01 Getting Started
This guide gets you from zero to your first priced project. It takes about 5 minutes.
InkTracker runs in your web browser. Open it at the address your studio uses (when running locally, that's http://localhost:8000). The first time it starts, it sets itself up automatically with sensible defaults — there's nothing to install manually.
On a computer, the left sidebar is your main menu. On a phone, tap the hamburger menu (☰) at the top, or use the bottom tab bar for the most common areas.
📱 On mobile
| Menu item | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Your shop's health at a glance |
| Projects | All your jobs |
| New Project | Price a new job |
| Analytics | Revenue, profit, and ink trends |
| Service | Log cartridge swaps and maintenance |
| Inventory | Track materials and cartridge stock |
| Settings | Set up your machine, ink, and prices |
The first time you open InkTracker on a fresh install, the Dashboard shows a "Finish your setup" banner. Click Finish setup to launch the guided setup wizard, which walks you through the essentials so your cost and profit numbers are accurate from day one.
The wizard has six quick steps with a progress bar along the top. You can go Back at any point, or Skip (use defaults) from the header.
Pick from Euro (€), British Pound (£), US Dollar ($), Canadian Dollar (CA$), or Australian Dollar (A$). Your choice is shown on every price and cost breakdown.
Choose your model to pre-fill machine and ink defaults. Cartridge size, tare weight, and ink price differ between printers, so this saves you typing.
⚠️ Note: The built-in defaults are for the Eufymake E1 printer. If you use a different printer, pick Other / Custom and enter your own cartridge capacity, tare weight, and prices on the next steps.
Enter your printer's purchase price, setup cost, lifespan, annual running hours, power draw, electricity rate, and maintenance budget. InkTracker uses these to spread the machine's cost across every job.
Set the price per cartridge (applied to all colour inks and Gloss), cartridge capacity, and the empty-cartridge (tare) weight used for weight-based ink estimates. Hover the ? next to tare for a quick explanation.
Tick Configure these now to set your hourly labour rate, overhead, and profit targets — or leave it unticked to keep the defaults. The ? help icons explain overhead and the margin thresholds.
Hover or tap any ? to see a plain-language explanation, for example the overhead help:
Confirm your setup at a glance, then click Finish setup. You land back on the Dashboard, ready to price your first project.
💡 Tip: Prefer to skip the wizard? Click Dismiss on the banner and adjust everything directly in Settings. You can re-open the wizard anytime from Settings → Preferences → Run setup wizard. Every new project uses the latest values.
- Click New Project.
- Follow the wizard steps (print settings → details → materials → pricing).
- Click Save to see your full cost and profit breakdown.
See the Creating a Project guide for the full walkthrough.
InkTracker can be installed like a regular app so it opens full-screen from your home screen and works offline.
| Device | How to install |
|---|---|
| Android (Chrome) | Tap the install banner, or ⋮ → Install app |
| iPhone (Safari) | Tap Share → Add to Home Screen |
| Desktop (Chrome/Edge) | Click the install icon (⊕) in the address bar |
Next: The Dashboard →