PUBLICATION CENTER

A: Calculating ink usage is instrumental in tracking and controlling costs and setting the right price for your work. Here’s how to calculate it using the ONYX RIP…

First, enable the feature in Quick Sets. Edit Quick Sets, Choose the Quick Set being used and select the Edit button. Once in the Edit Quick Set window select the Advanced button (bottom left) to get into the Advanced Options Window (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Simply check the box next to Calculate Ink Usage to enable the feature. The ink usage will now be calculated for any jobs opened with this Quick Set (it must be enabled in each Quick Set).

Results of Ink Calculation: The ink is calculated in % Ink Coverage as well as Per Milliliter Per Color and Total Ink. The calculation can be viewed prior to printing the job in the Rip-Queue making it easy to accurately estimate job costs (see Figure 2).

Figure 2

The Ink Calculation can also be viewed in the Printed Job Log – File/View/Printed Job Log. This log can also be exported to Microsoft Excel for further reporting.

Editing/adjusting the Ink Calculation: The Ink Calculation tab of the Configure Printer dialog allows you to define the Reporting Unit and the Correction Factor.

Using the Ink Calculation tab: Highlight your printer, and click the Configure Printers icon on the toolbar, or select Setup > Configure Printers. This opens the Configure Printer dialog. Select the Ink Calculation tab.

Choose whether you want to use Millimeters or Grams by selecting the appropriate option. Select the Reporting Unit Type from the drop-down menu. Select the Resolution and Ink Type you would like to use from the first column (see Figure 3).

Figure 3

Determine the Cost Per Unit, and enter that value in the final column on the right. (e.g., 680ml cartridge that costs $239.99 = $.35/ml). Enter the Correction Factor in the second to last column on the right and click OK (see Figure 4).

Figure 4

Correction Factor: Each printer has a built-in default factor to determine ink usage per drop. The default is set to 1 and takes into consideration known variables for the device in an ideal working environment. When you print a job using the default factor, the ink calculations are determined using the manufacturer's specifications. These calculations are then reported to you through RIP-Queue.

Because the reported data does not take into consideration variations in the printer or working conditions, it can be fine-tuned to more accurately reflect your conditions. To fine tune your correction factor, compare other known values with the reported values from RIP-Queue. This will give you a Correction Factor specific to your printer used in your conditions.

Use any of the following methods of determining a Correction Factor: Your printer reports how much ink is being used as a known value (X). RIP-Queue also calculates how much ink is being used (Y). X/Y = New Correction Factor. Install a new ink cartridge with a known volume (X) and print until it's empty. Print the job log from RIP-Queue and manually calculate the total ink usage reported (Y) by adding up the ink used for all the jobs printed with that cartridge. X/Y = New Correction Factor.

Weigh an ink cartridge before and after it prints. Convert the mass to volume to get the exact known consumption (X). In RIP-Queue, compare X to the reported usage by print job (Y). X/Y = New Correction Factor.

Special thanks to Matt Crawford at ONYX and Adam Hannig, LexJet’s technical specialist.