TSB
screen printing => Equipment => Topic started by: Nick Bane on October 31, 2013, 12:52:52 PM
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http://www.mrprint.com/en/Screen%20Exposure%20Units%20&%20CTS%20Systems/Screen%20Exposure%20Systems/Screen%20Printing%20Exposure%20Units/STARLIGHT%20UV%20LED%20Screen%20Exposure%20System (http://www.mrprint.com/en/Screen%20Exposure%20Units%20&%20CTS%20Systems/Screen%20Exposure%20Systems/Screen%20Printing%20Exposure%20Units/STARLIGHT%20UV%20LED%20Screen%20Exposure%20System)
What's the retail on one of these?
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[url]http://www.mrprint.com/en/Screen%20Exposure%20Units%20&%20CTS%20Systems/Screen%20Exposure%20Systems/Screen%20Printing%20Exposure%20Units/STARLIGHT%20UV%20LED%20Screen%20Exposure%20System[/url] ([url]http://www.mrprint.com/en/Screen%20Exposure%20Units%20&%20CTS%20Systems/Screen%20Exposure%20Systems/Screen%20Printing%20Exposure%20Units/STARLIGHT%20UV%20LED%20Screen%20Exposure%20System[/url])
What's the retail on one of these?
$4,195.
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is it usable with a direct to screen? I would think not because of the glass? Mr Hoffman?
sam
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it's called a modification sam. ;) I would imagine it wouldn't be a bad idea to make a CTS compatible one as well. It would need less components to function correctly.
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is it usable with a direct to screen? I would think not because of the glass? Mr Hoffman?
sam
It is not compatible with direct to screen. We make one called the D-43 for that.
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hrmmmm, wonder what that msrp on the the cts model is at ;D :P
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hrmmmm, wonder what that msrp on the the cts model is at ;D :P
$8,995.
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I personally like to see companies show their MSRP's on their equipment so thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for the info Rich.
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...we got ours in yesterday, sn# 00001 baby! 8)
...it will be the weekend at best before I get to uncrate and play with our new toy, but we are stoked! I will be sure to report back here with a full review!
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...we got ours in yesterday, sn# 00001 baby! 8)
...it will be the weekend at best before I get to uncrate and play with our new toy, but we are stoked! I will be sure to report back here with a full review!
Jealous!!! ;D
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...we got ours in yesterday, sn# 00001 baby! 8)
...it will be the weekend at best before I get to uncrate and play with our new toy, but we are stoked! I will be sure to report back here with a full review!
a good starting point will be 10 seconds for vacuum time and 5 seconds for exposure on 100 %photopolymer. I have seen nothing that took over 30 seconds in our testing.
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I'm more impressed with the 10 second vacuum time. That's underrated and overlooked.
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I'm more impressed with the 10 second vacuum time. That's underrated and overlooked.
for sure my 20 year old Amerigraph takes 30-45 seconds to pull the blanket tight.
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...we got ours in yesterday, sn# 00001 baby! 8)
...it will be the weekend at best before I get to uncrate and play with our new toy, but we are stoked! I will be sure to report back here with a full review!
a good starting point will be 10 seconds for vacuum time and 5 seconds for exposure on 100 %photopolymer. I have seen nothing that took over 30 seconds in our testing.
Wow!
More time to vacuum than expose, thats a
paradigm shift in technology. So bright gotta..... 8)
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...so in another thread there have been some questions about diazo emulsions, and waterbase/discharge. We have burned a dozen or so screens with our Starlight and I can post some findings!
...Our unit is made to burn a single 23x31 at a time. Vacuum drawdown does seem to be around 10 seconds, you can easily tell when its done.
...we use CCI WR14 emulsion, which is the faster replacement for WR25. With our previous unit (flo-tube), WR25 exposed at about 3:30-4:00, and when we switched to WR14, we did see exposure time drop to 2:30.
With the Starlight and WR14 emulsion, we have burned our screens as low as 15 sec and as long as 25 sec! I think we may settle on high mesh counts at 20sec, and lower mesh counts at 25sec. At these speeds, the mesh color seems to make a difference, too, so I think we will test all white mesh at 25 sec to be safe. Images are just as sharp (if not sharper) than our FL unit would produce. And I do seem to notice the screens seem to be burned more "thoroughly", for lack of a better term....by that I mean there is less noticeable interference from areas covered by the milky-clear blanks film areas vs areas of no film at all.
...we do not do much WB/DC, so I cant speak much of the durability factor of that. But the unit and the technology benefits us in ways that WE need it to:...
-Much shorter exposure time. In fact, I fount that by the time I pulled the film off of a freshly exposed screen and removed the tape from it, the next one was already done! So when I burned eight screens this morning, I just burned them all in a row and then washed/developed them all in a row.
-Power savings. I had my previous unit on the same electrical line as the dehumidifier, and running the two simultaneously would always trip the 20A breaker. This has not happened since, so I know its drawing less power (I couldn't find a spec plate for comparison anywhere on our FL unit, which was made by a company called SPEC). But I also know that the fact it runs a fraction of the time our old one did HAS to contribute to power saving. PLUS the labor savings in keeping me from walking across the whole shop to reset the damn breaker once a day... ::)
-No heat. Even with a dehumidifier, its gets muggy and hot here in Americas Armpit. with the FL unit, films would start sticking to the screens after about five exposures, at which point the glass got hot. This glass will not get hot!
-Consistency. Knowing that the lamps will FAR outlive me and my shop means that I don't have to replace them, which can be expensive on some MH units. and the fact they don't degrade for such a long time means I don't hafta constantly watch how long things are burning. Set and forget!
...So for our situation, this is looking like the golden icket thus far. I will keep posting results as we go along, and hopefully get a DC run here at some point!
SIDE THOUGHT: Rich, do you think this is going to essentially end the need for MH units? Will you continue to produce them? I was thinking about this over the weekend. If the price for LED is comparable or better, and with all the seeming benefits, is there still a need for any other type in the future?
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@Mr Tee,
Thanks for the thorough review.
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Thanks for the review.
Does/will M&R make a unit for larger screens? 25x36
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Thanks for the review.
Does/will M&R make a unit for larger screens? 25x36
Yes. It's called the Star Light 3140
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Yo@Mistertees in addition to power savings, burning time etc.
How much quietter is this new toy compare to the spec unit?
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...SHORT ANSWER: yes much quieter tan what we had.
...LONG(ish) ANSWER: This question prompted me to do a little research, and I found an Android app that measures sound pressure in decibels, neat! I will try to run them both and report back with just how much quieter the Starlight is.
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so it's been roughly 2 months since the last post..
has anyone gotten one of these yet that's run a longish discharge run on it?
and/or held some really detailed halftones?
we're in MAJOR need of a 'real' exposure unit here, and I'm thinking that this is just the ticket...
(unless somebody is getting rid of a decent MH unit in the midwest for 2k or less shipped (or picked up if close enough)
Rich: what kind of lead times are on the single 23x31 units right now?
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Delivery is currently 3 weeks
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How well can the Starlight expose in the detail/process category?
(e.g 55lpi: 5%,10%,15%).
Thanks
Anthony
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How well can the Starlight expose in the detail/process category?
(e.g 55lpi: 5%,10%,15%).
Thanks
Anthony
You will find no difference in quality from our MSP3140 which is a very good unit. Holding a 2% dot @55lpi will be no problem.
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...we went from a fluo-tube unit to the Starlight, so I cannot speak to how exposure results may compare to a MH unit. I DO know we are now getting the same, if not better, results in a fraction of the time and using a fraction of the energy, which is exactly what we set out to improve on.
...we don't do much detail-oriented stuff, mostly bread-and-butter vector work. We usually set halftone dots at 50-40 lpi, depending on ink used and other variables. I can say that, last week, we exposed a 10% dot across a large area on a 200mesh with no moire at all.
...I would trust Rich here, I know he had a high-level industry guru come in specifically to test various emusions and exposure times.
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Thanks for the info Mr Tee and 244
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Does this unit have the ability to store pre set exposure times
Can it set delay for blanket draw down before exposure,
Is the vacuum pump part of the cabinet or does it live on the floor next to the machine
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Does this unit have the ability to store pre set exposure times
Can it set delay for blanket draw down before exposure,
Is the vacuum pump part of the cabinet or does it live on the floor next to the machine
The questions all relate to what you knew as the methology to expose screens in the past. You set the vacuum at 15 seconds and forget about it. There will be no need to change it as you will have full vacuum that is extremely quite by then . No need to delay before you start exposing this way. If the unit is on the stand the pump is bolted to the shelf on the leg. A change of exposure time from the one you have already set takes less than a second or two so no need for storing something you would waste more time looking for. Most users of the Starlight are not seeing much reason to be changing the amount of time the unit exposes. Some user may tell you about this.
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Great.. placing my order this week, whats ETA?
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Unless there's been an upgrade to the 2331 version of the Starlight, there's no vacuum timer on the Starlight.
you need to make sure that the vacuum is fully drawn down before you hit the start button.
also, the vacuum stays running the entire time the vacuum switch is in the on position.
on the 3140 version, there is the automatic timers.
*this is my only minor complaint on the 2331 Starlight. Other than that, it's 1000% awesomeness.
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Great.. placing my order this week, whats ETA?
The SL3140 is currently in stock and could ship in a couple of days, the smaller SL2331 will be about a week.
Ron Hopkins
NuArc Sales Mgr.
M&R Sales and Service Co.
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Great.. placing my order this week, whats ETA?
The SL3140 is currently in stock and could ship in a couple of days, the smaller SL2331 will be about a week.
Ron Hopkins
NuArc Sales Mgr.
M&R Sales and Service Co.
Hey Ron, stop by to see my new starlight and I-image and give me some pointers when you are near Rome.
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Great.. placing my order this week, whats ETA?
The SL3140 is currently in stock and could ship in a couple of days, the smaller SL2331 will be about a week.
Ron Hopkins
NuArc Sales Mgr.
M&R Sales and Service Co.
Hey Ron, stop by to see my new starlight and I-image and give me some pointers when you are near Rome.
Ron H is the man!! Good dude!
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Great.. placing my order this week, whats ETA?
I think about 4 weeks
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I just got my 2331 and it was 4 weeks to ship and then another week to arrive.
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is a 23 -31 the largest frame you can get in the blanket ?
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is a 23 -31 the largest frame you can get in the blanket ?
I would say reasonably, yes. There is quite a bit more glass space, I would say the inside dimensions of the vacuum frame are roughly 32" x 40" so a 23x31 will fit very comfortably.
The only downside I really see is that it won't accept a tri-loc from what I understand. I don't have one so I don't know the actual size of the tri-loc but it would seem like it would be at least close to fitting. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can give a better explanation of that.
It's a quality unit and I'm very pleased so far.
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is a 23 -31 the largest frame you can get in the blanket ?
I would say reasonably, yes. There is quite a bit more glass space, I would say the inside dimensions of the vacuum frame are roughly 32" x 40" so a 23x31 will fit very comfortably.
The only downside I really see is that it won't accept a tri-loc from what I understand. I don't have one so I don't know the actual size of the tri-loc but it would seem like it would be at least close to fitting. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can give a better explanation of that.
It's a quality unit and I'm very pleased so far.
Maximum screen frame size
58 x 79 cm (23" x 31")
or
79 x 102 cm (31" x 40"
These are the maximum frame sizes for our two units. The smaller unit will not handle the Tri-Loc system
but the larger unit will. Hope this helps.
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what does the smaller starlight run? PM me if it doesnt want to be posted please. thanks!
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what does the smaller starlight run? PM me if it doesnt want to be posted please. thanks!
around $5000 with crate and shipping
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what does the smaller starlight run? PM me if it doesnt want to be posted please. thanks!
around $5000 with crate and shipping
It's $4,195.00 plus 200 crating. Just a FYI
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Anatol is less expensive no?
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Anatol is less expensive no?
Buy one and see what the real savings are, bet the cost of savings is high. Stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. LOL
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Anatol is less expensive no?
Buy one and see what the real savings are, bet the cost of savings is high. Stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. LOL
bah it's all way old history your basing that on. I'll paint it blue it will last forever
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Anatol is less expensive no?
Buy one and see what the real savings are, bet the cost of savings is high. Stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. LOL
bah it's all way old history your basing that on. I'll paint it blue it will last forever
Don't forget to add the service phone number too, I think if you paint it Ford blue that is close enough.
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Lol check out the Anatol thread it's a good one
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Nice option, Tri Loc built into the exposure unit with a removable glass insert that can be removed when users upgrades to CTS? Offer it as a package deal with the press jig, pin bar, etc to get buyer started on Tri Loc right from the start.
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Anatol is less expensive no?
Buy one and see what the real savings are, bet the cost of savings is high. Stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. LOL
bah it's all way old history your basing that on. I'll paint it blue it will last forever
Companies do not change old habits over night. So that sir is yet to be proven.
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3140
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3140
*LIKE*
that was fast John, I thought you JUST ordered it? they are on their game getting these awesome units out there....we love ours, exposure issues are a thing of the past now...
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Same here, I have the CTS 3140 model and exposures are 1.5 sec. on my photopolymer, its truly amazing.
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Dirky, can your starlight shoot two screens at once, or just a single? I know 1.5 sec kinda doesn't matter if it's one or two at a time, but just curious
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honestly I don't know, I believe the answer from M&R is NO, but if its for CTS it may be possible, but like you said, its so fast, I don't even close the latches I just hold it down for 1.5 seconds
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will it zap them if the lid is open?
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will it zap them if the lid is open?
it can be rigged, but its worse than a welding arc, blinded everyone in the shop.
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hahahahahhaha
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I can attest to how bright they are when running with the lid open... definitely not something you want to look at, your you'll be seeing spots for a while afterwards.
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I did this to our tri light, easier than opening the big lid each time I need to put a couple screens in. Looks funny, but works great. I painted the inside of the wood with flat black. When I get around to it, I'm going to paint shark teeth on the outside, lol. Got that Idea from Alex hahahaha
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;D
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Hahahahahahahah, hope you are rockin over there bro!
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I did this to our tri light, easier than opening the big lid each time I need to put a couple screens in. Looks funny, but works great. I painted the inside of the wood with flat black. When I get around to it, I'm going to paint shark teeth on the outside, lol. Got that Idea from Alex hahahaha
Hey I just wanted to say thanks for posting this. I wasn't really sure how to setup our starlight for this and your approach looks like the simple way to go here.
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I`m really curious to know if there is any chance of fitting the 23x31 tri loc frame on the smaller tabletop Starlight. has anyone tried that yet. Seriously considering putting our Vastex LED into storage, unless of course they take it back, and replace it with the smaller Starlight unit.
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Pretty sure 244 posted about this before and said DONT DO IT!
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I`m really curious to know if there is any chance of fitting the 23x31 tri loc frame on the smaller tabletop Starlight. has anyone tried that yet. Seriously considering putting our Vastex LED into storage, unless of course they take it back, and replace it with the smaller Starlight unit.
I would advise against it. The free area in the blanket will be too small causing premature blanket failure. Get the larger one