Digital print estimating app

[Bishop]

Yeah the Android version would probably get you a lot of following now.

[kalinzlatkov]

Hi Pandpinc,

I had little time to actualy work with the program, but it looks like you found the right direction.

Just two small issues - for me at least

When changing paper price/name etc. on a page, I should click save every time, can you not make it auto save when i go to another page? Not a big problem since you rarely have to change paper prices

Typing seems slow, everywhere.

I would like to have more control over pricing policies in the program - there are no two shops that work the same pricing formula!

Thanks!


Regards,
Kalin

[ErnieLail]

Hi Pandpinc,

I had little time to actualy work with the program, but it looks like you found the right direction.

Just two small issues - for me at least

When changing paper price/name etc. on a page, I should click save every time, can you not make it auto save when i go to another page? Not a big problem since you rarely have to change paper prices

Typing seems slow, everywhere.

I would like to have more control over pricing policies in the program - there are no two shops that work the same pricing formula!

Thanks!


Regards,
Kalin

Hi Kalin,

Thanks for the feedback! I will definitely add the autosave function when changing pages in the paper catalog. Good catch!

What device are you running? Please let me know and I will look into the performance issue you are having.

Yes, that was an oversight on my part. I have updated the android version (as well as iOS) to allow user-definable min and max up charge. Combined with the min job cost, this will allow for more customizable pricing structure. email me again and I will send you a new apk. Ernie[at]maranathatechnologies.com

Thanks for all your help! Please let me know what you think about the new version once you give it a try.

[kalinzlatkov]

I have the Galaxy S3.

the mail is print(at)pe4atam.com

[HexQ]

wow,
looks like a great app for us. in time, i would definitely buy this.

[ErnieLail]

Thanks HexQ!

[Schwanson]

I bought the app. Very nice concept. I think this could be a useful tool.

Things that should be fixed first:
1 - This is by far my biggest issue, the typing is slow / unresponsive. It is nearly impossible to type on my Samsung Galaxy 2s. It took me 20 minutes to change your default markups last night because the typing is so slow / buggy. Not sure if this helps but I use Swype for typing.

2- I do not understand the mark up formula. I changed both numbers to 3 and it marks up paper + clicks x 3 = price, I get that. What I do not understand is the corelation between the min max upcharges. I would have played with this more but the typing is so bad.

3- The email feature should include job specs and a place for notes. The only thing the email sends now is "Price $xxx.xx" I do not intend to send emails to my clients from this app, but some notes for my reference would be useful.

4 - The app needs tell us how many up per sheet it is figuring on it could help eliminate possible quoting errors.

5 -I am not sure how the app determines the number up per sheet. With or without bleeds, gripper margin, imagable area....? Some clarification on the way this works would be awesome.

6 - There is no way to exit the app without forcing a shutdown through my "active applicaions" feature on my phone.

7 - The app freezes up quite frequently.

Here is my initial "wish list" for future features:

1 - User defined common job size presets. ie: 4 x 6", 8.5 x 11", 11 x 17"....
2 - Additional operations - a per 100 / per 1000 option.
3 - A simple way to roughly estimate cutting based on the number up.
4 - A way to figure out run times based on the stock. This would add quite a bit of value to this software. Maybe when entering stock information add an extra field for sheets per minute? Then have the app figure out the run time based on quantity. Ideally we could then add a user defined hourly rate to the job price.
5 - Options for different presses.
6 - Save job feature with notes.

I'll leave it at that for now. I really hope you continue to develop this as it could be a very useful tool. Once this has some more features and works properly I think you would be able to sell it for 10X + what you are charging now.

[ErnieLail]

I bought the app. Very nice concept. I think this could be a useful tool.

Things that should be fixed first:
1 - This is by far my biggest issue, the typing is slow / unresponsive. It is nearly impossible to type on my Samsung Galaxy 2s. It took me 20 minutes to change your default markups last night because the typing is so slow / buggy. Not sure if this helps but I use Swype for typing.

2- I do not understand the mark up formula. I changed both numbers to 3 and it marks up paper + clicks x 3 = price, I get that. What I do not understand is the corelation between the min max upcharges. I would have played with this more but the typing is so bad.

3- The email feature should include job specs and a place for notes. The only thing the email sends now is "Price $xxx.xx" I do not intend to send emails to my clients from this app, but some notes for my reference would be useful.

4 - The app needs tell us how many up per sheet it is figuring on it could help eliminate possible quoting errors.

5 -I am not sure how the app determines the number up per sheet. With or without bleeds, gripper margin, imagable area....? Some clarification on the way this works would be awesome.

6 - There is no way to exit the app without forcing a shutdown through my "active applicaions" feature on my phone.

7 - The app freezes up quite frequently.

Here is my initial "wish list" for future features:

1 - User defined common job size presets. ie: 4 x 6", 8.5 x 11", 11 x 17"....
2 - Additional operations - a per 100 / per 1000 option.
3 - A simple way to roughly estimate cutting based on the number up.
4 - A way to figure out run times based on the stock. This would add quite a bit of value to this software. Maybe when entering stock information add an extra field for sheets per minute? Then have the app figure out the run time based on quantity. Ideally we could then add a user defined hourly rate to the job price.
5 - Options for different presses.
6 - Save job feature with notes.

I'll leave it at that for now. I really hope you continue to develop this as it could be a very useful tool. Once this has some more features and works properly I think you would be able to sell it for 10X + what you are charging now.

Hi Schwanson,

Thank you for purchasing the app and for the great feedback!

1. I'm not sure why the typing is so laggy for you. I've tested it on the Kindle Fire, android phone, Iphone 4, Iphone 4s & iPad 1st gen and it runs really well. I don't have any experience with swype, but i will try to install it and do some testing. I'm betting it's related.

2. The markup formula spreads the upcharge over 6000 sheets, so that 1 sheet is billed at the maximum upcharge and 6000 sheets at the min. It decreases the upcharge amount as the sheets go up. I found that that works best for my application. If you don't feel that would work for you, please let me know your input.

3. Yes, those are changes i'm planning for 2.0.

4. Okay, i will try to work that into the next version. I was thinking of creating a pop up with the total, job specs & email button.

5. I figured number out on a worst case scenario. Adding .25" to width and height of the trim size for bleed, then dividing that measurement by the width and height of the sheet to determine the maximum number out. I will probably add an advanced settings tab to allow margins, price breaks and additional press settings in future versions. I want to make it optional though as i'm afraid that having tons of setup involved would make the app less user friendly. There will probably be a check box in the settings to turn it on for maximum control over quoting.

6. Do you mean there is no way to get back to your home screen? Doesnt your device have a home button? Or, are you saying the application continues to run into the background? If i'm not mistaken, i think most other apps continue to run in the background until you kill it with an app killer application, or by restarting the device.

7. I am unable to reproduce this. I will do some more testing to see if i can see what you are experiencing. What is android is version are you running?

Thanks for the great ideas! I will definitely try to work those in. If you need to contact me feel free to post here or email me at ernie[at]maranathatechnologies.com

[Schwanson]

Android 2.3.6
I just tried the app and it asked me to download Adobe Air, which I did.
It seems to have resolved the type lag issue, with and without Swype. Thank you.

As for the pricing, that is an interesting way of doing it. If we could adjust the number of sheets over the spread that would be helpful, but I can work around it for the time being.

My other apps all have exit screens that kill the app, from within the app. Having a bunch of unused apps in the background slows processing times and eats my battery. This becomes an issue when the app freezes as I have to go to my app killer then restart the app.

Thank you for taking the time to develop this app and address my concerns.

[ErnieLail]

Great I'm glad everything's working better! I really appreciate the feedback, it's users like you who make applications better! Look for the new version in a few weeks, I think you will b very pleased!