Gel Inventorying

ademhayyu1

Member
Gello (heehee)

I am inventorying my gels put I am wondering if there is a software or something where I can input what gel I have, how many cuts and their sizes, and be able to see a picture of the gel color or something. I know Lightwright has a feature like this but I don't think it's the same purpose I'm looking for. Plus, I'm not looking to spend any money on this.

Thanks!
 
Sounds like a simple Excel spreadsheet with the possible exception of the picture of the colour (but you might be able to choose the colour of a cell and have it print--not familiar enough with the program). You could always use the given name of the colour instead.
 
Why? That sounds like so much hassle on your end. Gel is like tape when it gets low order some more.

I could understand if you wanted to track how much of what you go through. But you are gonna order it again then shrug.jpg
 
Seconding what Amiers said - the most inventorying I do for my gel is a post it with how many rolls of frost/L200-203 we have left.
Inventorying cut gel will just eat up hours of your time updating your gel inventory over the course of a season.
You COULD inventory how many sheets of XYZ you have in your gel room so you don't have to go look every time you get a new plot, but even then you or whoever's prepping your show will just dig around until they figure out what the cut deficit actually is.

You definitely should do this with your gobos - Excel with an expanded column for photos is great.
 
We counted our full sheet inventory once and put the results in an excel spreadsheet. Then next to the gel rack we have little forms which are to be filled out every time gel is pulled - color, quantity, date, show, name of puller. Then there is a little box next to the rack to put the forms in. Once a month we go through the completed forms, and update the spreadsheet, with each month getting it's own column. When something gets low, we order more. Tracking the usage data lets us change stock levels so we don't have too many of the colors that aren't used and lots of the ones which are.

If someone is caught pulling gel and not submitting a form, then they have to count the entire inventory so that the spreadsheet can be fixed. With over 1,800 sheets in inventory, it's a powerful deterrent.
 
We counted our full sheet inventory once and put the results in an excel spreadsheet. Then next to the gel rack we have little forms which are to be filled out every time gel is pulled - color, quantity, date, show, name of puller. Then there is a little box next to the rack to put the forms in. Once a month we go through the completed forms, and update the spreadsheet, with each month getting it's own column. When something gets low, we order more. Tracking the usage data lets us change stock levels so we don't have too many of the colors that aren't used and lots of the ones which are.

If someone is caught pulling gel and not submitting a form, then they have to count the entire inventory so that the spreadsheet can be fixed. With over 1,800 sheets in inventory, it's a powerful deterrent.

This is how we manage gel in my PAC, as well. We understand that each of our sheets will give us 6 8” frames from a 20”x24” sheet, or 12 6” frames from that same sheet. So if I order 10 sheets, I know that I can get 120 standard 6” frames’ worth of gel from them. That goes on my tracking sheet.

If someone makes eight 6” cuts and four 8” cuts, I convert that to an equivalent of 16 6” cuts made (the math works out about right). That tells me that on my tracking sheet I’ve got 104 cuts remaining. I always allow myself 20% of my inventory on any primary gel sheet for reserve, so once we get down to 24 cuts’ worth, a PO goes out for that gel.

Think simple. Complex systems create confusion, and turn communication on how much gel to purchase into a game of telephone, where no one’s quite sure which gels and how much need to be purchased.

Also, on a bit of a facetious note:
Plus, I'm not looking to spend any money on this.
You get what you pay for, in terms of convenience, simplicity, and power, particularly in the organizational world. If you don’t want to do the work, be prepared to shell out for someone else to do it for you. I always recommend developing your own inventory systems first; it teaches you prioritization and good storage/organizational habits, that way if you someday purchase an inventory system you will be amply prepared to use it.
 
I agree with Amiers, but if you must, Excel is great for photos. I use it all the time as place to manipulate technical photos at work. Screenshots may be useful in setting spreadsheet pages up for gels.
 
With gel I just look at the shows coming up, check it towards (manually) what I have in stock (its all sorted well; takes 10 minutes) and then order more.
I know checking for upcoming shows could be quicker with an inventory, however MAINTAINING that inventory takes time I don't want to take at times I don't want to take it. When gels are getting thrown in the trash or hurridly cut, I don't want to have to update an inventory EVERY TIME.
I can see situations where it would work. But honestly, for me, I just keep it well sorted.

I keep framed gel in one cabinet sorted by manufacturer and in gel book order, and another cabinet has loose cuts in folders, with full sheets on top. Try to order extra sheets of anything I think I might burn through or use very often.

Now I have to say, if you are going to do an inventory go ahead and either use EXCEL or GOOGLE SHEETS, the latter has the advantage of online sharing across multiple platforms, devices and users.
 
If someone is caught pulling gel and not submitting a form, then they have to count the entire inventory so that the spreadsheet can be fixed. With over 1,800 sheets in inventory, it's a powerful deterrent.
Love :hearts: this part.
My object all sublime
I shall achieve in time—
 
Three venues, multiple designers, students and those pesky professors, I do the same as Dionysus. I don't even look at what's already cut, I check do I have enough sheets to cut fresh. That being said, every time I check for a show I check to see where I am with house plot gel and restock as needed. As we slowly head towards LEDs I hope to do less and less of cutting gel.
 
For the color, I have a spreadsheet that I made up with all gels I could find by number with a letter prepending (e.g. R26), a column for manufacturer (Rosco), a column for number (26), a column for name (Light Red), a column for each R/G/B % (62,0,0), a column for each C/M/Y % (38,100,100), a column for transmission % (12), a column for R/G/B scaled to 0-255 (159,0,0), a column for RGB hex scaled (9F0000), and a column for RGB hex multiplied by transmission (130000). I use look-ups to this spreadsheet from others via script to make fill colors match my gel colors so I can have a column for gel name and a column for gel color. I don't recall where I got the original data but I *think* it may have been an export from Ma2.
 

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