A magnetostrictive ligand sensor device, system and method are provided having at least one magnetostrictive particle to which is bound at least one binding element. The host gets an available buffer capacity from the printer just before transmitting each band data, and transmits the band data only when the printer can receive the band data. A measurement vector of measured extinction values of a sample dilute colloid is provided, wherein the measured extinction values have been measured by spectrophotometric measurement at the discrete wavelengths.