Before You Went LED, What Were You Using?

[Screened Gear]

To say LEDs will take over the market in the future is pointless. If LEDs take over the market it will not be the LEDs we have now. It will be the LEDs of the future with major improvements and all the bugs worked out. It is good that people are wanting more from the manufactures. That is how you get better equipment. To say that we have to deal with lost information on our screens with LEDs is just insane.

[RGB]

   Its not pointless... The tech may not have the bugs worked out of it yet, but rest assured leds will be industry standard in our lifetime.

[RGB]

   And furthermore.... I would also be of the opinion of, Someone who saw it coming, got in early, and understood its shortcomings and sequential improvements of not only the unit, but the chems involved with making the best screen.... Would be a industry leader, Making money while the competition was floundering with the "NEW SYSTEM".

[ericheartsu]

Alan, if you want, PM me and you can come play around on our STE II and do some testing. I'm no where near as thorough as you with notation, but we RARELY ever have screen breakdowns. In Fact I'd assume once we get our auto coater, It'll be even less!

I'd be really interested to see if the STE is doing anything different than yours.

I'd love the chance to pick your brain about EOM and coating too.

[244]

I will see about getting that for you. Even better send me a file of your own for us to try.

I'll make it even easier and send yous guys a film and a quart of our emulsion. We use SP-1400.
Is there any way for you to test durability after exposure?

we will send you the screen to test yourself. Send the digital file as well

[Frog]

This was just too cool to pass up. I checked in and Bazinga! here's 244 making the 244th reply on this thread!

[244]

This was just too cool to pass up. I checked in and Bazinga! here's 244 making the 244th reply on this thread!

Wow! That's cool! I will say this and  back out. We as a major manufacturer of exposure equipment will state without doubt LED is not only the future but now as well. Our NuArc division used to produce over 45 MV units per month on a regular basis. That has been replaced with LED to the tune of 90% with LED. It will even be more shortly due to customer demand. Quite a few emulsion companies have came to NuArc and done testing and were surprised from the results. It's just like a bucket of plastisol. The ink manufacturer states on the bucket two minutes retention time at a certain temperature to cover their butts for cure issues. Emulsion manufacturers are going to tell you what has worked successfully in the past to be safe. It's a new world. Learn and accept it or stY where you are safe and let others take a step ahead. There is always a choice. We as a mNufacturer will not post information our competitors lack. Come to our plant and we will be happy to demonstrate the results all day in a scientific way as well as real life.

[Screen Dan]

To say LEDs will take over the market in the future is pointless. If LEDs take over the market it will not be the LEDs we have now. It will be the LEDs of the future with major improvements and all the bugs worked out. It is good that people are wanting more from the manufactures. That is how you get better equipment. To say that we have to deal with lost information on our screens with LEDs is just insane.

While I agree 100% that it will not be the LEDs we have now...and I'm sure LED has already taken over the market for all new mid-sized and up shops, LCD took over for CRT and aside from size, weight and power reductions it took over a decade for LCD to get close to the quality and flexibility of CRTs.  Hell, the prevalent audio format is MP3...a subset of the prevalent video format, MPEG. 

All of these things have one thing in common; they lose (sometimes massive amounts) of information.  That is actually their strength.  Now, with 10-20 years of development behind these technologies they are finally getting as good as and in some scenarios better than what they replaced...

...and I think LED will follow the same path.  After another 5 to 10 years of development we'll think we were insane for not changing over sooner.

I have been following this thread extremely closely as I have the itch to switch but from all I've read so far I think another year or five of development is required.  (I'm playing it super safe even though I apparently have the most ideal set of variables on my side given my run sizes, durability requirements and the emulsion I use.)

Thanks for all of the thought and conversation in this thread guys.  I'll continue to follow it until the bitter end.

[ebscreen]

we will send you the screen to test yourself. Send the digital file as well

Now we're talking. We use the presses that are slightly lighter blue in color and require pins.
Will that be an issue?

[ebscreen]

While I agree 100% that it will not be the LEDs we have now...and I'm sure LED has already taken over the market for all new mid-sized and up shops, LCD took over for CRT and aside from size, weight and power reductions it took over a decade for LCD to get close to the quality and flexibility of CRTs.  Hell, the prevalent audio format is MP3...a subset of the prevalent video format, MPEG. 

All of these things have one thing in common; they lose (sometimes massive amounts) of information.  That is actually their strength.  Now, with 10-20 years of development behind these technologies they are finally getting as good as and in some scenarios better than what they replaced...

...and I think LED will follow the same path.  After another 5 to 10 years of development we'll think we were insane for not changing over sooner.

I have been following this thread extremely closely as I have the itch to switch but from all I've read so far I think another year or five of development is required.  (I'm playing it super safe even though I apparently have the most ideal set of variables on my side given my run sizes, durability requirements and the emulsion I use.)

Thanks for all of the thought and conversation in this thread guys.  I'll continue to follow it until the bitter end.

Interesting analogy/parallel. I'm feverishly clutching to my vinyl records and letterpressed business cards though.
And while my carbureted inline six won't die, I wouldn't argue with a more efficient boat motor.

[244]

we will send you the screen to test yourself. Send the digital file as well

Now we're talking. We use the presses that are slightly lighter blue in color and require pins.
Will that be an issue?

No issue

[T Shirt Farmer]

Sean,

LMK when you get the screen I would love to come up and watch you print this 2% dot.

[GraphicDisorder]

Has someone actually said they could for certain print a 2% dot on a shirt?  I missed that if so.

[Screened Gear]

2% dot for one shop maybe a 12 percent dot for another shop, not even talking LPI here. Unless you have calibrated your output you have no idea what a real  2% dot is. Pierre can add more on this. If a manufacture said they can hold a 2% dot what did they say they can hold it on...film, screen or shirt. Each one of those is steps in the process to calibrate the dots. A 2% dot on film could be a 4% dot on the shirt. A true 2% dot on the shirt would have to be less then a 2% dot size on film or even with the direct to screen process. Ink gain, even if you think you have non, is there. Fighting to hold a 2% dot is a goal. It will make you a better printer but needing to hold a 2% dot is borderline insane and unrealistic all the time.

[T Shirt Farmer]

Has someone actually said they could for certain print a 2% dot on a shirt?  I missed that if so.

Yes the other Blue puppet was threatening to post pics of 2% on a Gildan or something... I hear there is a screen with 2% dots headed to Northern California for testing... stand by.. you might learn something