"He who marches out of step hears another drum." ~ Ken Kesey
I use newmans with their pneumatic stretching table, and Shur-loc panels for roller frames that have the corners pre-softened. I never got really good at stretching bolt mesh, but the Shur-loc panels mount and tension up in a minute or two. I make sure there are no burrs along the leading edge of the channels, and I've never had one tear along the edge. They're not cheap, but they perform as advertised.
We do appreciate the ease of use that shurloc affords, but if we were a much smaller shop that move A LOT slower, or a larger shop with a dedicated screen tech we'd use rollers to reduce costs. If I were in your shoes I'd strongly consider finding some of the older newmans and getting great at stretching myself. Seems like it would allow you to keep those costs down.
So, here's my question:What is the difference between the Newman and the shur-loc?
The Newman is a true retensionable screen system where the Shur Loc EZ frame system is an advanced static frame. Given the option, I will always side with retensionable for the ability to re-tension the mesh back to it's optimum levels.