Quick-start guide

From download to your first print-ready coloring book in about 30 minutes. Button and screen names below are exactly what you'll see in InkFoundry Studio.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and an internet connection.
• The licence key from your purchase email.
• An account with an AI provider (the cloud setup, any PC), or an NVIDIA graphics card with about 8 GB+ of video memory (the free local setup). Step 3 explains both.

1. Install

1. Download the installer from your purchase email (or your order page) and double-click it.
2. If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway. Windows shows this for new apps it doesn't recognise yet. Only do this for the installer from your purchase email.
3. Follow the installer. It adds InkFoundry Studio to the Start menu, and to the Desktop if you tick that box.

2. Accept the terms and activate

1. The first time you start the app, read and accept the licence agreement and privacy policy.
2. Paste the licence key from your purchase email (it looks like XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX) and click Activate. This needs an internet connection.

Good to know:

• One licence works on 2 computers you own. To move it, open About & Help → Licence → Deactivate this computer on the old computer, then activate on the new one.
• The app re-checks the licence about once a day and keeps working for up to 7 days without internet.

3. Choose your AI setup

Next, the setup wizard checks your computer and recommends a setup. You can change it any time in Settings.

Getting API keys (each provider bills you directly; add a few dollars of credit to start):

• Anthropic (writing): console.anthropic.com → API Keys
• OpenAI (images): platform.openai.com → API keys
• Replicate (cheaper images): replicate.com → Account → API tokens

Paste each key into the wizard and click Finish. Keys are encrypted on your computer and only ever sent to the provider they belong to. To check everything works, open Settings and click Test text AI and Test image AI.

4. Make your first coloring book

Open Coloring Books in the sidebar.

1. Enter a Theme / niche (for example "cozy cats in cafés") and pick a Style. For a first test, set Number of pages to 10: it's quicker and cheaper.
2. Click Write page ideas with AI, then edit the list of page subjects if you like (one per line).
3. Click Generate pages. Bigger jobs show an estimated AI cost and ask before starting. Thumbnails appear as pages finish; click one to see it full size.
4. Untick any pages you don't like and click Regenerate unchecked.
5. Fill in Book title, Subtitle and Author / pen name, or click Suggest title & back text. Choose the Trim size and Paper.
6. Click Generate cover art, or Use my own cover image.
7. Click Make print-ready, then Build KDP files. The app saves interior.pdf and cover.pdf, sized exactly for KDP, in the project folder.

KDP paperbacks need at least 24 pages, so make 20 or more pages for a real book (single-sided pages add a blank back to each one). The app warns you if a book is too short.

5. Publish on KDP

1. Click Write listing for a title, description and the 7 KDP keywords, checked against KDP's limits.
2. Click KDP upload helper. It walks you through KDP's own pages step by step, with every value ready to copy and the right file to upload at each step.
3. When KDP asks about AI-generated content, answer honestly. The helper shows what to say.

InkFoundry Studio never uploads to KDP for you: KDP doesn't allow automated uploads, so you stay in control of what gets published.

The other tools

• Niche Research: enter a seed topic and click Find niches. You get ranked sub-niches with demand, competition and keyword ideas. Click Make coloring book on a result to start a book from it. Scores are estimates, so check a niche before you invest in it.
• Info Books: enter a topic and reader, click Plan outline, edit it, then Write the book. Build KDP files makes the paperback; Export ebook (EPUB) makes the Kindle version.
• POD Designs: transparent, full-size PNGs for shirts, mugs and stickers. Click Write concepts with AI, then Generate designs. Finished files are in the project's print folder.
• Listings & SEO: titles, descriptions, tags and keywords for Etsy, KDP and Merch, checked against each platform's limits.
• Selling printables on Etsy: on a coloring book, click Export printable PDF (Etsy) and Make listing images.

Where your files are

Projects are saved in Documents\InkFoundry Studio (you can change this in Settings). The Home screen lists your recent projects: click Open in app to carry on where you left off. Back up this folder now and then.

Keeping AI costs down

• Try a niche with 10 pages before making a full book.
• In Settings, lower OpenAI image quality to "low" or "medium", or switch to the Cloud budget setup.
• Untick only the pages you really want redone before clicking Regenerate unchecked.

If something goes wrong

• A test or a job fails with a key or billing error: check the key in Settings → API keys and that your provider account has credit.
• "Activation limit reached": deactivate an old computer (step 2), or email support.
• Anything else: open About & Help, click Create support file, and email it to outlook.com">inkfoundrystudio@outlook.com with a short description. The support file contains the app log, your settings and basic system details, never your API keys or projects.