Pc per hour?

[3Deep]

As I read some the post and topics I notice one thing is always in the mix ( I can print 300,500 ,600) pc's per hour.  That topic seems fuel the debate over who builds the most efficient press for production speed to knock out jobs.  Now I really can't join that debate because I know we don't print 200 or 300 pc per hour everyday or any that I know, even though we do print large orders.  I guess which might be me thinking this and I could be very wrong, but some of you sound like your printing 1000's of shirts per run, when I do the math and look at the industry in a whole there are few companies I think that can say that.  Are we just tossing out numbers of what we can do if needed or are we actually doing those numbers for real in our shop on a daily base.

darryl

[Prosperi-Tees]

When we are printing we are doing between 250-300 per hour, I just wish that was all day everyday.

[prozyan]

I don't know if pieces printed per hour means you are actually doing that many pieces but is more of a way of measuring speed.  Much like you can drive 60 miles per hour without driving either 60 miles or for an hour.

For example, I print at an average of 300 pieces per hour.  I use this and know this because it helps me determine how much press time a job will consume.  I know I can have a 100 piece order on and off the press in about 20 mins and that a 600 piece order will take a little over 2 hours (simply because I take a small break every hour of printing).

[jvanick]

I like to keep track of our numbers so I know how long jobs will take too...

with somebody moving ink around for me, somebody unloading and a catcher at the end of the dryer, we've clocked 400/hr, and honestly for me and our Javelin, that was flying... I'm sure with practice we could get it faster...

our current 'cruise' rate when I don't have to think about anything is about 350 an hour... solo, drops down to 150-180/hr tops.

[ABuffington]

I used to own the mammoth SA MHM brown presses with an earth shaking pneumatic drive.  We did lots of WB/Discharge with it and we were lucky to hit 350pcs per hour on an 10 color job. Plastisol was even slower due to pneumatic heads.  Today's newer Servo driven presses with AC drive heads can double that and deliver even better print quality. For most domestic shops in the US the volume per hour seems driven by order amounts and pushing the pedal to the metal isn't as important, especially in owner operator shops where labor may not be as much of an issue.  Large domestic printers and offshore printers live and die by daily print totals.  With wages in the US high and print prices off shore very low, the need to hit high daily production totals is crucial.  50 pieces less per hour can have a significant impact on the profits.  Production can be a tortoise and a hare story.  Quite often the tortoise running comfortably at 500 pcs per hour can finish sooner than trying to max out the hourly production.  Too often the loader and help is ignored in the quest to hit high hourly totals when the only one that matters is how many were done at the end of the shift to pay for X amount of labor costs. A loader can burn out easily at 700pcs per hour and mis-load, poor print placement, pallets overheating, rejects and any number of other issues.  Some of the best companies I have visited view it as a marathon run, and rotate employees, and use a floating crew so the press doesn't need to stop during a water or bathroom break.  The biggest area we found to increase daily yield was the first hour of the day, and the first hour after lunch.  On non stop printing those hourly totals were half of normal.  Mostly due to stiff inks, and cold pallets.  Warming up the pallets for 15 minutes by letting the press cycle before shift and after lunch punched up numbers by 400/day. 

It is a shame the large hits go offshore.  We are seeing a slight change in that.  LA used to have monster print runs back in the 80's and 90's, that all went to China or Central America, but stores are buying closer and closer to market and eliminating lead times to the absolute shortest time from order to the racks in the store.  I see production picking up in the US with larger runs that are slowly migrating back to the US.  Shipping costs a ton from Central America and espeically China.  The price gap is narrowing.  Fast sampling and quick turn can still get large orders where an offshore company can struggle.

Hopefully this trend continues and run length increases.  Never too late to start your own line of clothing and approach the majors.  Its not that hard.


Al

[tonypep]

It is shifting. The fitness apparel group I mentioned in another post does huge manufacturing from the ground up (yoga pants, sports bras as well as fashion pieces; they make their own garments). All off shore. Huge runs and long lead times. This year they recognized the need for shorter runs (quite large for most of us), and quicker turns using off the shelf garments domestically. Totally new concept for them. Also they couldn't do things like trim matching and color coordinating in discharge offshore. They don't have the control and/or knowledge. A major apparel mfg whom you all know recommended us. Called right out of the blue. We are now running domestic programs for them quite successfully. So things like that do happen
Al: gotta respectfully disagree about the clothing line thing being easy. Been doing it for a very long time and I can tell you; if you want it to be successful and financially meaningful it is not. Coming up with a few cool designs and samples is just the very, very beginning.

[starchild]

The reason why demand for closer to home productions are rising is because printing a line long ahead of the season is becoming less favorable as customers are on the constant look out for the next new thing to fill that insatiable appetite for individuality and uniqueness. Brands now have to fill gaps throughout a season regularly with new offers, where once, a complete line for a season would've suffice..

[3Deep]

  I'd hate to ride a car with some of you guys....

[Dottonedan]

The reason why demand for closer to home productions are rising is because printing a line long ahead of the season is becoming less favorable as customers are on the constant look out for the next new thing to fill that insatiable appetite for individuality and uniqueness. Brands now have to fill gaps throughout a season regularly with new offers, where once, a complete line for a season would've suffice..

As my old friend Jeremy Duncan wouldsay, "that's on point".

[Inkworks]

Al: gotta respectfully disagree about the clothing line thing being easy. Been doing it for a very long time and I can tell you; if you want it to be successful and financially meaningful it is not. Coming up with a few cool designs and samples is just the very, very beginning.

Like I tell customers, custom clothing lines work at two sizes, very small, or very large, it's trying to get from one to the other that kills 95% of people who try it.

[tonypep]

I could post volumes on this subject

[ABuffington]

 Off subject on pcs per hour, but an empty press can still create a line: Clothing lines are like the lottery, you spend lots of money only at a chance of success.  Still if your shop is up and rolling and the art department has some concepts a roll of the dice can pay off sometimes.  We found that there are niche markets like beach cover ups, woman's wear plus sizing, holiday designs, and children's wear that are easier than coming in with a young men's or juniors line where the big brands dominate.  Stores save money for trendy upstarts to see if they sell through quickly, sometimes a line does catch fire, more often than not every season is a battle to get sales.  The internet is changing a lot of the consumer buying habits and direct to garment is a stepping stone to a small inventory run, to retail sales at events, to gain exposure in a defined market like surf, skate, extreme sports, etc.  Selling to the dept stores requires millions in cash or credit to fulfill.  Nothing like having a couple hundred thousand shirts printed with all partners houses up as collateral on a 30 day note and the buyer moves out the ship date 4 months, oh and they want advertising to support it and by next season you are back in line at square one.  Yeah, suddenly those soccer leagues look a lot better. Having said that the Quiksilver's, Volcom's, Nike's, and so many others started small and became huge. 

[tonypep]

Sums it up pretty well. We own several lines (one of them is more than 20 ys old), all discharge with some twists (but you knew that!). To keep it going strong we exhibit at Trade shows, have rep groups, are heavy on merchandising materials, and work 365 on new development to keep it fresh. The garments are custom dyed to our specs, have a summer and fall collection, and are altered from season to season depending on trend. Which we study a lot. Both within our lines and in fashion in general. Much, much more to it than that but suffice to say it takes a lot of work and dedication.
That said we've also had some great ideas that turned out to be ginormous fails!

[GaryG]

Tony you've come full circle.
Must be nice to come back to a place you love,
be successful and be able to experiment too!

[tonypep]

Thanks. It also quite awesome to have a tremendous staff. Plus you can't throw a rock around here without hitting a pretty girl. Barth knows what I mean.
Have a great weekend