Reporting system

[mreusch]

Hello everyone. I just finished John McKenna's course in Atlanta. Great course very informative. I will be getting my camera in about a week. I was wondering what reporting system everyone uses for this type of inspection? I currently use Home Gauge. I do not know if they have a template for this type of inspection or if I can modify one of the existing template on there. Is anyone using H.G.?

Thanks
Marc

[Kevin A. Richardson]

I use HG and it works great for inserting Thermograms. You can insert the thermal images anywhere in your standard HI template or create an endless amount of sub sections to suite your needs.

http://www.homegauge.com/inspector/h...reenshots.html

Kevin

[David P. Valley]

Mark,

Try the Dual-View Demo when you get a chance. There are several HI's here that use this IR software and love it. I can send you a trial version CD if you'd like or you can download it HERE.

Get $100.00 off now.

[Bob Elliott]

Mark ,I know Hip has a specific click in photo uploads just for thermal imaging that leaves every other slot open for thermal images in your report.
Takes approximatly 60 seconds to down load 200 of them.

[David A. Andersen]

A thermal imaging report (w/o a home inspection included) is a much different animal. There is not a lot of stuff you can pick and click on. It needs to be a report that can handle a lot of images and allow simple access for a narrative to "discuss" the things your looking at.

Because of the work your doing I think you need to get more specific in your report.

Now, I think your asking about just adding IR to the Inspection Report. In that case just add a section to your report template for IR.

I use both methods, depending on the job.

http://www.midtninspections.com/Infr...e-reports.html

[bdoles2]

I use several different reporting methods, it all depends on what I'm inspecting and what my clients are expecting.

Regular home inspection I use InspectVue.

A stand alone infrared investigation where the customer doesn't need all the IR data like temps,etc... I use Word.

IR inspection where data is needed, I use the IR camera software, SmartView.

[Peter C. Russell]

Originally Posted by dvalley

Mark,

Try the Dual-View Demo when you get a chance. There are several HI's here that use this IR software and love it. I can send you a trial version CD if you'd like or you can download it HERE.

Get $100.00 off now.

I use the Dual View as well and found it very easy to use and my clients are always impressed with my reports.

If my IR is included with the home inspection I include in my Home Gauge reports.

[Gary T. Heller]

I just used smartview for the first time with my Fluke TIR and found it to be a little cumbersome. I exported the report in PDF and mailed it to the client. I printed a copy to see how it looked but the pictures are small and not nearly as clear as they are on the computer.

I'm also surprised to find out that smart view can only work with pictures in the IS2 format. Anything that is bitmap or jpeg cannot be edited in smartview. The problem with that is HomeGauge won't load the IS2 format.

Anyone know of an after market software? Do other camera models have the same issues?

[bdoles2]

Originally Posted by gheller

I just used smartview for the first time with my Fluke TIR and found it to be a little cumbersome. I exported the report in PDF and mailed it to the client. I printed a copy to see how it looked but the pictures are small and not nearly as clear as they are on the computer.

Thats the good thing about a pdf, you can "zoom" and see the pictures just fine. Here's a sample that I don't think would be any problem to view, either pdf or on paper. sampleIR.pdf

I'm also surprised to find out that smart view can only work with pictures in the IS2 format. Anything that is bitmap or jpeg cannot be edited in smartview. The problem with that is HomeGauge won't load the IS2 format.

This is why I save ALL my original IS2 files before I make any changes in SmartView, once I alter the images in SmartView I then save/export (as jpg) them as the image that I want in my report -whether it's in Word or InspectVue.

[mreusch]

Thanks to all of you. I have a lot to digest now and explore. I am sure it will take time and many trials to figure out what works best for my applications. I hope to use the camera in a normal H.I. but also in passive energy audits and am lining up some insurance company business as well. I also plan to do some P.P. presentations to some local realty offices.

[Rodney Misener]

I use ThermaCam Reporter 8 for my IR reports. Its a pretty good program, lots of options. Honestly I haven't explored alot of other programs, but this one works for me just fine.

[Kevin A. Richardson]

Originally Posted by rmisener

I use ThermaCam Reporter 8 for my IR reports. Its a pretty good program, lots of options. Honestly I haven't explored alot of other programs, but this one works for me just fine.

I also use Reporter 8 for all my commercial IR work. Very powerful program!.

Kevin

[John T. Horrigan]

A word on Smartview and picture quality. I use Smartview more as an image working platform than as an end state product. You can save the image in a number of different formats or simply export the pixel by pixel radiometric data, which I do most often.

When deciding what format to save a picture in, it's important to think about how much flexibility you need next. For example, if I need a bigger picture or am going to create a matrix, I'll export the images from Smartview in PNG format most often. The quality survives the image expansion better. I suggest you try out a few of the options and see what works best for your application.

Cheers
-John