New to Newmans

[gotshirtz001]

Appreciate the advice from all sides. I am not opposed to statics and S-mesh but there is something appealing about having the flexibility to fix busted screens without sending them out. 

This is my side hustle and I only have 1-2 days per week in the shop.


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Mine is a tiny shop, just me over 90% of the time. Having used Newman's at a previous job, I figured I'd eventually move to using them here. But the longer I'm at this, the more I realize how valuable my time is, and the more I see the need to streamline. It gets hard wearing ALL the hats! When weighing retensionables vs statics, I realized I'd rather outsource my screenmaking (by using statics) than add the maintenance of newmans to my own to-do list. For how seldom I bust screens, the price of replacements is pretty friendly considering the amount of time it saves.

So, I think you got a good price on the Newman equipment, but I encourage you to consider whether it's really the most productive choice for your shop.

Seems like the deck is stacking toward statics. Very interesting.

Thanks for the advice. Very helpful.


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[screenxpress]

How about this?

Mesh a dozen (or so) and use them along with your statics.  See how long the Newmans last vs. the statics.  I saw where some above mentioned retensioning between jobs.  I don't do that.  I tension them 3 times before use and by then they stay until they break.  I'm just a small guy now but I'm 95+% Newmans.

[Doug S]

One small tip if you've never tensioned them before is to stop about 6 newtons before you reach the desired tension because when you torque the bolts the mesh will reach the tension after tightening especially with s mesh.  Atleast that's what I've noticed with a rollermaster. 

[blue moon]

we gave up Newmans after trying on several occasions to get them going. The maintenance was too much. We went back to EZ frames and are happy with it. We can restrech here in house and the tension is great.
My suggestion would be to try the Newmans and see what you think. If you decide to get rid of them later you will get more than you paid for them. No risk at all . . .

pierre

[Atownsend]

The way I see it, the time is getting spent one way or another. We're either going to put it in in prepress by building & maintaining our screen library, or were going to pay for it on press with slower than needed setups. Id rather pay for it in prepress. Setups go so quicker when screens are at similar tensions in the 24-28N range. The flexibility of being able to use whatever mesh count I want, from any manufacturer is huge to me. It gives us real control, and to me that is a competitive advantage in the marketplace. For me personally it takes 4-5 mins or less per screen to reten and flatten a screen on our shurloc table. From start to finish on a fresh frame we're looking at 10-15 mins. Group like tasks together, cut all of your mesh, position all your rollers, mesh all of your screens and roll so you dont have to switch gears and you'll be surprised how quick you can go. Biggest thing for speed is grouping like tasks...

There is a learning curve, and it is a lot of work to get the library up. But once its up, its well worth it, esp with thin thread. Some of that mesh is so fragile... with mesh protectors on the newmans the mesh never touches the edges of the rack. If we ran statics w/ thin thread I'd be crying all the time. When we do pop screens it sucks, but I know I can get that screen back into production quick if needed without having to ship an aluminum frame. We get rolls of mesh from NBC quite inexpensively. Its more cost effective in my shop to cut bolt mesh and get that frame back up than it is to ship big boxes of aluminum frames on the reg. Been running bolt mesh in MZX ULS for 5 yrs and would not go back.

Also, the mesh protectors from jessup screen supply are the jam FYI. Would not run them without em.

That's just my experience. Do what you think works best for you and your shop. I dove in deep and its been a great ride. That being said, I dove in deep with newmans, so the glasses in which I view this might be skewed.

[gotshirtz001]

Great info. Much appreciated.


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[BP]

Atomnsend Great points, I can never can understand why someone would go back to static frame? The thing I have used for the past 20 years is white Polygon tape.

https://www.liveactionsafety.com/polygon-white-duct-tape-premium/

[screenxpress]

Atomnsend Great points, I can never can understand why someone would go back to static frame? The thing I have used for the past 20 years is white Polygon tape.

https://www.liveactionsafety.com/polygon-white-duct-tape-premium/

Is that the white tape that is almost impossible to pull off without leaving a boatload of sticky behind?

Reason I ask is many of the used Newmans I got were loaded with a thick stiff white tape that left the worst glue residue behind.

Also how does that tape do during reclaiming?

[BP]

Reclaiming is no problem with a dip tank. The residue can be cleaned off.

[RICK STEFANICK]

Atomnsend Great points, I can never can understand why someone would go back to static frame? The thing I have used for the past 20 years is white Polygon tape.

https://www.liveactionsafety.com/polygon-white-duct-tape-premium/

Is that the white tape that is almost impossible to pull off without leaving a boatload of sticky behind?

Reason I ask is many of the used Newmans I got were loaded with a thick stiff white tape that left the worst glue residue behind.

Also how does that tape do during reclaiming?

We used that tape thru the 90's and beyond. A lot of people left it on thru the reclaim process back then. In my opinion it's way overkill as the daily screen tape. We use the natural rubber tape and it pulls with no residue. I do know people that put a small strip on the back of newman's though.

[3Deep]

I only have a handful of newmans now and my problem was getting the mesh square, so I'm like other guys here stats 95%, but one thing I don't think anyone mention is to watch for burbs and sharp edges that might cut your exposure blanket.  I had a very small hole in my blanket and could not for the world of me figure out why until a reclaim and it cut my finger from that frame, but once you get dial in your experience might be great using them.

[Homer]

Atomnsend Great points, I can never can understand why someone would go back to static frame? The thing I have used for the past 20 years is white Polygon tape.

https://www.liveactionsafety.com/polygon-white-duct-tape-premium/

honestly? because we're lazy and don't know how to use them properly......

everything is a system. if you have the knowledge on how to use them, teach your guys how to use them properly, I'm sure you can fly through the tensioning process so it doesn't become a huge drag. More you do it, better you'll be. We only spent a year working with them, I saw better results with Static S mesh -because we lacked knowledge on how to use them properly and I ran our of patience-  so I said eff it, sell'em all and let's not over complicate things...properly tensioned S mesh statics work for us. Reclaim is easier, the screens are easier to handle, they just fit our system better....

[Doug S]

The 1st 6 months "maybe because I'm a slow learner" I did a lot of cussing fooling with newmans.  Once I semi got the hang of it, it still took time but I got faster.  To me there is nothing better then printing with them when I use them especially on higher end jobs.  It's then that you see the time invested is worth it.   I know honestly that I wouldn't have time to go 100% newmans unless I could find a way to work harden them the first stretch. 

I was talking to a shop owner before I ever bought my first set of them and asked him his opinion of the newmans and he told me that they were no better.  I asked him how many times he had to stop and re-tension and he told me that he never had.  Well, there ya go. 

[RICK STEFANICK]

Dave Filip the owner of Bimm Ridder apparel is the WORLDS biggest roller frame fan and advocate. Dave and I have went round and round over this. I would recommend that anyone using them or that has made a commitment to using them contact him. Just to be clear I AM IN NO WAY ENDORSING THEM AND THE HEADACHE THEY CREATE but dave has the system down( 20 years) to a fine process and all his screens are within 2-3 newtons of each other, Talking to Dave will reduce your learning curve i guarantee that.

[dirkdiggler]

I used them for 14 years, and I CAN build them perfectly.  Here is the issue....IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SPEND THE TIME RETENSIONING, THEN YOU HAVE A GLORIFIED STATIC!  SIMPLE AS THAT!