How long would it take you to print 3,600 shirts?

[Doug S]

We'd be a good looong day with our sportsman and 3 people.

[Printficient]

Took me about 2.5 seconds.  But to be fair I kinda combined cursive in the word "shirts".

[Shanarchy]

Small shop perspective. We're a very small shop, two people.

On an order this large, I would we would make 2 screens. And give 30 minutes to tape/register/ink the screens.

I would definitely be working with an unloader, and throw a few bucks to a friend to come in and catch at the end of the belt.

We should be running 500/hr without killing ourselves so we can run all day. 7 1/2 hours.

I'd be planning 8 hours to run this. With an additional hour on top of that for lunch/coffee/bathroom breaks. And have everyone scheduled here for a 10 hour day to make sure this was in and out in one day.

We've never had an order this large. Now I'm going to go back and read the other answers. I'm interested how far out this falls from shops doing bigger runs like this.

[Doug S]

I should've elaborated a little more.  When I said long day, I meant probably a good 10 hr day as long as there weren't too many interruptions since we have a store front.  We usually run 400 per hour because I'm slow and the only loader.  I'm trying to take into account ink reloading and a few stops for breaks.  We are a 2 person shop with a few people we can call in for part time work when needed.  I think the most we've ever ran in 1 day was a 4200 pc job.  For me that was a killer. 

[Inkworks]

This is all very interesting. It's good to know there's clearly low hanging fruit out there. We are a bit slow. None of us have worked in any other shop so we're all new to auto speed possibilities.

Finishing up the run today, we managed 1080 in 2.6 hours = 415/hr, which would be 8.8ish hours print start to finish at that speed (ignoring any snags of course). That was us trying to be about as quickly controlled as we can be. PFP, auto, zero dwell, flash walked down from 5.5 sec to 3.5 seconds. Loader, Puller, Catcher – plus me floating (I'm about a half). That is all of our employees excepting the front desk (who was also un-boxing and hauling the full boxes to the warehouse but I could have likely fit that into my floating). Breaks for smoke were taken. Breaks to de-lint (fruit of the loom 100%) UB screen. 

A couple of thoughts for you if you want a bit more speed.

Run a sticky screens on large runs, that will cut down on delinting the underbase or othe screens by about 95%. Remember every minute you spend delinting effectively costs you 3 - 3.5 minutes pay as all the employees are producing no shirts in that time, and having voids in the underbase found at unload means you've got 8/10/12+ shirts with that "flaw" in them. I know they usually aren't rejects, but still. Remove anything you can that stops or slows production. A sticky screen is a very cheap upgrade than can easily give you another press hour on a run like that (which is 3 man hours)

Flashes, your time seems high, but then I'm not familiar with your flashes. We have 11 year old Workhorse quartz flashes with bulbs old as dirt in them, and on 500+ pc runs, we're down under 2 seconds flash time, they never hold up the press. Can you lower them? upgrade them? Different, faster flashing ink?

Also, and again I don't know you press, but if we want more speed we switch the press to waterbase printing mode, and then it floods right after the print/during index instead of after the index, this buys an easy 10dz.hr if we want it.

I assume you're not double stroking? If you are explore some low mesh-count S-mesh. 135S PFP and once warmed up you shouldn't be gaining anything on a second stroke.

For us big runs are a little rare so we're better off gaining speed in set-up/teardown but with the above tricks loading/offloading ability becomes the limiting factor, and that's how I like it.

[ZooCity]

For a little more/different perspective:

If I go out and throw shirts for a shift we're doing better, sometimes significantly so.  We run 2k+ runs often enough that they aren't special and I don't work production shifts.  When we get to about 10k I'll get out there a few shifts and boost our times when I can.  Sometimes I'll even bring in a friendly prod manager from another shop to moonlight with us.  Press ops that can hang at 600-900pcs an hour without tossing the shirts off seem to be rare around here.   

An owner or a decade(s) skilled prod manager is always going to work differently from everyone else.  I don't gauge our speed on what I can do with my crew assisting but what they can do on their own, without me even present in the building.  You can count on those numbers year round.  Just some food for thought on the topic. 

[Prince Art]

Prince: “7 second dwell time, loading & pulling. Add a second person to catch/count/fold/pack at the end of the dryer. So, that's around 500/hour,  . . . With a second person on press”

wait wait wait, you could get 500/hr loading AND pulling yourself? That seems crazy.
We're at zero dwell, 2 people (plus the inker) on the press and only managing 415 (?)

No, really, that's what I did regularly. It may be related to my press vs yours? I ran an older Gauntlet that I want to say could have done over 1000 per hour. Another factor is that as I got settled in the job, I did all I could to streamline my actions, & not waste any motions. The dryer was already one swivel to the left (no wasted steps); but everyone previous put the shirt cart to the right, because there was more room. I put it to the left, in the only gap, so that I could drop a shirt on the belt, and grab the next shirt as I turned toward the press again. I also was really particular about how the shirts were stacked on the cart - they had to be very neat, no sleeves folding into each other, all tails had to be approximately flush, so that every one came off cleanly, and nothing broke my rhythm. I kid you not, there were days when I did simple 1c left chest designs at a 4 second dwell - load & pull myself.

Sound like I might be bragging? I might be, a little. Except for this: I started that job at a healthy 30, and when I left 4 years later, I was on a cane because my knee was all kinds of messed up from repetitive stress. (And tinnitus in my ears, thanks to the stupid compressor you had to yell over being 30 feet away.) So, when you see the big numbers some people post,and start doing the money math in your head, please keep that in mind. Yes, some of us can work like machines, for awhile. But we aren't machines, and a responsible employer should factor worker health into what they can realistically do. I know I'll carry that perspective with me if get to the place of employing others.

Don't mean to get preachy, exactly. I know you were looking for insight on how to get through a big job effectively, and surely want to be efficient for the future, too. And my advice on that is to look for any way you can eliminate unnecessary steps, motions, slowdowns, including anything you can do to prevent extra work. (InkWorks advice is spot on. Totally should have a lint screen on the front end, for example!) Just wanted to include a little balancing perspective as you start to set your production expectations.

[Screen Dan]

I haven't run a press in almost 7 years...but I did run a press for almost 8 years.  Gauntlet II.  For a job like this back in my day I'd say 1 10-hour shift would easily complete this with no fancy tricks.  I'd pump out 3000 prints a day pretty reliably back then, and I was the trainer for all the new guys which meant that as soon as they were trained (I got it to a 2 week regimen from complete noob to capable printer...first setup on first day) I would lose them to another press.  This meant I would run alone.  A lot.  Sometimes for months at a time.  I didn't mind.  In fact, I really enjoyed the workout, even if my knees still hate me for it.

For an 8 hour shift I'd do a couple things.  First, if I'm working with an assistant the press will be around 60-70dz/hr, non stop.  Then for re-inking and table loading I'd drop it to 45-50dz/hr and run it by myself while my assistant took care of the little stuff. 

I always wondering what my numbers would have been like on a Gauntlet 3...we didn't get that beast until years after my run in the shop.  That thing indexes like greased lightning.  We got to try one out 6 or 7 years ago at the printing competition at the Atlantic City ISS.  By the end we crept it up to 134dz/hr...and it indexed so fast it wasn't any more difficult than my Gauntlet II at 85dz/hr.  We didn't win the press, but I think we came in 4th....it was like 15 minutes and I think we printed 315 pieces with only 4 defects...I think.  It's been a while and immediately after that we went back to our room and drank all the beer to offset the gallon of coffee we chugged immediately beforehand.


Back on topic, 3000pcs can easily be done in an 8 hour shift as long as the crew works like a well oiled machine.  I once worked with a guy who ran a rickety old GT-8 with one flash, on a PFP revolver program, all by himself, and he could consistently do 3000pcs in a day.  Between the unload/load cycles he'd re-ink and reload his table.  The press would never stop spinning except for breaks and lunch.  Ever. 

I guess this is a ton of words to just say don't let the press stop spinning and work at a diligent pace.

[TH Apparel]

I haven't run a press in almost 7 years...but I did run a press for almost 8 years.  Gauntlet II.  For a job like this back in my day I'd say 1 10-hour shift would easily complete this with no fancy tricks.  I'd pump out 3000 prints a day pretty reliably back then, and I was the trainer for all the new guys which meant that as soon as they were trained (I got it to a 2 week regimen from complete noob to capable printer...first setup on first day) I would lose them to another press.  This meant I would run alone.  A lot.  Sometimes for months at a time.  I didn't mind.  In fact, I really enjoyed the workout, even if my knees still hate me for it.

For an 8 hour shift I'd do a couple things.  First, if I'm working with an unloader the press will be around 60-70dz/hr, non stop.  Then for re-inking and table loading I'd drop it to 45-50dz/hr and run it by myself while my assistant took care of the little stuff. 

I always wondering what my numbers would have been like on a Gauntlet 3...we didn't get that beast until years after my run in the shop.  That thing indexes like greased lightning.  We got to try one out 6 or 7 years ago at the printing competition at the Atlantic City ISS.  By the end we crept it up to 134dz/hr...and it indexed so fast it wasn't any more difficult than my Gauntlet II at 85dz/hr.  We didn't win the press, but I think we came in 4th....it was like 15 minutes and I think we printed 315 pieces with only 4 defects...I think.  It's been a while and immediately after that we went back to our room and drank all the beer to offset the gallon of coffee we chugged immediately beforehand.


Back on topic, 3000pcs can easily be done in an 8 hour shift as long as the crew works like a well oiled machine.  I once worked with a guy who ran a rickety old GT-8 with one flash, on a PFP revolver program, all by himself, and he could consistently do 3000pcs in a day.  Between the unload/load cycles he'd re-ink and reload his table.  The press would never stop spinning except for breaks and lunch.  Ever. 

I guess this is a ton of words to just say don't let the press stop spinning and work at a diligent pace.

I remember that print challenge.  I'd like to see more events like that at trade shows.  I was unloading(with our shop supervisor at the time).  We were the first people to go.  I think we only ran at like 70 doz/hour...not great at all.

[Croft]

on our air 6 col sportsman we would be at around 43doz an hour, with shooting screens setup printing smoke breaks 9.5 hrs, so a day and complete by 10 the next morning 2 people

[Gabe]

On a manual press would take aprox. 32hrs.

[Inkworks]

Lmao,  It was 2 runs of 6 color - 200pcs and a run of 6 col. front and back 600pcs. for a customer in 95degree summer weather that pushed me over the edge to get an auto.... and a shop with AC!

[bimmridder]

Wandering a bit here, but I think I was at the first print off at an open house at M&R. Rich was so impressed with a team that had never even printed on an auto. They finished so far back, but he gave them an auto too. All those years ago, building relationships.

[GKitson]

Wandering a bit here, but I think I was at the first print off at an open house at M&R. Rich was so impressed with a team that had never even printed on an auto. They finished so far back, but he gave them an auto too. All those years ago, building relationships.

We had a team in that printout, I took the whole staff with spouses, about 20 people.  Hell of a nice party. Also did Medieval times with the staff on that trip, I think I still have the M&R participation plaque and a cheesy paper cut out crown in our art department someplace as memories from that trip.  Shirts were donated to a make a wish type charity at WDW, another class M&R decision.

Think my guys finished in the middle of the pack, 5 or 6th if I remember correctly.

I remember the rookies and they were quite impressive, no bad habits and yes Mr H blew away the crowd when he announced the E for effort award was an automatic press, If memory serves me correctly they were from Las Vegas.

Thats one of the great things about being an old fart, you get to re-live great memories like this one.

BTW we would schedule the 3600 piece job for one shift and expect them to be done early and pump out a couple of other smaller jobs.

[Ross_S]

"BTW we would schedule the 3000 piece job for one shift and expect them to be done early and pump out a couple of other smaller jobs."

I agree with you on this Greg.  A shop your size with the employees could do this in 5.5-6 hours and still knock out a few more orders.  Look forward to making it over there soon.