AC Heads...

[Prosperi-Tees]

Just wondering what advantages do AC heads have? I know a smooth consistent stroke with even pressure. Anything else? Is there an advantage to the basic screen printer doing your simple flat graphics? I am just punching numbers to figure if the higher cost of AC heads are really worth it or not for the basic screen printer. I know it offers you exacting control over the pressure etc, but doesn't air heads have pressure regulators? Maybe not as exact but still does the trick for the basic printer, no?

[Inkworks]

Air in a cylinder is squishy, so air cylinders can take quite a bit of pressure to get moving, then start with a jerk, then slow down. Not the best for screenprinting.

That said most decent manufacturers are using large enough cylinders to overcome most of the drawbacks.

[starchild]

Getting an auto will afford you the opportunity to expand your offerings and go beyond being a basic printer so consider that as well..

[TCT]

Getting an auto will afford you the opportunity to expand your offerings and go beyond being a basic printer so consider that as well..

That is a very good point! Something we found out the hard way.

"Can" you print good with air heads? Hell yes, people do it all the time. They are just very dialed into the workings of their press very well. You are in CA, which tells me you don't even know how to spell COLD: Up here in the winter, printing whites, ath. gold, ect. in the mornings with air heads sucks.  Fluctuation of air pressure affects the speed or sometimes "hesitation" of a print head. Going from printing smaller detail at say the bottom of a image then hitting a LARGE open print area will Mrs with the speed also.

While those are just a few small things, have you EVER heard someone that has had air heads and switched AC heads then say "If I got another press, air heads would be fine." NO you haven't!

I know that's not a lot if exact details, but you already outlined some of the best advantages....

[dirkdiggler]

beg, borrow, or steal the extra money for AC heads, thank me later.

[Gilligan]

That is one reason the diamondback is off my list.

You know where I'm possibly headed and that's AC heads!

[jvanick]

Same here... next press is ac heads without a doubt.  Of course Rich is probably going to.make sure that we have a sportsman on order in the near future.

Pneumatic heads are very tempermental... and change on a whim depending on print pressure, temperature, etc.

[Shanarchy]

TCT pretty much said I was going to say. Particularly white ink on a cold day.

If you were printing with a manual, I'd say get an auto.

If you are printing on an auto now, then I say get an auto with AC/servo.

It's all about upgrading.

Take your time, and as a small shop if you can get an 8/10 ac/servo press, you'll probably never need to upgrade. And if you ever do need to, that will be a very good thing.

[Underbase37]

We had air heads on our old challenger.....just more air cylinders & O-rings to replace. A/C heads for 10 years now & I would never go back.

[bimmridder]

What about les air to run the press. A small thing, but when we got our first AC press, it saved us the cost of adding another compressor

[inkbrigade]

We have AC heads on our 10 color and air on our 6 color. Much prefer the AC heads.

[ScreenPrinter123]

Wait the extra months it takes to save the difference for AC heads.  The all air rhino we had printed a good bit better than the v squeegee freedom we upgraded from.  Was super excited about it and wondered if we made a mistake purchasing a new AC/Servo press.  That worry was put to rest once we printed with our AC heads.

[beanie357]

They are more consistent, less temp or ink sensitive.
Less compressor power, less wear parts.
Don't buy new any other way.

[GraphicDisorder]

I know this will seem not possible right now to you while your doing all this math and searching and you feel like you can't afford it right now.  But I promise you if you skip AC heads and even a couple more print heads right now you will regret that to no end in a couple of years.  Which is fine if you don't mind doing it twice like we did, which cost us more money.  2 Shipping deals, 2 set ups, 2 electrical deals and so on.  That stuff adds up. 

In our example much like you we were trying to go cheap as possible.  Almost bought a 6/8 diamondback.  We stretched a bit and got a 8/10 Sportsman, which we out grew in 1 year. Before buying I always worried how much it cost and how id pay for it. Facts are not one time since doing either of our autos has paying for it been a actual issue. My point is buy the best auto with the best functions with the most heads you can afford from the company you trust most.  The rest will be a lot easier than you perceive it to be right now. In fact if you have money down your doing more than I did on our first auto. Don't buy a auto that suits you today, buy one that will carry you awhile. 

[Donnie]

Think about this.... The more air you require, the bigger compressor and chiller you will need. They ain't cheap. I have a servo indexer and AC heads. I am running it on a run of the mill 60 Gallon Kobalt compressor and a small chiller for 9 years. Not one problem....