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screen printing => Equipment => Topic started by: Ryan on February 28, 2014, 01:01:17 PM
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I've been thinking and having some discussions (outside of here) about set-up times and pre-reg systems and what they are good for. That being said what is the average time it takes for you to set-up say a 6 color job on the auto using your registration system? more specifically the guys who still use film because I know CTS guys will be much faster though that may give the rest of us a reference to how much time we could be saving. So How many screens in that 6 color would need to be adjusted? average time per color it might take you to get it in? I'm not necessarily looking for concrete numbers, unless of course you have them, but if on average does it take you 20 minutes using your tri-loc or your pin system or T-Square? So if anyone wants to give out the info on time, system used, average screens needed to be microed etc, it would help me out on some questions I certainly have.
~Ryan
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No CTS and no Tri lock here. Pure set up (not including approval time etc) 30 min 2 people, 45 min 1 person. Thats for It certainly be done faster but thats about average in real time. I always train people to drop the table and raise it twice and chk reg even with a tri-lock. This simple step saves a lot of time micro-ing and test printing. Its amazing how many people do not perform this simple step.
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I've been thinking and having some discussions (outside of here) about set-up times and pre-reg systems and what they are good for. That being said what is the average time it takes for you to set-up say a 6 color job on the auto using your registration system? more specifically the guys who still use film because I know CTS guys will be much faster though that may give the rest of us a reference to how much time we could be saving. So How many screens in that 6 color would need to be adjusted? average time per color it might take you to get it in? I'm not necessarily looking for concrete numbers, unless of course you have them, but if on average does it take you 20 minutes using your tri-loc or your pin system or T-Square? So if anyone wants to give out the info on time, system used, average screens needed to be microed etc, it would help me out on some questions I certainly have.
~Ryan
My numbers will be slower than most since its just me doing all the work.
From burnt screens ready to go on press to ready to print is 2 to 5 mins per head. Most of that time is getting the inks and squeegee and floods in. I usually have to clean squeegees and flood bars. With the MHM FPU if its not dead on, its just a few very slight adjustments that takes no time at all. Each screen takes less than 5 seconds to pop in and have aligned. If I had all the floods and screens clean I could do a head in less then a minute. Then maybe 2 test prints to make sure everything is set. I normally never do more than 1 or 2 test prints to set up any job. Unless I need to build up wet on wet. I do have jobs go bad but that was when I was learning the press and how to print on it. I may have a bad job every 2 months now.
The one thing I like about the MHM system is I can take out screens and put them back in and the screen will be in the exact same position. I use this when doing waterbase ink changes. Take the screen out and spray it out at the washout booth. Then put it back in the press and load your new color. It was also really nice when I had a screen fail on a 6 color job. I burnt a new screen and then put it in. It was perfectly aligned. Took me about 15 mins to be back up and running. (screens dry fast here)
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Folks will have you believe all sorts of ridiculous times. Tony's about right as usual.
Jon, get you a Shurloc Squeegee Clean. I realized that one of our biggest bottlenecks was waiting for clean squeegees/floods.
Not no more it aint.
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For the two person scenario the unloader or dryer op follows the press op with ink, squeegees etc which have been pre-staged on a cart. This speeds things up quite a bit especially on 14 or 16 color presses. Most know I have a tic about not having all the parts and pieces staged and ready in a timely fashion. Whats the point of registering in under 60 secs if you have to wait around for garments etc?
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Plain and simple our tri-lock only saves us any time on the registration part of set up. It cannot speed up squeegee and FB installs or speed up taping the screens etc. But I will say registration itself which of course is what it is designed to do is super fast. Slide the screen against the stop blocks engage screen clamps, make sure nothing moved and move on to the nest one is pretty fast and straight forward. Using a six color as your example I would say maybe two of the screens would need a tiny micro adjustment, adjustments that would not need a reprint just make the adjustments and start the run.
I feel I am pretty damn fast registering screens by eye so the tri-loc has not gained me personally any major amount of time but anyone else they struggle registering by eye and eat up time like a black hole.
Having the tri-loc is not only great for dummy proofing registration but also the ability to swap screens etc. I would never want to be with out it thats for sure.
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Using your tri-loc or FPU, when you go to press are they mostly lined up? On this hypothetical 6 color, how many screens would you expect micro in? I'm not sure if I have higher expectations then I should on mine. I believe that if I set up a 6 color, assuming I am taking my time on the Reg table taping films, that 4 of those screens should need no microing at all and the other 2 only millimeters/centimeters/smidge microing to get them in. which I think the job should be set-up in under 18 minutes ( 1 minute to line up screen, 2 minutes to put in squeegee/mink/floods) and to be honest I think that is too much time if your system is designed to do what it is supposed to do. Are my expectations too high in this scenario? Are you using your reg system to "just be close" and then micro from there? or do you expect it to be 70-80-90% in right from the start?
~Ryan
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on thing that has saved us a ton of time is to preink the screens. we have a rolling rack right by the press and we put the screens with ink in there ready for the next job. we invested in the shur-loc squeegie cleaner and we have two full sets of floodbars and squeegies so we always have clean ones. We use a dts and tri-loc. we might have to adjust 1 color but usually we are dead on.
the key to the game is to keep set up/take down to a minimum....
sam
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All the systems are made to be perfect. Now put user error in to the equation and there will be some needed tweaking. I get the film lined up as best as I can. One trick is you want your reg marks as far away from each other as possible with your film. Its like the sights on a gun the farther away they are the more accurate. Honestly I have about 75% of my jobs that are good enough to run as is. But I still tweak them a little during the run to dial them in even more.
So to answer your question. Out of the 25% of my jobs that are not perfect I usually have to micro one or 2 screens to get it perfect. Even the ones that are out of registration they are only out a very small about. Mostly an underbase peaking out or two touching colors have a slight gutter. Its not just the screens and registration that will make screens be out. Screen tensions, pressure, ink viscosity, squeegees and even print speed can pull the screen mesh enough to be out a hair. Keep in mind how little I am talking. I never have a screen out a 1/16 of an inch. Unless I didn't reset a head that I was messing with.
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the key to the game is to keep set up/take down to a minimum....
not really the key, more like a component of the entire process.
The key is understanding that setup/down is just another part of the entire process and needs to be accounted for in the 'all inclusive' job pricing.
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We spend way more time putting squeegees and floodbars and ink in screens versus registering the job. On a six color job on average there will be one screen that is out by a hair (literally a human hair). There have been numerous times where we don't touch the micros on anything but on average I'd say 1 screen out of every 5 screens put on the press needs micro'd. I will say that the average 6 color that doesn't require a lot of "dialing in" of the print settings would be 20-25 minutes and that includes everything. Grabbing a test print tube and putting it on the press, staring at the print looking for issues or pinholes, micro'ing a screen or maybe even 2 or 3, taping up regi marks takes 3 minutes on a 6 color, changing print speeds and pressures, checking for proper flood/fill, ALL of that stuff takes time. A few weeks ago I printed the whole week and I didn't do more than 3 test prints for any of the 30 or so jobs we did. Those numbers are for me, no help. If we're really slammed I'll go back to the press and help and that would knock the setup times down to 15 minutes.
I remember back in the pre preregistration days and we always did the repeat job that was 6 colors on darks and the first year, printing the job at least once a month, we got it from 90 minutes down to about 60. Then with the new press, several different versions of a regi system, then the triloc, and finally the modified triloc minus carrier sheets, that job takes us 20 minutes today. We don't print that job very often anymore but it still comes along a few times per year. I can also remember when our old press wasn't calibrated and I'd do 15-20 test prints on a 6 color job, man that really sucked.
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the key to the game is to keep set up/take down to a minimum....
not really the key, more like a component of the entire process.
The key is understanding that setup/down is just another part of the entire process and needs to be accounted for in the 'all inclusive' job pricing.
The key to every job is Money. Go ahead disagree with me, anyone, anyone???
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even with all the systems everyone uses, even if needing microing, 1/16th of inch or less (even a 1/16th would seem way out...in theory). So knowing that I register on a PRU with laser crosshairs and go to press with a "zeroed" out press, 1/8th of an inch is absurd? Would that be fair to say and that something doesn't add up???
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even with all the systems everyone uses, even if needing microing, 1/16th of inch or less (even a 1/16th would seem way out...in theory). So knowing that I register on a PRU with laser crosshairs and go to press with a "zeroed" out press, 1/8th of an inch is absurd? Would that be fair to say and that something doesn't add up???
Hey man, I know we have talked about this and it just doesn't make sense. I am pressed for time right now but one thought I had was, what are you printing your films with?
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I don't really have much of a prereg or on press reg unit of any kind, and I would say I only have to micro once ink is on the screen maybe one out of every 4 screens recently. I have 3 points of contact glued to the glass on my exposure unit and tape my films directly to the glass. I use one top and one bottom reg mark on my films. I place a screen on the glass and push it against these three points, expose and take it off. While it sits in the dunk tank I put another film on top of the one already taped and line up the reg marks and tape it, then pull out the first film. This way they are pixel perfect to each other in relation to the points on my glass. Put the next screen in and burn.
On press I have a film with just those same reg marks printed on it that I tape to the pallet (or just put on the pallet if the adhesive is sticky enough. I put the screen on press, line up the reg marks by visually and push down to verify, clamp in and raise and lower the arm, and verify nothing moved, if it is a bit off I micro quickly and move on to the next screen. Before ink ever touches a screen I verify one last time all the way around, then tape, then ink, then test print. I am setting up six colors from the time I put the first screen on press to the time I am done test printing in about 20 minutes, though I have done some as quick as 10. This is on a manual though, so I save a lot of time not having to put in flood and squeegee bars, etc. I'm not sure I would speed anything up much with a triloc except the few seconds it takes to get the screen in the general area of being registered before clamping down, but making minor nudges/microing is so quick...
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What we have here is a failure to communicate... I think we need to establish a starting point and finishing point. To me if the press is not going round and round then no money is being made. With that said the original post was about set up times as it related to the press and not "prep" time as relating to pre-press.
So then the clock starts when the last shirt of a print is pulled off the press and stops when the first shirt of a print is pulled off of the press.
When I was at Starter we had "press teams" that consisted of four people. The loader, the puller, the catcher, and a "Third man". My team routinely could do an eight color job using the parameters in the above paragraph in 20 minutes. The catcher got the table full of laid out shirts to the press. One person took out the eight screens in press with their squeegees and floodbars. One person put the set up screen (either the black plate or the under lay) in the press centered locked down and printed and flashed that screen. While this was being done the third person was putting the other seven screens in the press loose. The set up person then registers each screen in order to the set up print and locks it down. He then moves on to the next screen and so on. He is followed bu pressman #2 who puts in the squeegee and floodbar who is followed by pressman# 3 who puts in the ink. As the ink is going in the last color the press is already running a full test print. Minor taps with a hammer and the first shirt is loaded and ran. Total time 20 minutes. This was in the mid 80's and there was no registration system used.
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So reading everythin my question/concern really had nothing to do with squeegees /inks/floods etc as they are going to take a certain amount of time and that really depends on who is doing it. I was more concerned that using a pre-reg system and when you put the screens on press, how long to dial them in. we all different methods to our madness in how we do it whether lining all screens up, then putting in everything or doing each screen 1 at a time, ie register,ink, squeegees etc, print and dial that one in and then move on.
So my question wasn't really accurate like most of the things I post. I for one put in underbase screen, flash and then line up all screens, then go back and add ink etc, print first color, if good move to next, if not, dial that color in and then move on to next color until everything is lined up and then do a full test print. Maybe I am wasting too much time doing that, but thats just how I do it.
I don't think a customer spends 4k-5k on t-shirts and when you print it its a little out and you tell them "its close enough" and that is how it is. We all strive for some sort of perfection in our work, not close enough (in most cases). So in that regard, I don't spend 4K on a pre-reg system to be in the ball park or close enough otherwise I could save the money and use a T-Square because that will get me "close".
It certain helps to here how others are doing it and time that it takes for others to get something in.
I am using a epson 4880 for films Alex.
Maybe I am a moron and I just don't get it and I am screwing something up :'(
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even with all the systems everyone uses, even if needing microing, 1/16th of inch or less (even a 1/16th would seem way out...in theory). So knowing that I register on a PRU with laser crosshairs and go to press with a "zeroed" out press, 1/8th of an inch is absurd? Would that be fair to say and that something doesn't add up???
I was saying: it's not like they are out a 1/8 or even 1/16th. They are never that far out with the FPU. Honestly I don't reset my press back to zero from job to job. I am sure that is part of the reason I may have more out of position screens. Maybe I'm pickier than most. It is hard to talk how off the screens are...What is it 100th of a inch maybe thousands. At that point its not noticeable to 90 percent of your clients. I use a loop to check my registration on press. MHM's you can adjust the micros on the fly so every once in a while I will check registration on press. Do a fine tuning of the job and then continue printing. Fine tuning is maybe moving the micros a hair what does that translate to screen movement 5,000/inch.
You should be able to print every job on press if you put the film on correctly. It should be that tight. All the microing I do is my error or my OCD to get that last one millionth off out of the registration.
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I just scanned quickly through this and I think I understand that with your regi system you are having screens that are 1/8" or so out of registration? With a good regi system (working) you should be within a point line at worst with all 6 screens of said job, in my opinion. When we have a screen out, again, one out of 5 or so I mean it's about 1/2 point or less out and the rest are within a hairline of each other which in most cases means it's within spec. Something is out of whack and we need to track it down to get you back where you should be.
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1/8 of an inch is absurd. Even eyeballing it quickly on my silver press was more accurate than that...
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For me a six color job would take an average of 15 to 20 minutes. I do everything myself so I take triple care to ensure my films are lined up on my FPU. Not saying mine is spot on everytime but I'd say it's spot on about 75% of the time. If it's off usually it's by a hair and I can make an educated guess to fix it with the micros. My registration has really improved after I re-leveled my heads. Now the screens don't kick out of position unless the frame is warped a bit.
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This has answered my question. Something is out of whack and I need to figure it out. I totally get being out a half a turn here or there, as there is still humans involved, its the WAY out that gets me and can't wrap my head around as to why its this way and what went/is wrong. Seams really easy as to how it should work, but when it doesn't is frustrating as all hell.
So on another note to whoever is reading now, What is your setup procedure? ink every screen first? 1 at a time? run a full test print first? This is more curiosity as there is maybe something in these steps that can help my setup.
~Ryan
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I load all 6 screens, ink, triloc and run a full test print. tweak what little is needed and print. Very fast.
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I feel like some important things have been left out here. Maybe they've been discussed and I didn't see them. There are some factors that I think have an effect on set ups. I'll try to keep it short and sweet. Consistent mesh tensions and a quality press in great shape. There are dozens of other variables, but to me, these are big
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So reading everythin my question/concern really had nothing to do with squeegees /inks/floods etc as they are going to take a certain amount of time and that really depends on who is doing it. I was more concerned that using a pre-reg system and when you put the screens on press, how long to dial them in. we all different methods to our madness in how we do it whether lining all screens up, then putting in everything or doing each screen 1 at a time, ie register,ink, squeegees etc, print and dial that one in and then move on.
So my question wasn't really accurate like most of the things I post. I for one put in underbase screen, flash and then line up all screens, then go back and add ink etc, print first color, if good move to next, if not, dial that color in and then move on to next color until everything is lined up and then do a full test print. Maybe I am wasting too much time doing that, but thats just how I do it.
I don't think a customer spends 4k-5k on t-shirts and when you print it its a little out and you tell them "its close enough" and that is how it is. We all strive for some sort of perfection in our work, not close enough (in most cases). So in that regard, I don't spend 4K on a pre-reg system to be in the ball park or close enough otherwise I could save the money and use a T-Square because that will get me "close".
I am using a epson 4880 for films Alex.
Maybe I am a moron and I just don't get it and I am screwing something up :'(
We use a tri loc. Did a 5 color job yesterday and one screen needed a little adjustment. So setting up the job took less then 10 minutes, I would say probably 5-6 minutes. That`s without squeegees and floodbars and no ink in the screens. As we were new to the tri loc we had lots of jobs out of registration and I started to wonder why that is. Watched the video again that explains the whole process checked it against the way we used it and found the mistakes we made. Since then we love it and almost every job is bang on.
I say it saves a good amount of time having a registration system.
It certain helps to here how others are doing it and time that it takes for others to get something in.
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In the interest of helping others troubleshoot would you mind mentioning what you were doing wrong and how you fixed it :)
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Consistent mesh tensions and a quality press in great shape. There are dozens of other variables, but to me, these are big
I agree.
The shop I'm in now has no registration system and frankly it drives me insane, cause I had one when I owned my own place and it ruled. We have a ton of work to do to even consider a Tri-Loc, and I am slowly eliminating some road blocks as I go. (I was recently put in charge of all maintenance and equipment issues)
Without some sort of registration system, a 30-45 minute total setup is not unusual for say an average 5-6 color job. We have 2 press ops and a "floater" press assistant.
So here's a few things to check and consider.
Is the press level/parallel? As in DEAD ON. All your heads should be in plane with each other and so should the pallets. You should be able to take a pallet to each head and see exactly the same off contact at each corner of a screen. This should be the same story on each pallet.
Are the registration points on the press (forks, bearings, etc) all adjusted correctly?
Are the frame holders on the press adjusted in/out correctly? Often if the air clamps are adjusted out too far they can bump the frame out of registration when they snap down. Make sure the clamp bars come down straight and square to the frames. It's easy to overlook this cause people adjust them out wide to allow more room for screen loading and adjusting.
Is the registration dead on before the screens are burned? If using films and registering to carrier sheets, or with an FPU, use a loupe and make sure the registration is tight. I used to register dot-to-dot of what my inkjet could produce. (no...really)
When exposing, whether with carrier sheets or not, make sure the film doesn't budge when setting it up in the exposure unit.
Check the frames for flatness. Warped frames can jump around when being clamped.
If you need to bump more then 1-2 screens per job with the micros, or things are out more than a hair consistently, then I'd say the press and other tools are not dialed in enough to reap the benefits of a registration system. It's a powerful tool not just for speeding up production, but it shines a bright light on any issues you may have with equipment or shop procedures.
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Shurloc EZ frames. Pretty consistent tension, mid 20s or better on most with an occasional screen that is below that. SRoque press, 18 months old, has been zeroed out twice, though I think some things got missed the first time seeing this was all new for the European guys and how we do things here. So second time, zeroed, heads checked to be in plane, pallets checked for level, off contact leveled. New PRU as of 2 weeks ago as my first one was cockeyed a little. Ultimately shouldn't have had any affect on press registration if registered all the same on PRU. Off contacts on all heads is between 1-3 cms roughly. Print between 40-60psi most of the time. Something is just not connecting and I haven't been able to figure it out yet. It has been way better since the second "fix" which was a couple months ago but just not what I expect with a pin registration system. I kind of expect perfection ??? Its currently being sorted out, but I thought I would try to get some feed back on what others experience so that I might be able to relate to something that I'm having issues with. For the record I'm very happy with my press so no need to jump on me for buying green:D
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So reading everythin my question/concern really had nothing to do with squeegees /inks/floods etc as they are going to take a certain amount of time and that really depends on who is doing it. I was more concerned that using a pre-reg system and when you put the screens on press, how long to dial them in. we all different methods to our madness in how we do it whether lining all screens up, then putting in everything or doing each screen 1 at a time, ie register,ink, squeegees etc, print and dial that one in and then move on.
So my question wasn't really accurate like most of the things I post. I for one put in underbase screen, flash and then line up all screens, then go back and add ink etc, print first color, if good move to next, if not, dial that color in and then move on to next color until everything is lined up and then do a full test print. Maybe I am wasting too much time doing that, but thats just how I do it.
I don't think a customer spends 4k-5k on t-shirts and when you print it its a little out and you tell them "its close enough" and that is how it is. We all strive for some sort of perfection in our work, not close enough (in most cases). So in that regard, I don't spend 4K on a pre-reg system to be in the ball park or close enough otherwise I could save the money and use a T-Square because that will get me "close".
It certain helps to here how others are doing it and time that it takes for others to get something in.
I am using a epson 4880 for films Alex.
Maybe I am a moron and I just don't get it and I am screwing something up :'(
I see one flaw in your process. That is printing one color flashing then printing the next checking reg adjusting then to the next color. Problem here is what if it is your first color that is out of reg? This means every single color afterwards will need adjusting because you are not adjusting the screen that actually needs it.
With a pre-reg system you should lock all screens in, ink them and run a test print. Looking at the test print you can narrow down which screens need a micro and which do not. With a pre reg your first print should be extremely close to perfect and only require minor micro adjustments.
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That makes sense. I am going to do that on my next multi color and see what I get. The first head which is usually my first I never change. Its always at zero and has been the first I've zeroed off of when its been zeroed so I just assume that this is the correct head to work from. I will try inking and running before I do anything next time.
Thanks
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It almost sounds like the press is out a little. If "zero" isn't zero from head to head on the micros you will always be out a little if you are zeroing each head each time. I am assuming you have the pins like Alex not std screen locks securing the frames in each head. For argument sake if head one "zero" is your starting point and head two "zero" is actually to the left 2mm, head three "zero" is 1mm to the right so on and so on it will cause the problems you are having. Assuming everything before the screens get to press is correct.
Next job you set up do not zero all the heads out before putting the screens in. Leave them in the location for the last job. Run a test print and see if you are closer on reg.
To find a cause I would print a film with five large 1 pt cross hairs on it. One cross hair in each corner then the fifth randomly placed. using the same film burn a screen for each head, zero each head and run a test print using a different color in each screen flash between each. Print right on fresh pallet cover. You could even use a small manual squeegee to hit the reg marks to save time. Then you can tell whats going on and make adjustments or corrections. I know its labor intensive but it will solve the mystery. If you want to take it a step further using one screen, zero everything out and do another test print in each head with the one screen moving it from head to head. With a pin system it should be pretty close to dead nuts on in each head.
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By chance have you noted if the same heads are off each time? Or maybe change what head you have your first screen in?
Something has to be off at one point that is messing things up. We need to eliminate the variables. I have the same PRU, and on a 6 color I may have to adjust 2 screens by 1/8-1/4 of a micro turn. I usually chalk that up to poor film positioning/tapeing.
How about your top cross hair box, do you EVER move it? I tightened ours down TIGHT and put tape on the rail to mark its position if it ever got moved.
A idea would be to maybe remove the PRU from the equation to try to pin point the problem. Tape a 14x20 or so film with a series if reg marks to the glass on your exposure unit. Then place a screen on the glass, and tape a few cardboard "stops" around the outside of the screen to the glass. This way you can burn 3,4,5, or however many screens you want to try and they should all pretty much be in the same place. Now take them to press and see how close you are.
Does that all make sense? This will establish if the issue is with the PRU or the zeroing of the heads.
Honestly if I was in your situation I would be on TechSupports ass to have it fixed. If it hasn't been right since day one, it is on them. And in turn they can put it on S.Roque or however they want to deal with it. But you should not have problems like this, something is off.
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Since it takes me forever to compose a post, Blink snuck in another good point. Zero may not be zero. It is actually surprising how simple it is to "re define" zero on these presses. So is you find your zero positions are different it can be easily fixed.
Do you know or have the contact info for the guys at Forward printing in Oakland or Phelps in Iowa? There are a few other S.Roques using the PRU here in the states, I can get you their info. Contact them and see how they are doing with registration. I can contact them also if you want.
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Two more things real quick. After thinking about it a little more if there is a good reference point on the screen holders you could simply make some kind of pointer to attach to a pallet. Zero all the heads then zero the pointer to head one. Bring that pallet to each holder and see if it hits that same point on each holder left to righ and front to back.
The most important thing is to do one thing at a time. If you make five changes at once and then it works you will not know which one solved the problem.
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Ignoring the the initial setup because that was a whole different issue. I'll explain what happened which is why something is not correct and I don't know what it is.
Everything was checked before we went to zero, level pallets, off-contact, heads on plane etc. I have oversize boards so we put one of those on the press. I printed out a film with 6/7 reggie marks that spread out as far as I could. 2 techs verified that I was in the laser crosshairs so that I could not be blamed for mis-registration. First head, printed to board (only using the 4 corner reggies). Flashed and then moved head-to-head and zeroing them out. Now this is what irks me...Immediately burn 4 color job while techs are present, verify that I am lining up films correctly on each screen (so now tripple checked), go to press, print underbase, flash, load other screens and none of them line up on any of the other 11 heads. I check all 3 screens on all 11 heads, nothing. so get to the last head, I dial in 1 of the screens, pull in out and put in a second screen...that one lines up correctly too, third screen goes in and is slightly off....fine its out a little, minimal, I am ok with that.
So I rezero out the machine using the 2 screens that now line up to underbase. Everything is "better" than it was, not perfect but "better". That whole process threw me for a loop...how can I just zero out the heads and then go to setup a job immediately after and not have 1 screen be in. This is my confusion as to what the hell is going on. There is something that doesn't add up and I don't know what it is.
As far as dealing with the powers that be, we are already working on a solution to this...hopefully, but I have been in contact with everyone on my end to get it fixed. I do have to have my press zeroed again regardless because of my new PRU, so just figuring out a time when to.
Well have a happy Saturday everyone ;D
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Simple and probably not it but~
Positively have your shirt spray tack welded down?
Shirt can shrink, pull, etc. especially on outer edges.
Above was mentioned to print directly on pallet (no tack)
eliminating any movement of substrate.
Yes one variable at a time:
The most important thing is to do one thing at a time.
Sounds like you have a good head for deduction, you'll get it!
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on thing that has saved us a ton of time is to preink the screens. we have a rolling rack right by the press and we put the screens with ink in there ready for the next job. we invested in the shur-loc squeegie cleaner and we have two full sets of floodbars and squeegies so we always have clean ones. We use a dts and tri-loc. we might have to adjust 1 color but usually we are dead on.
the key to the game is to keep set up/take down to a minimum....
sam
I don't believe you Sam, and I think that you're making all of these facts up! (OK just kidding, I felt like busting some balls on a Saturday) Look me up and I'll buy you a brewski at the Atlantic City ISS. Maybe you'll agree to call it all square :)
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I have the PRU system also, what I have found to cause registration to be out is the pins them self. If you look at each screens when they are on the press, look at how the pins seat to the brackets that are on screens. I have found there to be random gaps between the pins and brackets. We use a dip tank and the brackets that go on the screens like to build up with gunk. So before we register our films on the PRU we make sure the the brackets are cleaned of gunk. I will caution you that just because the screens seated up nicely on the PRU doesn't mean that they will do the same on press so always check on press also.
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What's up Josh!!? Glad to see you stopped in here! Good people on this forum, except for this Ryan guy....;D
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Adding DTS to our shop last year has shaved 75 percent of our prepress and set ups, but now reading some additional hints here that we will apply, I'd love to tighten up even more. Great info on yhis thread!
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75%? Surely you jest!
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maybe they were painting their stencil onto the screen by hand before :D