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screen printing => General Screen Printing => Topic started by: CSPGarrett on January 17, 2015, 11:40:07 PM

Title: Hand or Auto?
Post by: CSPGarrett on January 17, 2015, 11:40:07 PM
At what point do you really say this goes on the auto or manual?

For example, 24 cardinal units with a white print front and a white and color print back (1/2)? 

I tend to think some of the shops with more man power would be throwing these jobs on the manual?  Is there a better way to calculate not just labor cost but overall material, opportunity, and scheduling costs in this?  Shops running at peak performance have a somewhat standard guideline (but this would change shop to shop).  I thought about it today doing with another order of 38 shirts with just black ink, it is almost a throw up for either or.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: dirkdiggler on January 18, 2015, 08:44:16 AM
1 shirt and it goes on the auto!  And I will beat the manual EVERYTIME in speed, quality, everything.  Our manual holds my drink and my phone while I work on the auto, thats about it.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: Get Shirts on January 18, 2015, 08:44:21 AM
It depends on the current work load, but we'll throw a 24 piece / 1 color job on the auto.  It's not too much faster but I appreciate the consistency. 
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: prozyan on January 18, 2015, 09:00:55 AM
Everything goes on the auto here as well.  Our manual has been moved to storage.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: beanie357 on January 18, 2015, 09:19:26 AM
Qty, fabric, location, pallets change, number of colors, number of flashes, all go into the selection.
Some obviously are no-brainers.
 But if you have long runs on your autos, manual takes up the short runs.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: jvanick on January 18, 2015, 09:39:18 AM
we only run complex stuff on the manual... pants, pockets and around pockets (although we're doing those more on the auto now after getting Bink's lasers)

one of the major reasons we bought a 10c press was to be able to put up a small job without tearing down a larger job still on press....

for registration, print consistency, ease, and lack of back/shoulder soreness at the end of the day, nothing beats tha auto.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: Inkworks on January 18, 2015, 11:44:58 AM
Ever since we built the FPU and jig for the auto, almost everything goes on there, it's just faster for set-ups, even on 1 colour, Much like Jvanick the manual sees the weird stuff.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: Gilligan on January 18, 2015, 11:50:24 AM
Just rub it in!
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: GraphicDisorder on January 18, 2015, 12:19:08 PM
We print pretty much only Koozies and super small infant items on the manual.  Its a table basically.  If I bought some pallets there would be no need for our Manual, at all.  In fact maybe this year ill do that, not a bad idea really. 
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: Inkworks on January 18, 2015, 12:34:47 PM
Just rub it in!

That was one of the biggest, yet most unanticipated benefits of the system, 1 color set-ups are incredible fast.

Don't forget to take some pictures when you e-mail measurements.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: bimmridder on January 18, 2015, 07:19:40 PM
Also, you may be able to set up more than one job on the auto. If you can set up 2 or three jobs, that's three set ups for the price of one.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: 3Deep on January 18, 2015, 11:25:33 PM
I use our manual do reprint jobs for customers who need an extra shirt or two when it's simple 1 or 2 color job...and baseball stuff.  Some of you might can toss out your manual but I'm keeping mine around still gets work, but to answer the poster's question it's all up to you on what you like to do...me if I don't have enough shirt's to fill all my pallets on the auto manual press get's it.


darryl
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: Hey Monkey on January 19, 2015, 10:21:08 AM
Manual! Because it's all I have and will ever have. Heh.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: mk162 on January 19, 2015, 11:27:00 AM
auto...all the way, unless it's say a 1 color print above pockets or on a sleeve and we don't want to change the platens out...

we use our manual maybe twice a month if that.

we did print our hangers on it though...
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: Sbrem on January 19, 2015, 12:19:35 PM
the auto is faster for sure, even a single piece. And our MHM sets up very fast. But, we print a lot of odd items that simply won't work out on the press, like backpacks say, and our manual (Rototex 8/4) runs all day every day. We also don't want to spend a ton on specialty plates that probably wouldn't be used often enough. We have one employee who can print manually almost as fast a machine, pretty impressive. A lot of short specialty jobs a day come off that press.

Steve
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: alan802 on January 19, 2015, 12:59:14 PM
We use the manual as a small support machine for when we get busy.  I will usually find some low quantity one color jobs to throw on the manual to lessen the load on the auto.  Everything is faster on the auto as far as setups go, even one color jobs tend to be faster setups on the auto unless there is something strange going on.  So a job like safety vests with one color logo is the only exception to the way we do things and will go on the manual always unless the quantity is over 100 due to only muddying up one pallet instead of all 12 on the auto.  If the one color job is over 50 pieces it will go on the auto.  But keep in mind, these examples only apply if we're busy and need to take some pressure off the auto.  If we have a normal workload then pretty much everything goes on the auto.

I rarely sample or experiment on the manual either, but I have played around with silicone inks, HSA's and some DC stuff on the manual.
Title: Re: Hand or Auto?
Post by: Doug B on January 22, 2015, 09:28:52 AM
 We only have 1 sleeve pallet so we will do sleeves and on pocket prints on the
manual. EVERYTHING else is auto.