Explain to me how Shurloc panels save money

[islandtees]

Im trying to understand some posts I have read that make that claim.
I will give a example and tell me where I am wrong.
I am stetching 6 23 x 31 M3 frames. Im using 3 yards 230 yellow sefar mesh. I get 2 frames per yard.(62" wide mesh) I pay $26.00 per yard. I know Shurloc  pays way less than that per yard with volume discount. I have a Newman air stretch table.
I have $78.00 in mesh. The employee wage at $10.00 per hour. Lets say it took him a 2 hours to stretch 6 screens.(which would be insane because it doesnt take 2 hrs on a table to do this) I would be investing $78.00 plus $20.00 for a total of $98.00.
The Shurloc website shows the same panels for $27.14 x 6 would give you $162.84. Lets say labor savings which seems to be the biggest claim,was 30 minutes for $5.00. Im being generous with that labor figure. Total $167.84
$167.84 minus $98.00 is $69.84. Im spending almost $70.00 more after covering material and labor expense. The labor number of 2 hrs  is also not even close for stretching 6 frames,so Im giving the panels the benefit of the dought.
So what am I missing. Remember this is only for 6 frames. If we did the example for the 36 I have left to do the numbers would be staggering. Im also using $26.00 per yard mesh. When we buy the bolt the per yard price also drops,again making the gap widen more. If we purchase the cheaper Italian mesh from Sonny the numbers become ridiculous.
In conclusion,I cant see how I save money using the panels.

[Fresh Baked Printing]

Don't forget that time is money too. I use Newmans but my understanding is that panels can be applied much faster. Perhaps that's one panel advantage.
Also, breakage is less common with panels, again saving money.

[Frog]

Here is an entire thread devoted to this subject.

http://www.theshirtboard.com/index.php?topic=544.0

[pwalsh]

Islandtees:  Bottom line, Shurloc panels aren’t for everyone, and from what you’ve posted here it sounds like your shop already has a Newman Roller Master Stretching Table, with an employee or employees who know how to use it.  Secondly it sounds like you are processing a fairly high number of Newman Roller frames.  Given that you’ve made such a large investment in the Roller Frames and an automatic stretching table I’m going to guess that you also have processes in your shop to keep the frames maintained and stretched at optimum tension levels throughout the life of the mesh. 

If this is an accurate description of your shop and the processes that you use, then I’d agree that Shurloc panels are not going to provide a real lot of benefit, and will cost you more money than using bolt mesh. The thing is that a lot of companies don’t have the automatic stretching table and/or the skilled employees to load the fabric and stretch it properly.  Because this process is such a hassle for many shops, they also tend to stretch the mesh once and then use it without re-tensioning throughout the life of the mesh.  Simply put they use their Roller Frames in exactly the same way that many other printers use static stretch and glue frames.

This is a real shame after they have invested so much in Roller Frames to begin with.  These are the companies where Shurloc panels are a great solution as it allows them to achieve high tension frames with properly loaded mesh that can be maintained and re-tensioned throughout its useable life.  And, at this point the savings go way beyond just the cost of inserting the mesh into the frame, and extend into the benefits of improved productivity on press, and enhanced print quality. 

[islandtees]

pwalsh,
Ok,so Im not crazy. You have described our shop to the T.
In our case the panels are not worth it. That is what I thought but just wanted to be sure I was not missing something.

[islandtees]

Don't forget that time is money too. I use Newmans but my understanding is that panels can be applied much faster. Perhaps that's one panel advantage.
Also, breakage is less common with panels, again saving money.

I took the labor and figured it in with my numbers.
The time is money doesnt work for me with panels. I still come out way ahead with bolt mesh and the table.
Breakage is not a concern since we know how to soften and stretch the screens.
I cant remember the last time a screen poped while stretching.

[Lizard]

Island,

You math is skewed.  You can actually get 6 screens out of two yards of mesh.  Savings just got better.   

[inkbrigade]

In our scenario the savings is time. I'm the only person that can mesh the frames. We're so busy our 1 employee doesn't have time to do or learn it. So what happens is mesh breaks and frames (which we badly need) sit around waiting to get remeshed.
With the panels, i just throw them on, put it up on the roller master and we're good to go in a few minutes. So if i promise myself to deal with a frame right when it breaks, we have all our frames up and running all the time.
Instead of sitting in a corner waiting for me to come in to work on a saturday and spend all day dealing with it.
Like i said, works great for us. Maybe not for everyone.

[tpitman]

One thing not mentioned here is having ShurLoc make panels from your bolt mesh. I picked up some Sefar mesh on eBay from a guy that was going out of business at a really good price. 156, 195, and 230. Sent the mesh to ShurLoc and they made up panels at about $7.00 each, regardless of mesh count. They also got more panels out of the mesh than I'd have gotten tearing and loading it myself. I won't say its a giveaway, but for me it was very cost effective. I applaud those who have gotten working with bolt mesh down to where they're getting max tension without tearing, but for myself, I've ripped as much out of a bolt than I get loaded successfully and tensioned up towards the high end of the specified tolerances. ShurLoc panels have never failed me, shy of bumping against a sharp corner. JMHO.

[jsheridan]

Island,

You math is skewed.  You can actually get 6 screens out of two yards of mesh.  Savings just got better.   

Manual 18 x 20's maybe, not 23x31. You can only get 2 screens per yard for 23x31's

[DouglasGrigar]

One thing not mentioned here is having ShurLoc make panels from your bolt mesh. I picked up some Sefar mesh on eBay from a guy that was going out of business at a really good price. 156, 195, and 230. Sent the mesh to ShurLoc and they made up panels at about $7.00 each, regardless of mesh count. They also got more panels out of the mesh than I'd have gotten tearing and loading it myself. I won't say its a giveaway, but for me it was very cost effective. I applaud those who have gotten working with bolt mesh down to where they're getting max tension without tearing, but for myself, I've ripped as much out of a bolt than I get loaded successfully and tensioned up towards the high end of the specified tolerances. ShurLoc panels have never failed me, shy of bumping against a sharp corner. JMHO.

Don’t forget that you can remove the panel and re- insert it (not necessarily with art on the mesh) and switch mesh willy-nilly as you need to per job.

It could also let you postpone or eliminate the reclaiming.... keeping you on press longer.

[tpitman]

Don’t forget that you can remove the panel and re- insert it (not necessarily with art on the mesh) and switch mesh willy-nilly as you need to per job.

It could also let you postpone or eliminate the reclaiming.... keeping you on press longer.

I've done that with some 110 panels I rarely use. Thanks for bringing that feature up.

[Lizard]

Island,

You math is skewed.  You can actually get 6 screens out of two yards of mesh.  Savings just got better.   

Manual 18 x 20's maybe, not 23x31. You can only get 2 screens per yard for 23x31's

I cut my mesh at 24" all the time.  I think there is 36" in a yard.

[Printficient]

Our 230 Dyed mesh is 10.50 per yard.

[islandtees]

Our 230 Dyed mesh is 10.50 per yard.

If this mesh is Saati,I would save about $116.00 over the panels using my original figures. Please verify if this is Saati.