CMYK Total Ink Coverage Calculator
Enter CMYK percentages and, if you know it, the TAC limit supplied by the printer or output profile.
Enter your job values
Use the real values from your job. Optional fields can stay blank; zero should only be used when the value genuinely does not apply.
Your result will appear here
4 required values are still missing.
Color numbers only become meaningful inside an output condition
Total area coverage is the sum of the process-channel percentages at a location. The acceptable limit is not universal; use the printer/profile requirement as the comparison value.
Color-space, output-intent, spot/separation or overprint tokens that can be read from the file.
Which profile, TAC limit, black build or conversion policy is correct for this output condition.
Use the printer/prepress profile, proofing workflow and professional output preview where the job is color-critical.
What the result is useful for
Useful for understanding why a dark CMYK build can exceed a printer/profile ink limit even when no single channel is above 100%.
How the calculation works
TAC is the arithmetic sum of the four process-channel percentages at one location. The tool compares that sum with the entered production limit; it does not invent a universal limit.
What this calculator cannot know
A real PDF can contain changing ink values across the page. A TAC limit is output-condition specific and should come from the printer, profile or workflow specification.