InkSurf, software for printing job costing and estimating

InkSurf
To order your InkSurf CD $US 199 (conditions of sale at bottom of this page)

Software for the packaging and printing industry. This software will eliminate the guesswork form job estimating. Exactly measure the coverage area of each ink color starting from artwork in BMP or JPG file format or if you are using a 4 color process, calculate the CMYK ink quantities starting form a color picture or file. Use a flat bed scanner to capture your JPG or BMP image if you don't have the file.

InkSurf has been tested on Windows 98, Windows XP and Windows 2000 and Vista (does not work with Windows NT).

Below is a shortened version of the InkSurf instruction manual showing how easy it is to obtain accurate costs and ink usage information starting with artwork. Artwork can either be scanned with a standard flat bed scanner or read from a JPG or BMP file. Have a look at the information below to get a feel for the capabilities of InkSurf. InkSurf has a standard mode used by the packaging industry, a single image mode for Silk Screen Printers and CMYK computation for 4 color printing.

screen shot: inksurf.jpg (358828 bytes)

screen shot: inksurf2.jpg (228160 bytes)

Steps to operate InkSurf software:
Acquire image – The artwork information can be acquired in two ways: By scanning it in using a flat bed scanner or by opening an artwork file. The respective button for artwork file or for scanning must be used.
Select working area – The effective area of the artwork that is intended to be used in the estimation calculation must be selected by dragging the outline blue rectangle in the appropriate position. To enable the selection mode use the select button
Pick colors – Enter the pick colors mode by pressing the Pick color button . This will change the mouse cursor into cross hairs. You must position the cross hairs over an area covered by the color you want to select so that the small circle in the center of the cross hairs is fully covered by that color and then left click. A sample of the color will appear in the Inks area of the screen. If not satisfied with the selection reposition the mouse and click again. Once satisfied check the check-box adjacent to the color sample in the Inks area and you can start the same process again by selecting another color and so on until all the inks that you want to analyze are selected.
Enter data – In the Ink area of the screen enter the name or code of the respective inks, their coverage factor in grams per square meter and the cost per kilogram. In the Job data area enter a job number (can also contain characters), the customer name and the date for future reference. In the setup area enter the number of items to be printed across the film (along the width), the gap in mm between horizontal rows measured along the length of the film and the total length of the print run measured in meters.
Calculation – Once all the above data is entered press the calculate button to initiate the calculation and the results including coverage area, estimated usage quantity of each inks and the respective costs will be displayed in the bottom area of the screen. One can change any of the settings from the previous steps and re-run the calculation by pressing the calculate button.
Save job button – Click on the Save button to save the job with all the setting data, the results and the location of the artwork file for future retrieval.
Open job button – Click on the Open job button to open a job that was previously saved. You will be presented with a list of all the saved jobs, including the job number, customer name and date. When selecting one of the jobs a thumbnail picture of the artwork will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
Setup button – Click on the Setup button to enter the setup window. From this window you can do the following: Create a new database where all your jobs and associated data will be stored, select a current working database that is the one to which the program is storing to and retrieving from, select the color threshold which can have a value between 0 and 100 and it is set by default to 30, select the registration details (company name, address and registration code) and select the active scanner that will be used to acquire images. The threshold setting of 30 should work for most cases and it refers to the acceptable difference between the selected color and the colors found when scanning through the actual picture to consider that pixel as part of the selected color.

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CONDITIONS OF SALE

1. Polar Instruments' limit of liability extends only to an amount equal to the cost of goods and services provided by Polar Instruments Ltd.

2. Polar Instruments Ltd. do not accept any liability for consequential costs or losses arising from the use or misuse or failure of goods or services provided by Polar Instruments Ltd.

3. Polar Instruments Ltd. do not accept any liability for consequential losses arising from delays in completion of a job.

4. Payment for goods and services received is due and payable upon receipt of our invoice/statement.

5. Quoted prices are valid for 90 days.

6. All goods remain the property of Polar Instruments Ltd. until paid for in full.

7. Software purchase grants purchaser rights to only 1 copy of the software. Just like a book, you must purchase another copy if you want another copy.