screen printing > Equipment
Automatics...
whitewater:
About Brown auto's..they are electric while m&r use a compressor....
why is one better than the other?
wouldn't it just be a lot less expensiver to just get the all electric one instead of the compressor and what not?
alan802:
--- Quote from: whitewater on May 20, 2011, 02:34:46 PM ---About Brown auto's..they are electric while m&r use a compressor....
why is one better than the other?
wouldn't it just be a lot less expensiver to just get the all electric one instead of the compressor and what not?
--- End quote ---
I think that having an all electric press is fine and all, but I think you'd lose some control you have over the print process and the print settings. Our press uses air to lift the carousel, and it also uses air in the squeegee/floodbar chopper cylinders to control overall print pressure. I think having control of the air pressure within those chopper cylinders is very valuable to dialing in the perfect print pressure. I'm not sure how the all electric machines accomplish this.
I don't know if m&r or anyone of that caliber would be interested in building an "all electric" machine. I know this subject has been touched on before but not into much detail. Using a combination of air and electricity is the way most major manufacturers of production minded machines go about it but I'm not certain of the actual reasoning behind it. I'm sure there are factors such as cost, reliability, quality, production capabilities, all to varying degrees that have guided most manufacturers to build the machines the way they do today, I just wish I knew exactly why that is.
I'm not trying to put down the Brown Electraprint, I admire what they do and the niche they fill, but their machines aren't as heavily geared to big time production shops as m&r, rpm, progressive or anatol's full lineup of presses. I think that using the right combination of air and electricity to power the machines produces a better screen printing press, or at least what I know about automatics lends me to believe that to be true. The all electrics are perfect for that smaller shop that does "smaller" runs and has limited production space and limited air requirements. I've seen some mighty fine prints that came from a brown electraprint so I know they are fully capable to producing a quality print consistently. I certainly have no idea what kind of production numbers the brown's are capable of, or any other all electric press for that matter, but the robust numbers that air/electric presses can do are staggering and I would be willing to bet a small chunk of change that the all electrics can't produce that type of heavy production over a long period of time.
Whether or not the Brown or an all electric equivalent is the right fit is very shop specific. My comments above aren't meant to say the Brown can't handle doing thousands of prints a day, several hundred thousand prints a year because I don't know for sure, but I know for sure you could do that with a diamondback, sportsman, horizon, stratus, titan, revolution, falcon, hurricane, etc. Now would the shop considering a smaller entry level machine need that type of production capability that some of the other presses can provide? Should you consider what kind of production numbers you'll need to do in 5 years?
If the first year you have the auto you're only doing one job a day, 5-10 jobs per week, 36-72 pieces, almost any auto on the market would handle that, but in 2016 you might have a completely different business and could be doing 25-30 jobs a week, 100+ pieces per order, 5-6 colors on darks consistently, and I'm just not sure some of the smaller entry level autos would be the right choice then. I think they could probably handle that workload, but not as well as a more robust machine could.
So much to think about. So Whitewater, what type of business do you see yourself having 5 years from now? I think you can buy an auto for what you need right now, but it's such a big expense, an investment that you might want to buy based on what you think you'll need 2-3 years down the road. I know lot's of businesses never reach those goals they set for themselves, and you can always buy enough press to get you through till it's time to step up to a bigger one, and that might be the safest way to go about it. I think we bought ours with both thoughts in mind. It would handle anything we needed it to do then, and knew that it could handle a larger workload as well when we needed it to.
I realize I probably didn't clear anything up and didn't answer the question as to why one type of press is better than the other, but oh well, I love talking autos.
Sparkie:
I just had a Brown ElectraPrint installed last month. I am a small one man shop and the ElectraPrint is a perfect fit for me.
For production numbers, to this point I've cut my print times by about one/third. I'm still learning the ins and outs of this machine and I'm confident I will do better. It will print faster than one man can pull and load shirts, so it's only as fast as I am at any given time.
The squeegee pressure is adjusted manually with a turn knob at either side above each squeegee. Squeegee angle is adjustable by loosening 2 set screws and adjusting the angle by hand. I'm still learning optimal angles and pressures and it's getting easier/faster/more accurate with each job.
The only bad prints the ElectraPrint has produced thus far have been due to operator error. There is a slight learning curve when moving from manual to auto so make sure you have a few extra shirts for your first few orders. ;)
I have no other auto experience but in the end it's my guess that the ElectraPrint requires a little more hands on approach on for settings and adjustments than does an air assisted auto. All-in-all I am very pleased with my ElectraPrint. :)
Do your research and see as many auto's in action as you can. If you're ever in the Cleveland OH area, let me know and I'll be happy to let you take the ElectraPrint for a spin.
alan802:
Good info Sparkie
whitewater:
Thanks guys...
I really don't want something I have to upgrade in a couple years. I've built my business from the basement of my apartment. I am rocking out at the moment!
Last year i had an employee work 40 hours a week on the manual, but just couldn't produce any more to make the business more profitable. So I downscaled and I am back to myself. (with a screen reclaimer). I am sucking it up and taking the money I would have spent on the employee and using it for a downpayment on an automatic.
I do have space issues at the moment but I will just have to deal.
I don't want to sell an automatic and buy another one a few years down the road...It just seems like a pain in the ass.
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