Phase One RAINBOW

The essence of the multispectral imaging (MSI) method is that, using a special camera, special light sources and suitable filters, images can also be taken in wavelength ranges invisible to the human eye. Multiband technology is suitable for imaging the range from UV to infrared.

Narrowband technology takes images with illumination of specific wavelengths. By combining special lamps and filters, photo-induced luminescence images can also be captured.

The Phase One Rainbow system produces an ordered image package from images taken under different illumination. The resulting image series can be evaluated visually or with statistical software, e.g. ImageJ, MATLAB etc.; it can be used to improve the legibility of documents, to discover image elements or signatures invisible to the naked eye, and thereby to establish originality and authenticity, to determine age, and to analyse material properties and their distribution.

Light rays of different wavelengths penetrate or are reflected to different degrees by the surface layers of the object under study, so art-historically relevant depth information can be obtained, for example from paintings, without touching or damaging the surface.

MSI can be used in a wide range of applications: Document analysis – for restoring the legibility of text on parchment scrolls and paper, which are often in poor condition

• For analysing polychrome surfaces, e.g. paintings, canvas, wood, stone and other materials
• For analysing all kinds of textile – for historical research, dating or the precise identification of the material
• For police and forensic purposes, recording traces of crime – for examining organic traces, secretions and blood on various materials, fingerprints, signs of the use of weapons, and for analysing evidence
• Characterisation and classification of materials – for quality control, for researching and developing new materials, and for analysing machine-vision images
• General – excellently suited to examining materials, because materials of different chemical composition behave differently when illuminated with light of different wavelengths.

Image source: R.B. Toth Associates / Equipoise Imaging

Main advantages of Phase One MSI technology

• Non-invasive, non-damaging, contactless method
• Automatic, fast, easy to use
• All elements of the system work together
• Gives an immediately evaluable result, so it can be decided quickly whether further examinations are needed
• Thanks to low-energy LED lighting, it is completely safe for the objects
• Modular and mobile

The Phase One RAINBOW System Multispectral cameras have existed for a long time, but older systems are cumbersome to use; until now, producing, processing, storing and analysing consistent, ordered image series has been a serious challenge. Phase One’s specialists have been working for years on putting together an effective MSI system. They have succeeded in developing a flexible and easy-to-use yet robust MSI solution, together with a workflow based on best practice.

The Rainbow Software The capture process is fully automated: simply place the object in front of the camera and press the “Capture” button. The system then carries out the necessary settings automatically and takes the images. A perfect image series again and again, repeatably and stably.

The Rainbow MSI software controls all the elements – camera focusing, the filter wheel, switching the lights on and off in the right order and at the right time, the alignment of the images, and finally the creation of the “Perfect Stack”, i.e. the ordered image stack.

Multispectral cameras have existed for a long time, but older systems are cumbersome to use; until now, producing, processing, storing and analysing consistent, ordered image series has been a serious challenge. Phase One’s specialists have been working for years on putting together an effective MSI system. They have succeeded in developing a flexible and easy-to-use yet robust MSI solution, together with a workflow based on best practice.

The capture process is fully automated: simply place the object in front of the camera and press the “Capture” button. The system then carries out the necessary settings automatically and takes the images. A perfect image series again and again, repeatably and stably.

The Rainbow MSI software controls all the elements – camera focusing, the filter wheel, switching the lights on and off in the right order and at the right time, the alignment of the images, and finally the creation of the “Perfect Stack”, i.e. the ordered image stack.

The Phase One RAINBOW System Multispectral cameras have existed for a long time, but older systems are cumbersome to use; until now, producing, processing, storing and analysing consistent, ordered image series has been a serious challenge. Phase One’s specialists have been working for years on putting together an effective MSI system. They have succeeded in developing a flexible and easy-to-use yet robust MSI solution, together with a workflow based on best practice. The Rainbow Software The capture process is fully automated: simply place the object in front of the camera and press the “Capture” button. The system then carries out the necessary settings automatically and takes the images. A perfect image series again and again, repeatably and stably.

The Rainbow MSI software controls all the elements – camera focusing, the filter wheel, switching the lights on and off in the right order and at the right time, the alignment of the images, and finally the creation of the “Perfect Stack”, i.e. the ordered image stack.

Image source: Loa Ludvigsen (SMK) and Annette T. Keller (Phase One)

Image source: Loa Ludvigsen (SMK) and Annette T. Keller (Phase One)

The Rainbow Camera

• The iXG 100MP Wide Spectrum camera has a high-resolution CMOS sensor with high colour fidelity and an advanced automatic focusing system. This is especially important because optical devices behave differently in different wavelength ranges, so all the hardware and software elements of the system must work together to produce sharp, correctly exposed images.
• Conventional digitisation can also be carried out with this same camera. Attach the supplied IR/UV filter to the magnetic holder of the lens, and you can produce reproductions that meet FADGI, Metamorfoze or ISO image-quality standards, just as with the general-purpose iXG camera.
• The CMOS sensor provides a continuous live view for quick and safe positioning of objects.
• The camera comes with Schneider Kreuznach RS 72 mm and RS 120 mm lenses and macro extensions, which are excellently suited both to MSI imaging tasks and to producing normal flat reproductions.
• The RS (Reliance Shutter) shutter mechanism is under warranty for up to 1 million mechanical exposures, but with the electronic shutter an unlimited number of images can be taken.
• Thanks to the focusing system of the iXG WS, the Auto PPI function is available, which makes the mass digitisation of originals of various sizes faster and simpler.

The Rainbow LED lamps

Rainbow supports two kinds of LED lamps:

• Multiband DedoLight provides narrow-band UV, broad-band visible light, and broad- and narrow-band IR illumination. This light source is generally used for heritage-conservation and forensic MSI applications following the CHARISMA procedure.
• Narrowband EurekaLight can emit at 16 different discrete wavelengths, from the ultraviolet range through the visible spectrum to IR. Narrowband MSI is used in many research areas, for example in the study of inks, paints and residues, in analysing the characteristics of manuscripts, objects and works of art, and in statistical analysis.

The Rainbow Filter Wheel

The filter wheel contains five special filters, which are controlled by the Phase One Rainbow software. The filters are replaceable for future scientific applications.

Phase One’s Expert Group

The Phase One Rainbow MSI solution can be used in a wide range of ways. You can also consult directly with the system’s designers, or with recognised experts in the field of scientific photography, to put together the workflow best suited to your goals. An online demonstration and test shoots of samples similar to your needs are also possible at the Phase One MSI demonstration centre in Cologne, Germany.

Summary

Characteristics of the Phase One Rainbow system

• Flexible and mobile MSI capture solution with the iXG 100MP Wide Spectrum camera system with filters, Multiband Dedo Light lamps for visual analysis (CHARISMA method) and the Narrowband Eureka Light illumination system for statistical analysis.
• Fully automated, high-resolution capture procedure, including all relevant calibration phases and the creation of the complete batch image series.
• One-button, repeatable, accurate and simple workflow with the Phase One Rainbow software, which, according to the chosen illumination method (multiband or narrowband), produces the Perfect Stack from normalised images.
• A system suitable for both multispectral and high-volume conventional digitisation. Easy switching by using the infrared (IR) filter placed on the lens.
• Highest image quality across the entire spectrum, from UV (365 nm) through the visible range to infrared (approx. 1050 nm), with: iXG Wide Spectrum camera, 100-megapixel, high-dynamic-range CMOS sensor
• 72 mm and 120 mm iXG lenses with macro extension rings
• Phase One Reliance Shutter mechanism under warranty for up to one million exposures, or unlimited captures with the electronic shutter
• Responsive live view for fast and accurate positioning of objects
• The Phase One MSI Knowledge Centre – Phase One’s experts are at customers’ disposal with online practical demonstrations and system design support.

Overview of the system elements

1. iXG 100MP Wide Spectrum camera with accessories, magnetic IR/UV filter and lens shade
2. MSI accessory kit, filter wheel, support rail, USB hub, computer and software
3. Multiband/Charisma DedoLight, with filters, power supplies and USB switch*
4. Narrowband Eureka lamps*
5. Copy stand*

* Lamp stands and copy stand are not included

Specifications

Camera specifications

iXG 100MP Wide Spectrum

Sensor size

53.4 x 40.0

Resolution

11608 x 8708

Pixel size (μm)

4.6 μm

ISO range

50–6400

Data interface

USB3

File formats

RAW 14 bit, RAW 16 bit

Lenses

Schneider Kreuznach RS 72 mm and RS 120 mm

Weight (g) with 72 mm lens

2300 g including the L-bracket

Dimensions (mm) with 72 mm lens

150 x 130 x 130 including the L-bracket

Approvals

FCC Class A, CE, RoHS

Operating temperature (°C)

-10 to 40

Operating humidity (%)

15-80% (non-condensing)

Accessories

BG39 filter for normal photography, with magnetic adapters. Custom lens shade for the supplied filter wheel

System specification

Multiband technology

Narrowband technology

Supplied LED lamps

2 x UV, including UG11 filters (365 μm), 2 x VIS, with built-in BG39 filters, 2 x IR (860 μm and 960 μm)

Wavelength (μm): 365, 385, 410, 420, 450, 480, 510, 530, 550, 600, 630, 640, 660, 740, 850, 940

Design

Separate UV, VIS and IR lamp heads

2 panels, 16 LEDs each

Motorised filter holder wheel

Included, controllable via USB

Communication with the lighting and the filter wheel

Via a 7-port USB hub

Lamp stands

Not included

Supplied computer

DELL Mobile Precision 7740 CTO BASE, 17.3”, i9 processor, 64 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, Windows 10 operating system

Workflow control software

Phase One Rainbow MSI software

Output

Stack of 8 images in accordance with the CHARISMA guidelines

Stack of 16 monochrome images, for statistical analysis

Output luminescence

3 channels

15 channels

Useful links

Phase One’s expert group – contact them with any questions you may have

The British Museum’s CHARISMA project – the scientific description and standard of multispectral technology

artIMAGING, Annette T. Keller – Phase One’s MSI expert, one of the developers of the technology

RB Toth Associates, Mike Toth and Bill Christens-Barry – international experts in the field

For more information, please visit the manufacturer’s website: www.phaseone.com/cultural-heritage

The English-language brochure can be downloaded from here: Phase One Rainbow System Brochure

If you would like detailed information about the product or any of our services, or would like to take part in an (online) demonstration, contact our colleagues at the e-mail address chs@tripont.hu.

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