Abstract: The invention is a system for a printing press which maintains the density of the colored ink put down on a moving paper web. The system includes a scanning device having a strobe light for illuminating a color patch in a color bar which runs transversely across the web, a camera for photographing the illuminated color patch and a step motor for moving the scanner incrementally across the web. Actuation of the scanner is timed through a microprocessor using input from an optical sensor and encoder. A signal is sent from the camera to a computer which determines the density of the color patch shot. A work station calculates how much the existing ink control console must be adjusted to maintain density and a command signal is sent from the work station to the console to effect the adjustment.