Dryer questions (it's time for an upgrade)

[Gilligan]

So you won't have a manual press at all anymore?

Scary, but no... No room.

Options there are bring it back to my shop behind my house and worse case scenario print and flash everything then bring it to the shop and run it down the dryer OR pack it in the freight container as well and if needed break it out and set it up where ever I can (embroidery room) and print there then carry to the drier on the other room.

I will have my one color station with jiffy clamps if needed.

[Gilligan]

Didn't know you had the freight container, that will help.  As for the cat...just run it through the dryer and problem solved!  I didn't figure you for a cat person!?

Funny how that is... It goes both ways.

Not a dog person, cats, reptiles and insects... I guess I don't like needy things.  Cats, reptiles and insects can be left on their own for a week at a time... Dog, not so much, and they stink and you can punch it in the face then turn around and say "who's a good boy" and that tail starts wagging again.

[mk162]

you can always get a single color and put it on wheels and in the container when not needed.  We rarely use our manual, we print slow loading single color prints to take the load off the auto so that can churn numbers

[Gilligan]

That's why I would keep a hinge clamp single color around... Back to my roots!

That and could set up aop one color prints or something creative with it.

[jvanick]

I have a 3011, and it definitely does discharge just fine...
just ran an order with it last week.

is it slow as molasses when the belt speed is slow?  YES, definitely.  But it will work.  And I've never had to run a garment through 2x to get it to discharge... slowest belt speed = 1 minute 45 seconds in the heat.  Also, it does have air recirculation. 

However, when we move to the commercial space, a gas dryer is first on the list...

also, not having a manual press could be a major hindrance if you're printing on anything unique, things with zippers, polo shirts with buttons, etc. 

[TCT]

So when you have to print 6000 shirts where in the world will you stage, fold, and box them? 

That is kinda what I was getting at in my earlier ramblings. But you have a few GREAT possibilities going for you.

1) Since you own the place now you can let the lease run out for a tenant if you need their space. Yes, you should be able to make more that $1K out of the extra space as long as you have the work to keep the press spinning!

2) While this one is kinda out there, it could still work. Since you lucky ba$tards get to have shipping containers, you could always turn one into the embroidery room.... I don't know if yours is water/insect tight but you can make those suckers pretty nice. Line all the machines up against a wall, throw a table on each side and maybe one or two in between, maybe some windows and a AC. You would have your own contained embroidery dept.

I like option number 2 probably just because the city won't let us have a container! Option 1 is really my favorite, and had been the main thing I thought was great for you ever since you told me about wanting to buy your building. They hold your place AND pay you rent while you grow into their space!

You don't want to move locations, people are stupid. Let me say that again, people are stupid. We once moved 1 door over, same building, just 1 door over. You literally walked on the sidewalk 16' to the left. We had so many people calling us to see if we were still in business or where we went. We even had 4'x2' arrows pointing to our new door. People are stupid.

Get your auto, and give it a few months to see what kind of volume you are going to be putting into the dryer. Then move on a dryer. If you continue to grow, then start mapping out your setup WITH the extra sq. footage of taking over the space next door.

Also, find a way to put your manual on wheels and keep it near the dryer for 6 months or whatever and see how much you will or won't use it. Don't know what you got till it's gone and all that...

You also said you were going to pay me for saying you were smart!

[bulldog]

I have a 3011, and it definitely does discharge just fine...
just ran an order with it last week.

is it slow as molasses when the belt speed is slow?  YES, definitely.  But it will work.  And I've never had to run a garment through 2x to get it to discharge... slowest belt speed = 1 minute 45 seconds in the heat.  Also, it does have air recirculation. 

However, when we move to the commercial space, a gas dryer is first on the list...

also, not having a manual press could be a major hindrance if you're printing on anything unique, things with zippers, polo shirts with buttons, etc.

When I was trying the DC the curing recommendations were 2-3 minutes I thought. I noticed much more pop after the second time. It is entirely possible I wasn't doing everything correctly either. Either way, still way too slow for an auto and DC, IMO.

Also, that air recirculation is a little blower wheel at the bottom that aids in maintaining the heat but I don't think it really helps with DC at all.

I will say that the 3011 gets up to temp FAST and maintains it very well.

[Gilligan]

No way can I keep that manual in the room... Even pulling the arms off would be hard to justify the space it would take up.

If I'm not held back by the space then it can't make me money, it just makes us more comfortable.

Just so you know article 23 paragraph 6 says that if you mention the agreement online then it rendered the contract null and void!  You sir are in breech of said contract... Now who's smart?! :p

[Prosperi-Tees]

Lawson, Ranar, BBC all make good compact dryers. Want to save some space? How bout Vastex?

[Gilligan]

My main focus is getting decent waterbase numbers... We don't mind slowing down, even 250/hour would be fine.

Vastex says they can do 200/hour but is that real world?  Waterbase is not really exact science and we are technically in a high humidity area, making the odds worse.  If I could expand the big red by half a cab then I'd be interested but to get the size tunnel I would want then I'm over 13'.

Not sure any other setups mentioned will fill that Gerry.

Anyone have any experience with the new browns?  One of our competitors has one and likes it, but them again they are also happy with their mini trooper.

[Inkworks]

pcs/hr is a pretty relative thing, we can easily cruise at 50+doz./hr on left chest or say a 4" x 12" print on my crappy dryer, however when we get hit with a 16 x 14" print things slow down to the point where one person can keep up loading/unloading, maybe 25 doz/hr.

All this is with a 90 second dryer dwell, or 120 seconds for DC/WB and no air movement in the dryer, just plain IR, but 8' of it.

I think the real key is you're better off not buying the dryer you need right now, but the dryer you'll need once your volume ramps up from having the auto in house for a year or so, or you'll be doing it all over again, because getting an auto and learning how to rock it is a game changer.

ps, better make sure your auto doesn't have side clamps or you're already out of room.

[GraphicDisorder]

Here is the setup with current dryer and a purposed auto.

It's fairly to scale.

That press really nearly touching the wall?  How are you going to get screens in a few of those heads, crawl under it? Let's hope you considered the needed space to walk around it completely with screens/ink/sq + fl bars. 

If not then IMO you kick out a tenant and free yourself up.

[TCT]

My main focus is getting decent waterbase numbers... We don't mind slowing down, even 250/hour would be fine.

Vastex says they can do 200/hour but is that real world?  Waterbase is not really exact science and we are technically in a high humidity area, making the odds worse.

For the record I have NO experience running DC/WB through a electric dryer. I do know on some jobs we run that are all DC, when we have a flash somewhere in the print sequence even on a 3 sec flash it starts the discharge process rather well on the colors it flashed. So don't underestimate what a flash can do under the last head or even the unload position to speed the process up...

[Gilligan]

I won't Alex... It's certainly top of mind potential solution.

Brandt and Ink, you guys are right.  Side clamps would be a potential problem and yes it's basically going to be up against a couple walls.  I'm HOPING I can keep it where we can at least squeeze by, but if worse comes to worse we will climb under.  Seems silly but at this point there will be compromises made.  Full 23x31's and crawling under vs cu$tom made reten$ if we bought a "compact" machine. We are hoping to set up the press where crawling under will only happen when we run more colors than typical, again, totally not ideal, but you do what you have to do.  My production manager would be wiling to give a kidney to get an auto right now so he's ok with it.

Btw, I couldn't help it, I took a ride back to the office last night... Adding a fourth panel is POSSIBLE but would really mean a rework of the dryer.  Removing a couple support beams for the frame that holds the panels and deleting the air knives in between panels.  Four panels would butt up against each other and I could leave the last knife at the end of the tunnel which would circulate air through but not directly on the shirts really.

Still looking, still thinking.

[tonypep]

Sounds like you need that "oval" that ran like a severely squished rollercoaster Wish I could find that vid. It was one of the dumbest ideas in the history of ever.