Planning a pixel installation means holding a lot in your head at once: layout geometry, controller placement, power budgets, universe counts, cable runs. Getting all of that wrong before you order is an expensive way to learn. Pixel Designer, ENTTEC’s free web tool, now opens directly into ELM so you can see your design playing on your actual layout before a single part is purchased, and walk away with a complete bill of materials and a quote request in one session.
From blank page to patched stage
Pixel Designer is free, needs no account, and runs in 9 languages with metric or imperial units. Open it at pixeldesigner.enttec.com and you are already on step one. Pick a layout type from facades, outlines, canopies, backdrops, vertical runs, circles, rings, arches, U-frames, spokes and stars, or just describe the project in plain language and the tool fills in the form. No drawing skills are required, and nothing is installed.
Each design gets its own shareable number, for example PXD-7K3M2. Send it to a colleague or a client, or type it straight into ELM to import the layout at any point. The number travels with the project from the first sketch to the quote.
One click into ELM
Once the layout is shaped and the controllers are placed, press Open in ELM. ELM build 2026-10-16 or later picks up the design and builds a new stage: every pixel placed in the right position, grouped by controller and output, patched to the correct universe and DMX address. Nothing to map by hand. ELM Free supports designs up to 8 universes, so smaller projects run on no budget at all.
Playing effects on the exact layout, before ordering anything, is where real risk comes out of the process. If the geometry looks wrong or a controller boundary lands in the wrong place, you find out now, not on site.
The parts list does the engineering
Pixel Designer works with Smart PXL pixel dots, Neon Flex and pixel tape. Once your layout is set, it calculates the complete parts list: strings with ENTTEC part numbers, controllers (OCTO MK3 or Pixelator Mini with PLink), power supplies, injection points and cables. Power budget, voltage drop, data limits and cable reach are all calculated by the tool’s built-in engineering rules, not left to guesswork.
The output includes a colour-coded wiring diagram, a connection schedule and one PDF sheet per string showing dimensions and order information. These are preliminary drawings; final drawings come with the confirmed quote.
Request a quote, and we supply the rest
When the design looks right, press Request a quote on your design number. A sales engineer checks the design and quotes every part on the list, typically within one business day. If no standard layout fits the project, one click connects you to the team and we work through it with you. ENTTEC supplies every part on the bill of materials.
The whole path, from a blank layout to a patched, playable stage and a costed parts list, runs in a single session. That is the point: the barrier to planning a pixel installation is now low enough that it makes sense to try the layout before committing to anything.
Start now
Design your layout at pixeldesigner.enttec.com, then press Request a quote on your design number.