ContextCleaner: see every entry in the Windows 11 right-click menu, and which app added it — on the Microsoft Store.

Last updated:

Guided workflow variation

Coming soon for Windows. Feature preview.

A PDF ink coverage calculatorthat reads the CMYK in the file.

Open the artwork and InkQuote estimates how much cyan, magenta, yellow and black each page lays down, straight from the colour values the PDF itself stores. Then price the run and export a quote sheet, all on your own Windows PC.

For coverage figures you can price from, measure the CMYK the file actually holds, page by page, on your own PC, and keep the result as a quote sheet.

Coming soon No telemetry Local-first

coming soon for Windows

If this sounds like your week

Most coverage calculators measure a copy of your file, not the file.

Browser-based coverage tools have to draw the page on screen before they can count anything, and a screen speaks RGB. A print-ready PDF is usually built in CMYK, so its colours get converted to RGB for display and then converted back for the count. Along that round trip, a headline set in solid black can come back as a four-colour rich black, and cyan, magenta and yellow it never had get added to the figure.

Where tooling usually breaks

Then the upload question comes up.

Some calculators skip the browser and want the file on their server instead. For a print shop, that means sending a client's unreleased brochure, price list or annual report to a third party just to learn how much toner it needs. Other shops skip measuring altogether and price by glancing at the proof, which undercharges for photo-heavy work and overcharges for light jobs a rival quotes properly.

Where InkQuote lands

Measure the colour values the PDF actually stores.

InkQuote walks each page and paints the fills, strokes, text, images and gradients into a coverage map at about 100 dots per inch, using the colour numbers written in the file. DeviceCMYK is measured natively, grayscale counts as black, and spot inks pass through their own tint transforms. It runs on your Windows PC, reads the artwork without changing it, and turns the figures into a quote sheet.

Join the InkQuote waitlist Explore the product preview

coming soon for Windows

What you get

Feature highlights

Per-page CMYK estimates

cyan, magenta, yellow, black and total coverage for every page of a PDF, with its size in points, so the heavy pages stand out before anything prints.

Native CMYK values

DeviceCMYK is measured as the file states it, so solid black text stays black ink only; grayscale counts as black, and RGB uses the PDF specification’s formula.

An area-weighted total

the All row weights every page by its area, so a document with mixed page sizes reads correctly and the total matches the paper.

Spot colours by name

named spot inks are converted through the file’s own tint transforms into the process figures and listed for each page and for the whole document.

Price per copy times copies

the Quote page turns a price per copy and a copy count into an estimate, in your Windows currency symbol, with the coverage it rests on beside it.

A one-page quote sheet, original untouched

export the page table, document total, spot colours, notes and quote as a new PDF, while the source PDF is opened read-only and nothing uploads.

Especially when

  • Estimate how much cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink or toner a PDF will use, page by page, before quoting the job
  • Measure the CMYK values a print file actually holds instead of a browser calculator’s RGB round trip
  • Turn coverage into a price per copy times copies and send the customer a one-page quote sheet
  • Keep customer artwork on the PC, with no upload, no account, and the original PDF untouched

Who benefits

Real-world scenarios

A copy shop counter at closing time

A customer emails a 24-page event programme late in the afternoon and wants a price for 300 copies before the shop closes, and half of the pages are full-bleed photographs.

The counter PC opens the PDF in InkQuote. The table shows which spreads run heavy and the All row gives the area-weighted total. The operator sets a price per copy, types 300 copies, and exports the quote sheet to attach to the reply.

A prepress operator checking a quote

A sales rep priced a brochure as light coverage, but the final artwork arrived with dark backgrounds on several pages, and prepress wants to know before the job is scheduled.

InkQuote lists every page with its C, M, Y, K and total estimate, so the dark pages stand out in the table. The operator exports a quote sheet with the figures and sends it back to sales with the job ticket.

A shop that keeps client files in-house

A print shop handles price lists and reports for local businesses under confidentiality terms, so any coverage tool that uploads the PDF to a website is ruled out for every job.

InkQuote runs on the shop's own PC in the Windows app sandbox with no network access, opens only the file picked, and keeps the original untouched. The figures and the quote sheet stay in the building unless the shop sends them.

Deep dive

What to look for in a PDF ink coverage calculator

It should read CMYK as CMYK. Print files are usually built in CMYK, and the numbers in the file are the separation the designer asked for. A calculator that renders to RGB first and converts back cannot tell solid black from a four-colour rich black. InkQuote measures DeviceCMYK values natively, so a black-only headline stays black-only in the estimate.

It should handle the colour spaces real files use. Office exports arrive in RGB, scans in grayscale, and brand work with named spot inks. InkQuote counts grayscale as black, converts RGB with the formula from the PDF specification, so RGB black text still reads as black ink only, and runs spot colours through the file's own tint transforms, listing each spot name by page.

It should measure everything on the page. Coverage comes from text as much as from photos. InkQuote paints fills, strokes, text outlines, images and gradients into a coverage map at about 100 dots per inch, over the page's visible area, with rotated pages handled.

It should report per page, not just one number. A single average hides the four heavy spreads that drive the cost. InkQuote shows C %, M %, Y %, K % and Total % for every page, with the page size beside it, and pins an All row with the document total below the table.

It should weight mixed sizes properly. A tabloid insert in a letter booklet carries more ink at the same coverage. InkQuote weights each page by its area in the document total, so mixed sizes read correctly.

It should show what each figure rests on. InkQuote writes notes in plain words beside any page that needs one, in the table, in the side pane, and on the quote sheet, so whoever prices the job can see what the number is based on.

It should keep the file private. Customer artwork is often confidential. InkQuote runs on your PC with no network access, opens only the PDF you pick, and never changes it.

It should end in a quote. Coverage is only useful once it becomes a price. The Quote page multiplies a price per copy by the number of copies and exports a one-page quote sheet as a new PDF, labelled as an estimate, with the coverage behind it. InkQuote is coming soon. Join the waitlist for launch updates.

Feature preview

Explore the intended workflow

Per-page CMYK estimates

cyan, magenta, yellow, black and total coverage for every page of a PDF, with its size in points, so the heavy pages stand out before anything prints.

Native CMYK values

DeviceCMYK is measured as the file states it, so solid black text stays black ink only; grayscale counts as black, and RGB uses the PDF specification’s formula.

An area-weighted total

the All row weights every page by its area, so a document with mixed page sizes reads correctly and the total matches the paper.

Head-to-head

How InkQuote compares

Feature InkQuote Browser calculator Upload service Pricing by eye
Colour values measured The CMYK written in the PDF, read natively Rendered to RGB on screen, then converted back Varies by service None
Where the artwork goes Stays on this PC. Nothing uploads. Depends on the site Sent to the service Stays with you
Result for each page C, M, Y, K and total for every page, with its size and notes Often per page Varies by service A rough impression
Mixed page sizes Document total weighted by page area Varies by site Varies by service Hard to judge
Quote for the customer Price per copy times copies, exported as a one-page PDF Copy the figures out by hand Varies by service Typed up separately

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

What does a PDF ink coverage calculator measure?

It estimates how much of each process ink a page will put down, as a percentage of the page area. A page of solid black reads K 100, a page tinted evenly with half-strength cyan reads C 50, and the total adds the four inks together, so heavy pages can go well past 100. InkQuote reports these figures for every page of a PDF, plus a document total weighted by page area.

Why does it matter that InkQuote reads CMYK natively?

Because the CMYK numbers in a print file are the separation the designer chose. If a tool converts the page to RGB for display and then back to CMYK, a solid black headline can turn into a rich black with cyan, magenta and yellow added, and the figure grows. InkQuote reads DeviceCMYK values as the file states them, so black text stays black ink only.

Can InkQuote measure RGB PDFs from Word or a browser?

Yes. RGB content is converted to CMYK with the device formula from the PDF specification, so an office export still gets a full set of C, M, Y and K figures for every page. Black text in RGB comes out as black ink only, not rich black, and grayscale content is counted as black, so letters and reports price sensibly.

Does InkQuote turn the coverage into a price?

Yes. Open the Quote section, type a price per copy and the number of copies, and InkQuote shows the estimate, price per copy times copies, in the currency symbol from your Windows settings. Export quote sheet then saves a one-page PDF with the page table, the document total, the spot colours, the notes and the quote, ready to send.

What happens to the original PDF?

It is opened for reading only and stays exactly as it was. InkQuote measures the file from a read-only stream and draws its page previews the same way. The quote sheet is always a new PDF that you name in the Windows Save dialog, which suggests the source name followed by InkQuote estimate.pdf, and a save that would land on the open PDF, or on any file in the Recent list, is refused with a sentence naming the file.

Where does the artwork go, and how do I get InkQuote?

InkQuote is coming soon to the Microsoft Store for Windows and is not available to download or purchase yet. Use the email form on its product page to join the waitlist, then confirm your email address. We will send launch updates when there is news. No payment is taken.

Related pages

Every page's C, M, Y and K, in one table. From customer PDF to quote sheet, at the counter. Know the toner a job needs before it reaches the printer.