This guide shows you how to estimate how many ink cartridges to bring to a job, so you don't run short mid-print or over-order. If you're packing for a project, planning a print schedule, or setting expectations for how much ink a slab will take, start here.
The short version: find your total linear footage of layout, divide it by how far one cartridge goes, then add margin for wider lines, text, and points. The rest of this article walks through each step with a worked example.
Prerequisites
- Access to the Dusty Portal for the project, so you can see your total linear footage of layout.
- Your planned line width for the job. The FieldPrinter default is 1/16".
How ink loads on the FieldPrinter 2
Ink loads as inkjet cartridges — one cartridge per print head, and the FieldPrinter 2 has two print heads. The robot automatically detects the ink type and color when you install a cartridge, so both heads know what's loaded.
For planning purposes, what matters is your total linear footage printed across the job, not which head prints it. The two heads share the print load, so estimate ink against total footage and treat cartridges as a shared pool.
How far one cartridge goes
At the default 1/16" line width, one cartridge covers roughly 15,000 to 18,000 linear feet of solid line — about 2.8 to 3.4 miles. Each cartridge holds about 41 mL of ink.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Cartridge yield (1/16" solid line) | ~15,000–18,000 linear feet |
| Approx. distance | ~2.8–3.4 miles of continuous line |
| Volume per cartridge | ~41 mL |
Use the conservative end of the range (15,000 ft) for planning. It's better to arrive with a spare than to run out on the slab.
Step 1: Find your total linear footage
Open the project in the Dusty Portal and get the total linear footage of layout you plan to print. The Portal reports actual production by day, trade, and layer, so you can pull the total for the whole project or for just the scope you're printing this trip.
If you've printed similar projects before, your own past production history in the Portal is the most reliable planning number — it already reflects your real mix of lines, text, and points.
Step 2: Divide by cartridge yield
Divide your total footage by the conservative per-cartridge yield of 15,000 ft:
Cartridges (base estimate) = Total linear feet ÷ 15,000
Round up to the next whole cartridge.
Step 3: Add margin for wider lines, text, and points
The 15,000–18,000 ft figure is for a solid line at 1/16". Anything that puts down more ink per foot lowers your coverage, so add margin when your job includes:
- Wider lines. A wider line uses more ink per foot. As a rough planning heuristic, coverage scales down roughly in proportion to line width — for example, a 1/8" line (double the default) gets you roughly half the footage per cartridge.
- Text and points. These consume ink faster than thin solid line and print slower.
- Dense layouts. Lots of callouts, symbols, and QR codes draw more ink than a slab that's mostly wall lines.
For a typical job at default settings, plan one spare cartridge per color beyond your base estimate. For wide-line or text-heavy work, add more.
Step 4: Account for color
You need a loaded cartridge of the right color for every layer you're printing. If your layout uses multiple ink colors (for example, black for walls and a second color to distinguish a trade or layer), estimate footage per color and carry cartridges for each.
Water-based ink ships in black, red, and blue; solvent-based ink is black only. For which ink to use in your conditions, see the related articles below.
Worked example
A project has 32,000 linear feet of layout, printed as solid line at the default 1/16" width, all in black.
- Base estimate: 32,000 ÷ 15,000 = 2.13 → round up to 3 cartridges.
- Margin: default line width, mostly lines → add 1 spare = 4 cartridges of black.
- Color: single color, so no additional colors to plan for.
Plan to bring 4 black cartridges for this job.
If that same job were printed at 1/8" line width instead, you'd roughly halve the per-cartridge coverage — plan against ~7,500 ft/cartridge (32,000 ÷ 7,500 ≈ 4.3 → 5, plus a spare = 6 cartridges).
A quick reference
| Total layout (1/16" solid line) | Base cartridges | With 1 spare |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 15,000 ft | 1 | 2 |
| 15,000–30,000 ft | 2 | 3 |
| 30,000–45,000 ft | 3 | 4 |
| 45,000–60,000 ft | 4 | 5 |
Add extra beyond these numbers for wider lines, heavy text/points, or multiple colors.