Ink coverage calculator
Estimate printed area and indicative ink requirement for a job, with the assumptions written down rather than hidden inside the result.
Ink estimating starts with area. Once you know how much substrate you are printing and roughly how much of it carries ink, you can put a number on consumption, plan purchasing and sanity check a quotation.
This calculator gives you the geometry exactly and the ink figure approximately. That distinction matters: area is arithmetic, ink laydown depends on your anilox or cylinder, ink solids, substrate absorbency, press speed and drying, so it is always an estimate until you measure your own consumption.
Calculator
How to use it
- Enter Printed width in mm. Width of the printed area, not the full web
- Enter Repeat or length in mm. Print length of one piece or one repeat
- Enter Quantity in pieces
- Enter Average ink coverage in %. Average across the image for one colour
- Enter Number of colours
- Enter Ink laydown at 100% in g/m². Your measured figure if you have one. 1.5 is only a placeholder.
Formula
Worked example
A job 320 mm wide with a 250 mm repeat, 50,000 pieces, 35% average coverage across 4 colours, using a 1.5 g/m² laydown figure:
- Area per piece = 320 × 250 ÷ 1,000,000 =
0.08 m² - Total printed area = 0.08 × 50,000 =
4,000 m² - Covered area = 4,000 × 0.35 × 4 =
5,600 m² - Estimated ink = 5,600 × 1.5 ÷ 1,000 =
8.4 kg
Assumptions
- Coverage is entered as an average for one colour and applied equally to every colour. Real jobs rarely split evenly, so for a critical estimate run the calculation per colour.
- Ink laydown is entered by you. The default is a placeholder, not a recommendation. Your own consumption records are far more reliable than any published figure.
- The result is wet ink on the substrate for the printed area only. It excludes make-ready, washup, pipework and residue in the duct.
Limitations
Every calculator on this site gives a planning figure, not a production guarantee. Check the result against your own records before committing material or money to it.
- This does not predict density, colour strength or opacity. Two inks at the same laydown can look very different.
- White and metallic inks, opaque whites on film and heavy solids behave quite differently from process colours and usually need their own laydown figure.
- Gravure, flexo, offset and digital transfer ink by completely different mechanisms. A laydown figure from one process does not transfer to another.
Common mistakes
- Using web width instead of printed width. Unprinted edges inflate the area and the ink figure with it.
- Entering total coverage for all colours in the coverage box and then also setting the number of colours, which counts the ink twice.
- Treating the output as a purchase quantity. Add your own allowance for make-ready and washup before ordering.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is an ink coverage estimate?
The area figures are exact arithmetic. The ink figure is only as good as the laydown value you enter. Once you have recorded actual consumption on a few similar jobs, substitute your own g/m² and the estimate becomes genuinely useful.
What is a realistic ink laydown figure?
It varies widely by process, anilox or cylinder specification, ink system and substrate, which is why this tool asks you rather than assuming. Track consumption against printed area on your own jobs and you will quickly build a reliable in-house number.
Should coverage be entered per colour or in total?
Per colour, as an average. The calculator then multiplies by the number of colours. If you already know total coverage across all colours, enter that figure and set the number of colours to 1.
Does this work for gravure and offset as well as flexo?
The area mathematics applies to any process. The ink figure only applies if the laydown value you enter came from the same process, ink system and substrate.