I asked him a couple of questions – Enjoy reading!
Tom, what do you do for a living?
I actually have three jobs. I have a software development company, am a partner in an imaging company, and manage software development for a third.

Tom at work
I have operated a software consultancy since 1997 in which I develop custom software, manage software projects, and help clients solve difficult problems in digital workflows. My clients include a wide range of companies including small photo studios, a national school photography franchise, Fuji Film, Kodak, Epson, and even government agencies.
I serve as Technology Manager for a large imaging company (Pounds Labs Inc. ) where I manage software development and the technical systems in the company. In this position, I design and write software used to render and composite digital images in an automated workflow containing millions of images.
I am also a partner in DigitalEdge Imaging Inc. which is a company that provides unique photographic products for professional photographers. Our primary product is a composite image consisting of five photographs of a child.
The backgrounds are removed from the images and then the image of the subject is placed into a background which is color coordinated with the subject’s clothing. This all happens automatically in proprietary software I designed and wrote.
When did you first use Mathcad and what version do you use now?
I first started with version 3 of Mathcad on a Mac. I’ve stuck with Mathcad ever since. I currently use version 14.0 and I’m eager to upgrade to the current version .
What other calculation products have you used and why do you prefer Mathcad?
I have used Mathematica and MATLAB as well as several smaller packages. I still use both Mathematica and Mathcad today. Mathcad is my primary go-to tool. It’s best for me as I work out a problem or develop a workflow because it is so visible. It works like I think. I don’t have to translate the math into another language to use it. I just enter it just as I would write it on paper or my chalkboard. That is a huge productivity issue for me since it means I can focus on the product and not the tool.
What do you like best about Mathcad, how does it help you get your job done, what is the most beneficial to you in Mathcad for your specific tasks?
Since I work primarily in the field of software development, I am sensitive to the design of the user interface in the programs I use. What I like best about Mathcad, is that the user interface quickly disappears from my mind as I work. I find it to be intuitive and easy to learn and teach.
The best part though, is that Mathcad hides behind the math. Whenever I work in Mathcad, the math is always on center stage. Not the program. The math exists in a visible form, just the way I think of it. I don’t have to force things into a matrix or other format that the program needs, or remember obscure keyboard shortcuts to enter it. I just think about the problem on which I’m working, and Mathcad keeps up with the math.
Another big productivity boost I get from using Mathcad, is that it does the documentation for me. Since I am able to work in accepted mathematical notation in Mathcad, my worksheets become a major part of my project documents. I always add notes in my worksheets, explaining what is happening and why I’m doing things a specific way.
I also note where constants and other data come from and why it is used. This is helpful to me when I return to these worksheets later on, and it’s helpful to others on the project who may need that information for implementation but may not understand the math.
Do you have any tips you would like to share with other users, any best practices, any learnings from your long-time Mathcad experience?
I often use Mathcad for signal processing applications. I have found it is valuable to create my worksheets as discrete units that perform a single function whenever possible. The result is that I have a huge library of worksheets that I can quickly link together to perform custom, complex operations.
One of my Mathcad Best Practices is to include plenty of notes in my worksheets. The extensive notes serve several purposes. First, they help me work through a problem in a logical manner. They also provide documentation right at the most appropriate place. And they serve as good reminders of how something works and why I took a certain approach.
Can you share a sample worksheet with us?
I am tempted to provide a fancy complex worksheet that would be impressive looking and show off lots of features. But instead, I’m going to give you a simple worksheet that illustrates why I am such a faithful user of Mathcad. This is an example of how I use Mathcad in my daily work. I made this little worksheet recently while on the phone with a client. The goal was to determine if they should increase the number of render engines (software tools to construct digital images in preparation for printing) to keep up with a new printer they were adding to the workflow.
Instead of creating a lengthy analysis project, I simply opened Mathcad while I had the client on the phone, asked a few questions and was able to build a simple worksheet that provided enough information for my client to make a decision. This wasn’t the type of problem that required an exhaustive study, or even a particularly accurate answer. I just needed a quick estimate and I could do that easily with Mathcad because it works like I think – visually.

Sample worksheet
Thank you, Tom, for telling us your Mathcad story!
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