1.1 This practice provides a standard communications protocol for a serial communication between a host computer and a spectrometer designed for colorimetry. The adoption of the standard communication protocol on the part of instrument manufacturers will allow instrument users the option to employ third-party software, or to replace one instrument with another while retaining the same software. This standard is not intended to replace existing standards, such as SCPI-1999 written by the SCPI Consortium as a set of Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments for bench-top instruments that utilize the IEEE-488 or IEEE-488.2 interface. This standard has been adopted by many analytical instrument makers and is used by them as the interface standard for spectroscopy even when the instrument interface is RS-232c.

1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.