Kay's Portfolio

Project

Tropic Plastic – Ink Management System

Internal Developer | MarkIT Solutions (Contract)
In-house project for Tropic Plastic | 2016

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Project Overview

Tropic Plastic, a flexographic packaging company, needed a reliable system to track ink usage and link it to print jobs, printers, and costs. Prior to the project, ink usage was either undocumented or siloed in spreadsheets, leading to waste, inaccurate cost attribution, and delays in reporting.

As an in-house contractor via MarkIT Solutions, I developed a custom internal system to digitize ink usage tracking, enable cost analysis, and generate print-ready reports for auditing and operational reviews.

Project Lifecycle

  1. Discovery & Problem Framing
    • Assessed existing manual processes with the production team.
    • Identified key needs: job-based tracking, real-time data entry, cost attribution, and printable reports.
  2. Design & Prototyping
    • Mapped a workflow linking job numbers to ink type, quantity, cost per unit, and machine.
    • Designed a minimal UI for fast on-site input by press operators and supervisors.
  3. Development & Integration
    • Built the platform using:
      • PHP (backend logic and session control)
      • MySQL (data storage for jobs, inks, usage logs, printer info)
      • JavaScript (dynamic input validation and calculations)
    • Added features for:
      • PDF exports for cost reports and audits.
      • Interactive charts for ink consumption trends.
      • Excel integration for legacy system compatibility.
  4. Deployment & Use
    • Deployed securely on an internal network with restricted access.
    • Trained production staff on data entry and report generation.

My Role as SOLE DEVELOPER

As the sole developer on this internal system, I was responsible for:
  • Scoping the system alongside MarkIT and Tropic Plastic teams.
  • Designing and building the entire application frontend and backend.
  • Connecting ink usage to specific printers, job tickets, and cost drivers.
  • Implementing export tools (PDF, Excel) and interactive dashboards.
  • Ensuring the system ran smoothly across teams and locations.

key outcomes

  • Significant cost savings from accurate ink tracking and reduced waste.
  • Streamlined reporting process for audits and internal reviews.
  • Enabled data-backed production planning through trend charts and consumption analytics.
  • Reduced dependency on manual Excel logs and guesswork.

TOOLS & platforms

PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, Chart.js, Excel integration, PDF generation libraries

Confidentiality note

Due to the proprietary nature of the system and operational data, screenshots and visuals cannot be shared publicly.

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