Digitizers

[Pokey]

I work for a large residential subcontacting company. We do a lot of takeoffs for foundation, rough carpentry, finish carpentry, siding, and insulation on a daily basis. I have been researching the possibilty of adding a digitizer to our estimating operation in order to improve accuracy and the speed of takeoffs. I have may questions so i will try to keep this short for now.

1) Is a digitizer a wise investment for a subcontractor like ourselves
2) Does anyone have a suggestion on a good company/brand to research
3) Do digitizers easily integrate with excel spreadsheets used for costing.

any help will be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[Rich]

1 - What is the ROI for the cost of the digitizer and software? If it saves enough time on the estimating end - you could see a reduction in the estimating overhead.

2 - CalComp and Summagraphics are decent.. most digitizer tablets are fine - it's the software that will make them meet your needs.

3 - Most will integrate with most Cad and Spreadsheet programs.. again base it on the software features.

[Pokey]

Thanks for the reply rich. Do you recommend a pen stylus, 4 button cursor or 16 button cursor. I have never used a digitizer and can honestly say i have no clue as to the advantages of any or the above listed.

We are looking at a package with software from solution technologies. i believe the pressto will fit our company's needs. www.soltechs.com/Package2%20Presto.htm If you get a chance could you take a look at their website and see what you think. Also do you have any other suggestions on good software.

[Cole]

Have you checked them out:
http://www.gtcocalcomp.com/

[Rich]

The Pressto software looks pretty good actually. It gives layer functionality - which is very handy for seperating take-off items. And it exports to Excel and other systems. Their WinScale software is a step up but the upgrade will take into account the cost of the base package (I think so anyway). If the base software doesn't cut it - you can upgrade.

[Pokey]

Thanks again

I'm getting ready to set up a demo to see how the product works. I'll let you know how that goes.