X-Rite, Inc. is a manufacturer of color measurement and management products, located in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, United States. The company also creates products that regulate quality in the processing of film and

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

History

The firm was incorporated in 1958 by seven engineers from

Lear Siegler Lear Siegler Incorporated (LSI) is a diverse American corporation established in 1962. Its products range from car seats and brakes to weapons control systems for military fighter planes. The company's more than $2 billion-a-year annual sales come ...

. Its first product, x-ray marking tape, was introduced in 1968 and is the basis of the company name. In 1975, it introduced its first

densitometer A densitometer is a device that measures the degree of darkness (the optical density) of a photographic or semitransparent material or of a reflecting surface. The densitometer is basically a light source aimed at a photoelectric cell. It determ ...

for photographic printing use. The firm went public in 1986, and in 1987 moved into a new headquarters and production facility in Grandville, Michigan. By 1990, the firm shifted emphasis to the field of

color measurement Colorimetry is "the science and technology used to quantify and describe physically the human color perception". It is similar to spectrophotometry, but is distinguished by its interest in reducing spectra to the physical correlates of color ...

. In 1966 it purchased H. Miller Graphic Arts of England; in 2006 it purchased Amazys, owners of Gretag–Macbeth and thereby the

Munsell Munsell may refer to: * Albert Henry Munsell (1858–1918), American painter, teacher of art, and the inventor of the Munsell color system * Harvey M. Munsell, American soldier in the Civil War. *Munsell Color Company *Munsell color system In c ...

products; in 2007 it acquired

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic ...

, Inc. In 2012 the firm was acquired by

Danaher Corporation Danaher Corporation is an American globally diversified conglomerate with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The company designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. The company's ...

Subsidiaries

* Munsell Color *

, Inc. *X-Rite AG *X-Rite Asia Pacific Limited (Hong Kong) *X-Rite Global, Inc. *X-Rite GmbH (Germany) *X-Rite Holdings, Inc. *X-Rite International, Inc. (Barbados) *X-Rite Ltd. (U.K.) *X-Rite MA, Incorporated *X-Rite Mediterranee SARL (France) *XR Ventures LLC

References

External links

* Electronics companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Grand Rapids, Michigan Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Electronics companies established in 1958 1958 establishments in Michigan 1980s initial public offerings 2012 mergers and acquisitions Danaher subsidiaries {{US-company-stub