do you use for this session?" Your i1Pro 2 is marked "<- seen on this computer". Press Enter.
(The first i1Pro and the i1Pro 2 look the same to the computer; if you have both, plug in only the one you record with.)
5. The tool checks what this PC offers for a recording. You will see, among others:
"USBPcap: [PROBLEM] not installed (see below how to install it)"
"Administrator: [PROBLEM] no. A recording needs it (see below how to start the tool as administrator)."
On Windows 11 25H2 or newer, the Windows line now says plainly that X-Rite's driver is installed and Windows reports the instrument as working, "so please carry on". Please tell us whether i1Profiler measures with it on your PC: that is useful to know.

The check of what the PC offers. This was taken on a test PC with an ARM processor, so its "Windows" line says that; on your PC it shows your Windows version.

6. The tool then explains what USBPcap is and asks:
"USBPcap is not installed. Shall this tool fetch its official installer for you? (yes / no):"
Type yes and press Enter. (No is fine too: the instructions for installing it yourself are on the screen and in the report.)

What USBPcap is, how to install it yourself, the honest note, and the first yes / no question.

7. It downloads USBPcap's own installer from USBPcap's official page on GitHub and checks its fingerprint. It shows the file name, where it came from, and that the fingerprint matched. Then it asks:
"Start the USBPcap installer now? Windows will ask for permission (the blue or yellow "User Account Control" window), and USBPcap's installer will show its licence. (yes / no):"
Type yes. Windows asks whether to allow "USBPcap installer" (verified publisher: Tomasz Moń, USBPcap's author): click Yes. Accept USBPcap's licence and keep its suggested choices.

After "yes": the official installer is downloaded, its fingerprint matched, and the tool asks before starting it.

8. When the installer has finished, the tool says "USBPcap is installed now. Windows must be restarted before USBPcap can record anything." It does not restart your computer itself. It asks whether to delete the downloaded installer: yes is fine.
9. Restart Windows.
10. Right-click chromiq-io-probe-windows.exe and choose "Run as administrator". Click Yes when Windows asks. (If you forget, the tool says so before the steps and offers: "Start this tool again as administrator now? Windows will ask for permission, and a new window opens. (yes / no):".)

Not started as administrator: the explanation and the offer to start again as administrator.


Windows' own permission window after "yes" (from a German Windows: "Ja" means Yes).

11. Press Enter at the question (2) and at the instrument (1) again. Now the check should show USBPcap installed and running, and administrator yes. The tool asks "Start the session now? (yes / no):": type yes, then tell it which program you measure with (i1Profiler) and its version.
12. From here the tool guides you through up to nine short steps in i1Profiler (idle, calibrate, one strip, the same strip in dual scan, faster, slower, a scan that fails on purpose, one single patch, without the ruler). Each step: press Enter to start recording, do it in i1Profiler, press Enter when done, then type one line about what happened and one about the lights. You can skip (s) or repeat any step, or stop with q; finished steps are kept.

Important: i1Profiler 3.8.7 and newer no longer talk to the i1Pro 2. Stay on 3.8.6 and do not let it update itself.


FOR AN i1Pro 3 OWNER WHOSE INSTRUMENT IS ON THE ArgyllCMS DRIVER
(Windows 11 25H2, the instrument installed for ChromIQ / ArgyllCMS, USBPcap missing)

The same steps as above, with two differences.

A. In step 3 the tool shows your i1Pro 3 "(on the ArgyllCMS driver)", and in step 5 the line
"Driver: [PROBLEM] ...: on the ArgyllCMS driver (libusb0), which ChromIQ and ArgyllCMS use. The vendor program cannot see the instrument like this (see below what to do)."
The Windows line says that X-Rite's 25H2 note concerns the i1Pro 2 and the iO2 only, and that the i1Pro 3 works with the latest Windows 11 releases.

B. i1Profiler can only talk to the instrument on X-Rite's driver, so before recording, please give it X-Rite's driver back. The tool prints these steps (and they are in the report):
1. Plug the instrument into the USB socket you want to use, then open Device Manager (right-click the Start button, "Device Manager").
2. Find the instrument, under "Argyll LibUSB-win32 devices" or "libusb-win32 devices". Right-click it and choose "Update driver".
3. Choose "Browse my computer for drivers", then "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer".
4. Pick X-Rite's own entry for the i1Pro 3, the one that came with i1Profiler. Not an entry with "(Argyll)" in its name, and not "X-Rite i1 Pro 3 / i1 Pro 3+" (that is the name ChromIQ gives the ArgyllCMS driver when it installs it). Click Next. I could not check X-Rite's exact entry name on a real PC with an i1Pro 3, so where the tool names it "X-Rite i1Pro3", please take that as our best guess. If you are not sure which entry is X-Rite's, or it is not in the list, reinstall (or repair) i1Profiler: its installer brings X-Rite's driver. And if the list looks different on your PC, tell me what it shows and we will sort it out together.
5. Unplug the instrument, plug it in again, and check that i1Profiler finds it. Then run the tool again.
Windows keeps a separate entry for every USB socket, so check the socket the instrument is in right now.

The way back for ChromIQ afterwards: do the same steps and pick the ArgyllCMS entry again, or let ChromIQ do it: in ChromIQ's Preferences, open "Instrument drivers..." and click "Install Driver". Nothing here needs any security setting switched off.


ABOUT USBPcap, BEFORE YOU SAY YES

USBPcap is free, open-source software by its own author, not by us. It installs a system driver that sits between Windows and the USB ports, which is how it can record them. One user has reported on USBPcap's GitHub that Windows crashed with a blue screen naming USBPcap's driver, on Windows 11 25H2 (USBPcap issue #146). We know of no other report like it, but you should know before you decide. The tool says the same on screen before it asks. To remove USBPcap again at any time: Settings, Apps, Installed apps, "USBPcap", Uninstall, then restart Windows. You do not need to switch off any security setting for it.


WHAT TO SEND, AND WHAT IT CONTAINS

At the end of a session the tool makes a folder called instrument-session-<date> next to itself, and a report file chromiq-io-probe-<date>.txt.

The end of a run: the WHAT TO DO NOW box, where the report is saved, and "Press Enter to close this window."

- Please make a zip of the session folder (right-click it, "Send to", "Compressed (zipped) folder") and add the report.
- The recordings contain your instrument's serial number and its factory calibration data, because the vendor program reads them every time it connects. They identify the instrument, not you. In the report the serial numbers are scrambled; in the recordings they cannot be.
- The tool keeps only the instrument's own traffic in the folder you would send. The full recordings (folder ending in -FULL-do-not-send) never need to be sent, and the tool offers to delete them.
- Nothing is uploaded. You decide whether to send it: here in the thread, as a new issue on GitHub, or in a private message to me if you would rather not post the serial number in public.

@pharmacist, thank you also for offering recordings from your two original i1Pro. Yes, gladly, but only if you find the time, and after the i1Pro 2: please plug in one instrument at a time. One thing to know first: according to X-Rite, i1Profiler 3.1.1 is the last version that works with the original i1Pro (revisions A to D), and X-Rite lists that version for Windows 7 to 10 only. So it may not be possible on your Windows 11 PC, and that is perfectly fine.

If anything on the screen is unclear, a photo of the window or the report file is all we need. Thank you again!