Trying to point a friend in the right direction.

[Evo]

Here's a tip for ink handling:

NEVER touch the ink knife with gloves on. The ink knife handle should stay clean. Keep a clean rag on the bucket handle or one big easy on/easy off left hand glove to pick the bucket up. You should be able to scoop ink and not get a speck on your hands. This keeps you from having to stop and clean up yourself. Add it up multiple times a day and over the course of a week you might have an extra hour of printing instead of noodling at the ink bucket.


And for all that is holy, clean up the ink area.

[GraphicDisorder]

Went in a shop to see a press before buying.  There wasn't a single surface in the shop that wasn't covered in ink.  The floor all around the shop, and even worse at the press.  The dryer even had it on top, sides, belts and everything.  The sink was basically all ink.  It was everywhere. 

After I left I almost cleaned my shoes before getting in my truck. 

Wouldn't fly in my shop.  Even our ink areas are clean. 

[brandon]

This has been a constant battle for me over the past two or three years with my business partner. I understand being busy as we always are but I don't understand how people cannot relate cleanliness and organization with profitability. If you are spending 10 minutes trying to find ink or something and another 5 minutes washing your hands becuase the last person didn't clean up the press area or ink area you are wasting time which is money. So, so, soooooo tired of hearing the excuse, "It's a print shop, who cares if its dirty." Well I care but in another two weeks I will not have to carry that burden anymore. And they can throw away all the time and money they want to. Sad.

[Evo]

Work clean. Pay attention to your ink handling skills and try to avoid spilling in the first place. If you spill, wipe it up right away. It's not rocket science.

[brandon]

It's weird. I have discovered some people no matter what just cannot help but make a mess. I have seen one guy go from reclaim to pulling shirts to printing to office work and in all situations he was either soaking wet, miss counting shirts and pulling wrong PO's, covered in ink, and just totally screwing up schedules due to not being organized. Some people just cannot handle our line of work. Doesn't mean they are a bad person it just means they need to find another career. Not sure what that would be but not this one. And it also seems to me they seem to be the only people that do not recognize their own situation.

[Inkworks]

10 years ago I had a guy start and he was always up to his elbows in plastisol, then he'd wash off in the varsol parts washer. After 3 days he quit because he didn't like the smell. Lol, I was happy to see him go.

[Evo]

It's weird. I have discovered some people no matter what just cannot help but make a mess. I have seen one guy go from reclaim to pulling shirts to printing to office work and in all situations he was either soaking wet, miss counting shirts and pulling wrong PO's, covered in ink, and just totally screwing up schedules due to not being organized. Some people just cannot handle our line of work. Doesn't mean they are a bad person it just means they need to find another career. Not sure what that would be but not this one. And it also seems to me they seem to be the only people that do not recognize their own situation.

YEP.

We have that guy in the shop I work at right now. And he does all the screens. Badly.

[tonypep]

Then theres this.........an actual ink dept in a real prod setting

[Get Shirts]

Beautiful, is that your shop?

[tonypep]

No, but our plastisols our kept pretty much the same way, only in qts with the formulas laminated on the containers and organized by Pantone #. We have app 80% of all colors in the book. Printers don't dare deliver a dirty container to the ink dept. All hell breaks loose.

[Nick Bane]

Then theres this.........an actual ink dept in a real prod setting

Just the pic alone makes me calm and happy.  Its almost like those zen sand/rock garden things with the little rakes, it just looks like everything is in place and calm.  That would make me want to spend more time in the ink room! hahaha.

[tonypep]

Its generally only possible if you have the luxury of having ink staff. Its in their job descripiton to keep their work station clean at all times. Traffic is also limited to just me and the ink dept