A: With the advent of the home computer, doing a glaze design no longer involves lengthy, tedious calculations by hand. Nowadays, any potter can undertake glaze design providing she/he has:

1. Access to a microcomputer, either an IBM type with a disk operating system (DOS) or an Apple “Macintosh” type with its “pull-down” menus; and
2. Access to specialized computer programs that simplify glaze calculation and analysis. For most, this involves acquiring their own, personal legal copy of the glaze-calculation program and thereafter receiving improvements (“updates”) and advice on a regular schedule.

The running of a glaze program on a computer allows “follow-your-nose” adjustment of glaze recipes, instantly analyzing them to permit comparison between the original recipe and known standards.