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screen printing => Screen Making => Topic started by: Zelko-4-EVA on April 29, 2014, 02:47:06 PM
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our film output machine (Autotype Aspect / Roland FJ-600) is in need of replacement soon so we are looking into purchasing either an ST or STE.
we print about 400 to 800 new films per month
we process about 100 to 150 screens per day
two of our autos are M&R and the other two autos are Anatol, we have one 10 color chameleon
screens are a mixture of 23x31 MZX, 25x33, 25x36, and 36x42 M3
currently we output our films at 60lpi, 22.5 angle - simulated process
emulsion is Autosol Plus 2000 and CCI WR-25
my questions:
what have you had to change in your workflow or processes in your change to the direct to screen?
climate control - what temperature and humidity do you keep the machine at
has the i-Image met your expectations?
are there any other considerations i should take into account before we purchase?
thanks
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I think the main thing is that you are on the right track with your thought process right now. Adding the I-Image changed our lives here big time, I wouldn't go back at all. The big choice you need to make now is if you want to go ST or STE. Either way, you are going to make things so much easier, so much faster, and so much more precise by adding either one. We built an office for ours that has A/C, but I know there are some folks like Sam, who have theirs right out in the shop. I personally would rather what we did. Keeps it more controlled, cleaner ect, but that's really up to you and how you feel you can accommodate adding the set up. Danny and Bimmrider added STE models to their shops, and I believe they love them to death. I'm sure they will hop on this thread, but I can say from being an I-Image owner now for close to 2 years now, it's one of the best decisions we have made to date! The digital team at M&R has been really great as well, they will coach you through it all.
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Duane I know you guys are pressed for space but try to climate control this. Temp/humidity changes in NH lean to the extreme side.
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screens are a mixture of 23x31 MZX, 25x33, 25x36, and 36x42 M3
You will find out very quickly that multiple screen sizes are not DTS friendly. I know those 36x42's won't fit and you'll have to change out the base plate to switch between 23x31 and 25x36.
In short.. stick with one frame size.
We use 28x38 custom sized frames and had to have our CTS custom made to fit it.
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Duane I know you guys are pressed for space but try to climate control this. Temp/humidity changes in NH lean to the extreme side.
as you know we have extreme heat and humidity in the summer and extreme cold in the winter - being in a mill building with 15 foot ceilings dosent help either.
we would have dehumidifiers and air conditioners in the summer, and heaters in the winter - but it still might not help enough...
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You will find out very quickly that multiple screen sizes are not DTS friendly. I know those 36x42's won't fit and you'll have to change out the base plate to switch between 23x31 and 25x36.
In short.. stick with one frame size.
We use 28x38 custom sized frames and had to have our CTS custom made to fit it.
I thought that switching between frame sizes may require some re-tooling on the M&R DTS. How time consuming is that to do?
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Takes roughly 15-30 seconds to switch frame sizes.
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screens are a mixture of 23x31 MZX, 25x33, 25x36, and 36x42 M3
You will find out very quickly that multiple screen sizes are not DTS friendly. I know those 36x42's won't fit and you'll have to change out the base plate to switch between 23x31 and 25x36.
In short.. stick with one frame size.
We use 28x38 custom sized frames and had to have our CTS custom made to fit it.
i realize the 36x42 wont fit - i wish they would.
the Gauntlets barely fit a 36" long frame
its not often that we use the M3 - maybe once a week or every other week...
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Our I-Image has what they call a pusher frame/box where you load your screens. There is a pin that you can pop out, the whole frame/box pops out, and if we were using 25x36's, that new one would pop in, put the pin in, change a print parameter in the software real quick, have your art laid out on a template for that size setting and boom, Really not a big deal at all if you had to bounce between the two sizes if you go with the M&R unit. I'm not sure how other units are set up though, they've made it easy on the I-Image for sure. Like Alex M said, it takes seconds to change over.
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Zelko, we recently installed an I Image STE in our shop so if you want to jump on a phone call I can probably do a better job answering a few of your questions....... I'll try to address them here first but let me know if you want to call.
- As far as your workflow, everything will be significantly improved as press setup times will go to almost nothing. Nearly every job we are setting up with our ste is in almost perfect registration. We had just setup 113 screens over 8 jobs on just one of our auto's for an 8 hour shift. What you will find is the dts will speed everything up so much that you will experience a few bottlenecks the first few weeks until you can get your processes of washing imaged screens done. Without knowing your washout setup(if dirty reclaim is separate from rinsing newly imaged screens) I cannot say for sure but with the STE you will be imaging screens at lightspeeds compared to printing films. Once you get used to imaging screens at the speed in which you can your workflow will be better then ever.
- Climate control, we keep our room at a constant 68* and 40% humidity..... Our I Image ste has been working perfectly for us so I've been playing around with the room keeping it climate controlled. The last 3 days of imaging I have not done anything with our room and our screens are still coming out perfect. While I think climate controlling the room is important, once your I Image is setup well I personally don't feel it's 100% necessary but I would def. recommend it for your screens to stay consistent.
As far as the I Image meeting our expectations, it is by far exceeding it for me right now. We have been using dts for 2 years now, and I would never start or run a shop without one personally. I have done a ton of research on DTS and I personally feel the I Image STE is the unit to have. There's going to be some pros/cons with each machine but I feel like the I Image is engineered the best out of them all and from a production standpoint I feel like it has the best parts for longevity.
Like I said feel free to give me a call here and I talk everything over with you but right now we are incredibly happy with our m&r ste dts machine. I have a pretty small 2 auto shop but this has bumped our production numbers above some of our competition in town that have 4 autos......On friday we imaged approx 120 screens and that only took 1 guy half the day but if we were in the market for dts and I had unlimited budget I would choose m&r I Image ste over everything else, bottom line.
Hope this helps, Danny
Also, if your going to make the leap for the I Image I would strongly suggest getting a uni-kote auto coater as well if you guys aren't already auto coating. Pairing the two machines together have made our screens so much nicer then they were before. Now we can control our eom extremely consistently which also helps dial the ste exposure in correctly. With the price of the uni kote, it really should be paired with the dts though for best results.
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Also, regarding your question on the screen sizes. With our STE we are setup to print our normal 23x31 mzx frames as well as static 25x36 screens....... I timed my brother the other day switching the setup from 23x31 to 25x36 screens and it took him less then 20 seconds to do it....... It really is not an issue at all, everything is on a quick release pin making it easy..... The time it takes to switch setups is so fast that it shouldn't be an issue to even consider imo. I know some of the other machines it takes minutes upon minutes to switch over but for us we were less then 30 seconds switching.
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Zelko, we recently installed an I Image STE in our shop so if you want to jump on a phone call I can probably do a better job answering a few of your questions....... I'll try to address them here first but let me know if you want to call.
- As far as your workflow, everything will be significantly improved as press setup times will go to almost nothing. Nearly every job we are setting up with our ste is in almost perfect registration. We had just setup 113 screens over 8 jobs on just one of our auto's for an 8 hour shift. What you will find is the dts will speed everything up so much that you will experience a few bottlenecks the first few weeks until you can get your processes of washing imaged screens done. Without knowing your washout setup(if dirty reclaim is separate from rinsing newly imaged screens) I cannot say for sure but with the STE you will be imaging screens at lightspeeds compared to printing films. Once you get used to imaging screens at the speed in which you can your workflow will be better then ever.
- Climate control, we keep our room at a constant 68* and 40% humidity..... Our I Image ste has been working perfectly for us so I've been playing around with the room keeping it climate controlled. The last 3 days of imaging I have not done anything with our room and our screens are still coming out perfect. While I think climate controlling the room is important, once your I Image is setup well I personally don't feel it's 100% necessary but I would def. recommend it for your screens to stay consistent.
As far as the I Image meeting our expectations, it is by far exceeding it for me right now. We have been using dts for 2 years now, and I would never start or run a shop without one personally. I have done a ton of research on DTS and I personally feel the I Image STE is the unit to have. There's going to be some pros/cons with each machine but I feel like the I Image is engineered the best out of them all and from a production standpoint I feel like it has the best parts for longevity.
Like I said feel free to give me a call here and I talk everything over with you but right now we are incredibly happy with our m&r ste dts machine. I have a pretty small 2 auto shop but this has bumped our production numbers above some of our competition in town that have 4 autos......On friday we imaged approx 120 screens and that only took 1 guy half the day but if we were in the market for dts and I had unlimited budget I would choose m&r I Image ste over everything else, bottom line.
Hope this helps, Danny
Also, if your going to make the leap for the I Image I would strongly suggest getting a uni-kote auto coater as well if you guys aren't already auto coating. Pairing the two machines together have made our screens so much nicer then they were before. Now we can control our eom extremely consistently which also helps dial the ste exposure in correctly. With the price of the uni kote, it really should be paired with the dts though for best results.
our screen department has three separate wash booths - emulsion removal, degreasing, and screen rinse for newly imaged screens are all separate.
we do have an automatic coater - a Digi-Kote T2 - the kind that can coat two screens at once. we found that we could coat manually faster - it has sat unplugged for 8+ years. maybe its time to revisit the DigiKote and get it back up and running - although i would rather have a single trough coater over a double.
thanks
d
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If your screen wash department is setup like that you guys will be good to go from the start. Your workflow will be extremely fast compared to what your currently doing using films..... Honestly if your making the amount of screens you are, I wouldn't be waiting any longer as your press setups are going to justify the cost of the machine before you even calculate film savings, ink savings, etc. From the sounds of it I don't think you will have to change much in terms of how your workflow operates but without seeing your setup/how you do things it's impossible to say but I really don't see a huge learning curve for you guys.... The biggest aspect to get used to is how to send ripped files to the dts software but that should go pretty quick as well if you have an artist even halfway smart lol..... But seriously if I was in your boat I wouldn't even have to think twice about purchasing the ste.......
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If your screen wash department is setup like that you guys will be good to go from the start. Your workflow will be extremely fast compared to what your currently doing using films..... Honestly if your making the amount of screens you are, I wouldn't be waiting any longer as your press setups are going to justify the cost of the machine before you even calculate film savings, ink savings, etc. From the sounds of it I don't think you will have to change much in terms of how your workflow operates but without seeing your setup/how you do things it's impossible to say but I really don't see a huge learning curve for you guys.... The biggest aspect to get used to is how to send ripped files to the dts software but that should go pretty quick as well if you have an artist even halfway smart lol..... But seriously if I was in your boat I wouldn't even have to think twice about purchasing the ste.......
we have four artists - two work remotely and send the separations via dropbox.
currently the artist will send the art to the aspect computer and all i have to do is open the file, double check spelling and then its added to the layout to be printed to the film.
we have lots of reprint jobs - right now we have walls of racks with file folders. the employee would take the folder out, remove the films, expose on the screen and then put the film back. with the i-Image - going forward we will have to send all the art on our schedule over to the i-Image. im not sure what is involved, but will we have to convert any of our separations to a format that the i-Image will interpret? or can we just have the artist put all the photoshop and illustrator files on a hard drive (faster for the terabytes of files we have) and just plug it into the i-image computer and we would be all set... im concerned with tying up one of our artists who should be working on separations.
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Are you set to use a registration system on all 4 autos? You definitely have the screen output to justify a very nice unit but if you're registering jobs manually with the DTS then that will negate a huge chunk of the benefits of going there.
We do a ton of repeat stuff too and that plays a role in the decision but our screen usage is 1/3 of Zelko's right now and we only have 1 auto so we're not a "slam dunk" like many shops are with going DTS.
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If your screen wash department is setup like that you guys will be good to go from the start. Your workflow will be extremely fast compared to what your currently doing using films..... Honestly if your making the amount of screens you are, I wouldn't be waiting any longer as your press setups are going to justify the cost of the machine before you even calculate film savings, ink savings, etc. From the sounds of it I don't think you will have to change much in terms of how your workflow operates but without seeing your setup/how you do things it's impossible to say but I really don't see a huge learning curve for you guys.... The biggest aspect to get used to is how to send ripped files to the dts software but that should go pretty quick as well if you have an artist even halfway smart lol..... But seriously if I was in your boat I wouldn't even have to think twice about purchasing the ste.......
we have four artists - two work remotely and send the separations via dropbox.
currently the artist will send the art to the aspect computer and all i have to do is open the file, double check spelling and then its added to the layout to be printed to the film.
we have lots of reprint jobs - right now we have walls of racks with file folders. the employee would take the folder out, remove the films, expose on the screen and then put the film back. with the i-Image - going forward we will have to send all the art on our schedule over to the i-Image. im not sure what is involved, but will we have to convert any of our separations to a format that the i-Image will interpret? or can we just have the artist put all the photoshop and illustrator files on a hard drive (faster for the terabytes of files we have) and just plug it into the i-image computer and we would be all set... im concerned with tying up one of our artists who should be working on separations.
I can no doubt explain all this better on the phone so apologies if this doesn't make sense........ The I Image st/ste takes it's own file format for the rip software which we refer to as a PRT file. Here's basically what we do on our end which I assume is similar to most shops using this dts....
1. When dealing with photoshop seps, save the psd channel seps as a DCS 2.0 file
2. Open file in Colorprint(the rip software that runs the dts)
3. Set all print parameters in the rip software( angle, dot shape, etc). We the go file print(which saves the ripped image as a prt file into whatever folder of print files you have setup on the i image computer)
The above steps are what you or one of your artists will do. The files will then be saved as a prt(print file) into a folder on the i image computer.
4. I Image operator will then access the folder of prt files that the artist has prepped and open the files into the print production software.
At this point the operator can use a high resolution preview to view the files in que ready to be imaged, check as if they were checking films, etc.
5. All the operator then has to do is load a screen, hit the print button and watch as the screen gets imaged. During this time they can be setting up the next job, so on and so forth.....
It might seem like a lot of work but actually is a nice process that goes really quick once you get used to it. Like I said I can def. explain this better on the phone but after a few days/maybe a week you should be used to the process.
For reorders and such, all the operator has to do is go look up the job in print production and go back hit 1 button and make the screens.... It really doesn't get any easier on reprints as we do a fair amount of reorders around here and dts has made them super super easy to do. It takes us less time to look up the job in print production then it does to find the folder of film, pull it out, then replace the film that hopefully didn't get damaged.
In the end, it's really easy to use and shouldn't be tying any artist up or anything like that...... Like I said give me a call if this isn't the info your looking for but again I would strongly stand behind the i image ste as it has been kicking major ass for us
4.
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Are you set to use a registration system on all 4 autos? You definitely have the screen output to justify a very nice unit but if you're registering jobs manually with the DTS then that will negate a huge chunk of the benefits of going there.
We do a ton of repeat stuff too and that plays a role in the decision but our screen usage is 1/3 of Zelko's right now and we only have 1 auto so we're not a "slam dunk" like many shops are with going DTS.
we have the tri loc - the master frame is a "23-25X31-36 adjustable master frame". our exposure unit - Douthitt DMZ exposes two 23x31 screens side by side, but unfortunately is not big enough to accommodate a double tri loc master frame. our other exposure unit is large enough for a double tri loc - but we use it for the 36x42 frames. we set the adjustable master frame on a table and taped the films on - so we never really saw the benefit that others would see from the tri loc. it also didnt help that our roll fed films occasionally didnt register close enough.
the two gauntlets and the chameleon are fine with the tri loc, the anatols obviously wont be. replacing one of the anatols is the next step.
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So can anyone elaborate on the process for ganging screens? Do you have to print a whole job, all X amount of screens, then reload the screens in the machine to print the other job?
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So can anyone elaborate on the process for ganging screens? Do you have to print a whole job, all X amount of screens, then reload the screens in the machine to print the other job?
i think i read somewhere that you would have to.
we also gang up screens - left chest with a sleeve print - small images.
question for those with an STE: are you able to "turn off" the exposure part for the first image, rotate the screen, print the second image with the exposure "turned back on"?
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Are you set to use a registration system on all 4 autos? You definitely have the screen output to justify a very nice unit but if you're registering jobs manually with the DTS then that will negate a huge chunk of the benefits of going there.
We do a ton of repeat stuff too and that plays a role in the decision but our screen usage is 1/3 of Zelko's right now and we only have 1 auto so we're not a "slam dunk" like many shops are with going DTS.
we have the tri loc - the master frame is a "23-25X31-36 adjustable master frame". our exposure unit - Douthitt DMZ exposes two 23x31 screens side by side, but unfortunately is not big enough to accommodate a double tri loc master frame. our other exposure unit is large enough for a double tri loc - but we use it for the 36x42 frames. we set the adjustable master frame on a table and taped the films on - so we never really saw the benefit that others would see from the tri loc. it also didnt help that our roll fed films occasionally didnt register close enough.
the two gauntlets and the chameleon are fine with the tri loc, the anatols obviously wont be. replacing one of the anatols is the next step.
Duane, Give me a call. I might have a buyer for the Digikote t2 and the Vindicator. 404-895-1796
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Almost every job we print with the I image we gang screens.... We print lots of jobs where full back design and left chest print on same screen. My brother will image the back full size print while having the led exposure light bar turned off, then flip the screen and image the left chest that is the same color while having the machine set to have led exposure turned on and each screen is made in less then a couple min front and back. It just takes the person using the machine to setup the printing this way... We print all day everyday like this very efficiently now.
To add even further to this quite a few jobs with muitlple locations but same colorways we image on the ste in a way that we tri lock the screens only one time then just use tape on the underside of the screens after each setup. This alone has saved us lots of time as well.... if you have someone that can run the machine well it can do endless things. I will say we setup 78 screens today and less then a handful needed micro adjustment on press which is where I found big savings.
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So can anyone elaborate on the process for ganging screens? Do you have to print a whole job, all X amount of screens, then reload the screens in the machine to print the other job?
i think i read somewhere that you would have to.
we also gang up screens - left chest with a sleeve print - small images.
question for those with an STE: are you able to "turn off" the exposure part for the first image, rotate the screen, print the second image with the exposure "turned back on"?
yes you can
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the anatols obviously wont be. replacing one of the anatols is the next step.
why so.. I know Dave from Spreading Ink has an I iamge (switches frames sizes also) and uses triloc on his floor of anatols.
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Depends on the pallet locking system. If I remember right the Vinny had the fixed lock.
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today i got to see an i-Image STE in action. a shop a few miles away has one - and they love it. printed and exposed a screen before i could find the stopwatch app on my phone.
he was only using static aluminum screens - he said if the frames arent perfectly flat (laser scans the top to prevent a head strike) the machine wont accept the screen.
we use roller frames and nothing else.
so - - for those using roller frames - did you encounter any issues? any extra prep to make the frames work?
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today i got to see an i-Image STE in action. a shop a few miles away has one - and they love it. printed and exposed a screen before i could find the stopwatch app on my phone.
he was only using static aluminum screens - he said if the frames arent perfectly flat (laser scans the top to prevent a head strike) the machine wont accept the screen.
we use roller frames and nothing else.
so - - for those using roller frames - did you encounter any issues? any extra prep to make the frames work?
Other then my s mesh statics all we run is rollers and we have zero issues with the ste. We keep up on our tape and keep screens nice so its a non issue. Every once in a while the laser will stop the screen but we quickly fix the straggling piece of tape then move on. Honestly I'm surprised you guys havent pulled the trigger yet as with the amount of screens it will speed up your production more then you can imagine. It's the key ingredient to the way my work flow operates and easily my most important machine we use imo. Rollers and the i image ste are a magical package for us.
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Other then my s mesh statics all we run is rollers and we have zero issues with the ste. We keep up on our tape and keep screens nice so its a non issue. Every once in a while the laser will stop the screen but we quickly fix the straggling piece of tape then move on. Honestly I'm surprised you guys havent pulled the trigger yet as with the amount of screens it will speed up your production more then you can imagine. It's the key ingredient to the way my work flow operates and easily my most important machine we use imo. Rollers and the i image ste are a magical package for us.
good to know that it works with roller frames without issues - i knew that it had to work, but i needed confirmation...
im trying to get as much information about how it will affect the workflow for everyone.
i can understand a press and the benefits of options, image size; i can understand a dryer and what we need for capacity... but before i change the first building block that can affect how the final product will look, i want to make sure that if and when it gets here, that we wont have any problems. i think i need a book "what to expect when you are expecting an i-Image" written for me.
i coudnt find many youtube videos that go in depth about the machine. promotional videos are fine but i have to sell the machine to the owners of the company that i work for, and i cant expect them to open their wallets after handing them an ROI spreasheet and watching a 2 minute youtube video... i have no doubt that the machine works great, but i need to make sure that it works great in our shop. i want to see it in action - start to finish.
it was either buy a press or buy an i-Image. i have to show to the owners that the i-Image will benefit all the parts of production and will speed up production for everyone.
we bought a roller master to speed up the stretching, possibly might be looking at some more frames (im hoping for some 25x33 M3), and fixing a few bottlenecks in the reclaim area.
i havent had a chance before today to actually see that the ink was wet when it came out of the machine. if we get an ST model without the exposure, do you have to wait for the ink on the screen to dry before exposing?
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we just signed the paper work today. We will be the first shop in houston to have one of these bad boys.
so this thread is very helpful
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Congrats eric.
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Other then my s mesh statics all we run is rollers and we have zero issues with the ste. We keep up on our tape and keep screens nice so its a non issue. Every once in a while the laser will stop the screen but we quickly fix the straggling piece of tape then move on. Honestly I'm surprised you guys havent pulled the trigger yet as with the amount of screens it will speed up your production more then you can imagine. It's the key ingredient to the way my work flow operates and easily my most important machine we use imo. Rollers and the i image ste are a magical package for us.
the ink does not have to be dry and is not supposed to be dried. It is a blocker of UV and does that perfectly fine. Best suggestion for your company will be this unit. Don't know where you are but you should either come to Chicago to play with it live or go see one of a couple hundred shops that have installed one already, probably near you.
good to know that it works with roller frames without issues - i knew that it had to work, but i needed confirmation...
im trying to get as much information about how it will affect the workflow for everyone.
i can understand a press and the benefits of options, image size; i can understand a dryer and what we need for capacity... but before i change the first building block that can affect how the final product will look, i want to make sure that if and when it gets here, that we wont have any problems. i think i need a book "what to expect when you are expecting an i-Image" written for me.
i coudnt find many youtube videos that go in depth about the machine. promotional videos are fine but i have to sell the machine to the owners of the company that i work for, and i cant expect them to open their wallets after handing them an ROI spreasheet and watching a 2 minute youtube video... i have no doubt that the machine works great, but i need to make sure that it works great in our shop. i want to see it in action - start to finish.
it was either buy a press or buy an i-Image. i have to show to the owners that the i-Image will benefit all the parts of production and will speed up production for everyone.
we bought a roller master to speed up the stretching, possibly might be looking at some more frames (im hoping for some 25x33 M3), and fixing a few bottlenecks in the reclaim area.
i havent had a chance before today to actually see that the ink was wet when it came out of the machine. if we get an ST model without the exposure, do you have to wait for the ink on the screen to dry before exposing?
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i havent had a chance before today to actually see that the ink was wet when it came out of the machine. if we get an ST model without the exposure, do you have to wait for the ink on the screen to dry before exposing?
the ink does not have to be dry and is not supposed to be dried. It is a blocker of UV and does that perfectly fine. Best suggestion for your company will be this unit. Don't know where you are but you should either come to Chicago to play with it live or go see one of a couple hundred shops that have installed one already, probably near you.
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i was hoping to make it to chicago the other week, but Alex was in the Philippines...
we did see a machine on thursday the 3rd of july - a three head STE. very impressive.
the owners said that I could go to the show in Vegas... but thats in september or october (i forget which) -
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i havent had a chance before today to actually see that the ink was wet when it came out of the machine. if we get an ST model without the exposure, do you have to wait for the ink on the screen to dry before exposing?
the ink does not have to be dry and is not supposed to be dried. It is a blocker of UV and does that perfectly fine. Best suggestion for your company will be this unit. Don't know where you are but you should either come to Chicago to play with it live or go see one of a couple hundred shops that have installed one already, probably near you.
i was hoping to make it to chicago the other week, but Alex was in the Philippines...
we did see a machine on thursday the 3rd of july - a three head STE. very impressive.
the owners said that I could go to the show in Vegas... but thats in september or october (i forget which) -
[/quote]the show is October 22nd. You could save half of what it cost in that much time. You can visit anytime. We have them on display so you can try themand there is always someone there to assist you. Just a FYI.
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i would like to thank everyone who has answered my questions - i know i had a lot of them :)
i just sent the purchase order to our Nazdar rep.
we decided upon a 2 head i-Image ST
now what do i do with the films that i no longer need - im hoping that i can find a recycler for the film - its a lot of plastic!
i also need to figure out what to do with the roughly 10k carrier sheets...
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sell the carriers if they are good
I am sure you can find a plastic recycler for the films
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Congrats on your new unit... I'm sure you'll find a buyer for the carrier sheets... lots of people using trilocs out there.
PS. Very jealous and I can't wait till one of those fits our workflow/cashflow :)
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Just curious. How much room will you free up by eliminating film storage?
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I to have been wondering what to do with our films? I'm gonna save some to tape off screens, but are they recyclable?
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Just curious. How much room will you free up by eliminating film storage?
I'll answer for Duane..........A LOT!!!!!!!!!!. You would not believe how much they have. I can't imagine how much more since I left there 8 years ago.
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I to have been wondering what to do with our films? I'm gonna save some to tape off screens, but are they recyclable?
You will find uses for them. Blocking out an image, using pieces of film to bundle up tape coming off screens to cram more in the garbage bag, and all sorts of ways that you are going to throw them things out! I thought we would hold on to them too, but it makes zero sense to keep any. If you have you seps digitally saved for reference, as we all should, you won't need them for that reason. Once you have your exposure set up for DTS, having film for back up becomes a no brainer, you won't be able to use them anyway. I have my screen person de-taping screens put a few of them in the garbage back so that the tape sticks to the films instead of the garbage bag and then layer that crap to get more screen tape in the garbage bag. Unreal how I thought we would blow through the film, we still have a box of if for him to use back there for that purpose. It's insane how much space you save not trying to add more file space for films.
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use a box for your screen tape, leave the flaps out and then compress the whole dang thing with the film and fold the flaps in or tape them...bam.
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I guess I was "lucky". All of mine was washed away in a flood. Maybe y'all in the Mississippi delta saw it float by?
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use a box for your screen tape, leave the flaps out and then compress the whole dang thing with the film and fold the flaps in or tape them...bam.
Brad, it's amazing the dense ball of tape you can make when you compress it in some old films huh? ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Just curious. How much room will you free up by eliminating film storage?
the rack is 3ft long by 2 ft deep.
in the picture you see 7, and there are 10 shelves in all.
its not a whole lot of floor space because we stored them vertically. the shelves will be repurposed for something else (havent figured that part out yet)
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Samples Diz?
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our sample racks are out of control. all reprints are matched to a sample shirt that is from the original run.
im thinking that once the shelves are all flattened out (the weight of the film warped the shelves) the shelving can be used to store screens.
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To bad the vertical version of this unit is not available, I assume it is because the print head can not deliver a clean deposit of ink in the vertical position? if this is true why does the Kiwo unit able to work in the vertical position??
The footprint of the I-image is probably going to preclude me from getting one as my floor space is maxed out otherwise I would be a buyer at the Vegas show next month.
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I think the difference is the head type. Kiwo maybe wax based and I think M&R's are inkjet type industrial or something like that.
Shane
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Kiwo/Douthitt is a wax machine. The M&R is ink. I have one of each.
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what is the recommended working area needed for one of these?
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Kiwo/Douthitt is a wax machine. The M&R is ink. I have one of each.
Could you please give a brief comparison of the 2 systems.
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To bad the vertical version of this unit is not available, I assume it is because the print head can not deliver a clean deposit of ink in the vertical position? if this is true why does the Kiwo unit able to work in the vertical position??
The footprint of the I-image is probably going to preclude me from getting one as my floor space is maxed out otherwise I would be a buyer at the Vegas show next month.
Our first unit was vertical and the ink was fine. We still have some. The are called the I-screen. They are Epson based and will only do about 100 screens per day.
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To bad the vertical version of this unit is not available, I assume it is because the print head can not deliver a clean deposit of ink in the vertical position? if this is true why does the Kiwo unit able to work in the vertical position??
The footprint of the I-image is probably going to preclude me from getting one as my floor space is maxed out otherwise I would be a buyer at the Vegas show next month.
Our first unit was vertical and the ink was fine. We still have some. The are called the I-screen. They are Epson based and will only do about 100 screens per day.
Rich,
Why the format change?
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Faster speeds
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We Love our I-Image, there is no waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay that we would ever go backwards. Hoping to see more growth in the next few years to where we out grow this one and get into an ST or STE. This one can do up to 115 screens a day which we aren't maxing out yet so we have room with this one. The set up time improvement, the detain improvement, halftones looking so awesome. There is just no way, unless someone bought a complete piece of garbage unit of saying film is better. If you are on the fence because of the cost, trust me, 1 month into owning one of these and you will wish you did it sooner. Everyone I have talked to within the last year that moved into CTS are all saying the same phrase, "MAN I WISH I DID THIS SOONER!". Rich you guys need to put that on the M&R site ;D ;D ;D
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We like ours, but to be honest, I would give this thing up WAY before I gave up our DTG.
I won't go back to films though...that's for sure.
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Our STE 2 head was giving us close to 200 screens a day and could have done more. It met our demands this year, and will again next year. If we need more we can go to a three head. But PLEASE don't be sold on the speed alone. Look at what it does for the rest of your workflow. Today my people cruised in after a tough week. Only did thirty fobs on three presses in 8 hours. FASTER set ups are where it pays off. longest set up time today was 10 minutes on a number of jobs, up to eight colors (spoken in a quiet golf course voice....these results will vary from my shop to yours)
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We Love our I-Image, there is no waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay that we would ever go backwards. Hoping to see more growth in the next few years to where we out grow this one and get into an ST or STE. This one can do up to 115 screens a day which we aren't maxing out yet so we have room with this one. The set up time improvement, the detain improvement, halftones looking so awesome. There is just no way, unless someone bought a complete piece of garbage unit of saying film is better. If you are on the fence because of the cost, trust me, 1 month into owning one of these and you will wish you did it sooner. Everyone I have talked to within the last year that moved into CTS are all saying the same phrase, "MAN I WISH I DID THIS SOONER!". Rich you guys need to put that on the M&R site ;D ;D ;D
No need to. All our customers are saying it loud and clear!
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We Love our I-Image, there is no waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay that we would ever go backwards. Hoping to see more growth in the next few years to where we out grow this one and get into an ST or STE. This one can do up to 115 screens a day which we aren't maxing out yet so we have room with this one. The set up time improvement, the detain improvement, halftones looking so awesome. There is just no way, unless someone bought a complete piece of garbage unit of saying film is better. If you are on the fence because of the cost, trust me, 1 month into owning one of these and you will wish you did it sooner. Everyone I have talked to within the last year that moved into CTS are all saying the same phrase, "MAN I WISH I DID THIS SOONER!". Rich you guys need to put that on the M&R site ;D ;D ;D
No need to. All our customers are saying it loud and clear!
I wish we had bought one sooner!
two months ago i reprinted 8 films because the guy in the screen room lost the original set. today he found the original set - filed in the wrong folder...
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I know that before we bought the i image that I was using an epson 7700 with 24 inch films. It started giving me major fits because no matter what type of adjustments I made to the printer that the films would never line up a 100%. If I could line up 3 marks the 4th would be off and it was never consistent and would be off in different ways on the next job. Needless to say, even with a good FPU and a pallet jig to match that I would have nightmares at the press. I'm using shurlocs for the most part and some newmans and very seldom do I have to touch a micro. We do several different types of work including signs, truck lettering and banners so I might go 2 days without printing screens so instead of worrying about head clogs which I'm sure I'm doing this over excessively but I have an old static that I'll place in the i image and print a file using all of the nozzles and then spray the ink off. After spraying the ink off you can still see a pretty defined stain. The next time I stick that same frame in to print, I'll print the same file and it prints in the exact same area over the top of where it did before.
Atleast now, if I'm off at the press I know it's because of something else besides incorrect image placement on the screen.
The way I look at it is that I could've bought a new truck that I'd be in for 6 minutes a day but instead I bought the I Image that makes my 10 hours a day easier.