Oven Options and space requirements for a Growing Shop

[CBCB]

Hey everyone,

I have a couple questions about ovens. We have a super small operation. Just a 4/6 manual, and a BBC Little Buddy Dryer. It's working great for one guy running plastisol, but I want to do more waterbased and discharge. Right now we run our WB prints through the oven, and then bang it into the heatpress for washability. Seems to be working good compared to our wash tests of a single dryer run, double dryer run etc. besides being slower. We're hesitant to offer wb/dc to clients when we can't control print pressure, and when the production is this much slower.

I have big dreams, though! I've realized that going automatic is the only way to achieve the business and quality levels I want.

We're in 800sq/ft right now with a 100A electrical panel. No gas. On the 2nd floor with no elevator. Man door only.
We will definitely need to move before we spring for an automatic. I was thinking about 1750-2000sq/ft would be enough space for us if we make efficient use of it.

I'm basically trying to decide if we should make some smaller upgrades now in our space (oven + exposure unit), OR wait for a bigger space and get the auto, oven, larger exposure all in one shot.

I'm pretty sure our province (MB) has some of the lowest electrical costs in the country. I'm not sure how that compares to our gas prices when comparing dryer options, though.

I was looking closely at the Brown PonyDryer. Looks small, forced air, electric.

- How do we figure out which option (gas versus electric) would be most economical for us to run over time?

- What type of capacity / chamber / length would you recommend for running a single automatic (+ maybe the manual?) at a modest speed with dc, wb, maybe HSA inks?

- If we DO go electric, do you think it'd make sense to do that upgrade first before we move? So we can get some wb/dc started on the manual press? Would this be feasible with the 100A panel? Or wait and get an oven/auto press all in one shot?

Thanks for reading. Hoping some bigger shops can provide some insight!

[Inkworks]

I think an auto is the single biggest step forward a screen shop can make. If you have the business, or can get it, then moving up to an auto is a game changer. The trick is all those other things you talk about are needed eventually too.

So for my money, I'd get the auto and a bigger oven and then get the rest as you can afford it. Of course it sounds like you'll need a bigger space and access to more electrical and maybe gas along the way, along with a compressor..... It never ends....

We almost never use our manual any more, so I wouldn't upgrade anything to do with it.

As far as dryers go, for the most part gas is better than electric (cost of operation and effectiveness) look for as long of tunnel as you can fit. 8' at least, we upgraded to a used M&R Heatwave and love it. 36" wide belt and keeps up to big prints off our auto up to about 50 doz. an hour for plastisol, 40 doz hr WB/DC although we could probably tweak our heat-speed settings and get more out of it. I started with a 24" wide belt 14' long Hix electric with no air and it soon became a bottleneck, but we made it work for a few years.

I'd bet you business would be similar to ours (BC Interior Canada) Lots of small-medium jobs and the odd big job here and there. gear up accordingly, get a good film positioning unit and set-up jig. For us we spend almost as much time setting up and tearing down on an average day than printing due to lots of small/medium jobs.

The auto will change your whole thinking. All of a sudden if someone calls and asks if you can fit in 600 shirts with a 4 colour print, you'll think: "yeah, we have an free couple of hours tomorrow, so no problem"...

[Colin]

Waterbase:  You must evaporate all water - then the ink can cure.  You need to find out how long that takes with all your dryer options.  Sales reps will blow a ton of smoke at you.  Forced air is nice - but you need a high air exchange rate (whatever its actually called) to cure fast and efficiently.

We have a sprint 2000 HO (high output) with a 12 foot long tunnel.  With the bigger bigger blower fans inside the dryer, the air inside our dryer gets refreshed very quickly.  Hence the water is removed from the dryer very quickly.  This means faster cure times.  Depending on image size, we run at 330 degrees and a retention time of 1:30 to as long as 2 minutes.

There are additives you can get that will speed up cure times.  The downside is they increase the "hand" or "stiffness" of the print.

Make the best informed decision you can about efficiency within the dryer choices you have - that will fit your space and budget.

My opinion is to wait until you are in a bigger space before you pull the trigger on a bigger NICE dryer.