i-Image in the house!

[244]

What is the typical ink consumption on one of these guys?

Screens per liter?

usually around .03-.07 per screen. Typically 2,000 screens per liter.

[ravenmark]

I must admit the I-Image is the best Art Clerk I have ever had working for me. It has totally sped up my art dept. as well as the whole SP process in general. There are a few things I miss about film but I am having a hard time remembering them right now. 

[bimmridder]

You touched on something I haven't much talked about in the CTS discussion. When we went CTS years ago, our artists were the biggest opponents. (too many reasons to discuss here) They turned into the biggest fans after some changes in procedures in the art department. This also led to fewer mistakes, less wasted time and materials, and an all around stronger department. But I know we can't measure intangibles. I could write a short novel on improvements in this area alone, but won't even try.

[GraphicDisorder]

You touched on something I haven't much talked about in the CTS discussion. When we went CTS years ago, our artists were the biggest opponents. (too many reasons to discuss here) They turned into the biggest fans after some changes in procedures in the art department. This also led to fewer mistakes, less wasted time and materials, and an all around stronger department. But I know we can't measure intangibles. I could write a short novel on improvements in this area alone, but won't even try.

Sadly some would dismiss "intangibles". Id love to hear that novel. 

[mk162]

It's kinda like a new tax or law.  You can say "if we increase this tax by 1% it will lead to an increase of $xxx" when in reality it changes behaviors as well and never has the same effect people think it will.

You can measure numbers all day long in a vacuum, but real world can be totally different.  As long as the human element is involved it's nearly impossible to calculate ROI with exact numbers.  Take for example Alan's pressure washer.  He was thinking that it would save him trips to Home Depot, instead they are getting through screens faster and they are cleaner than before, which is something he didn't anticipate.  Which helps further down the line with emulsion longevity, pinholes and overall screen processing speed.

I am sure there was a way to say this in less words...this is why I fail at twitter.

[bimmridder]

Brandt, the novel has been sent PM

[GraphicDisorder]

Brandt, the novel has been sent PM

Thank you sir

[Gilligan]

It's kinda like a new tax or law.  You can say "if we increase this tax by 1% it will lead to an increase of $xxx" when in reality it changes behaviors as well and never has the same effect people think it will.

You can measure numbers all day long in a vacuum, but real world can be totally different.  As long as the human element is involved it's nearly impossible to calculate ROI with exact numbers.  Take for example Alan's pressure washer.  He was thinking that it would save him trips to Home Depot, instead they are getting through screens faster and they are cleaner than before, which is something he didn't anticipate.  Which helps further down the line with emulsion longevity, pinholes and overall screen processing speed.

I am sure there was a way to say this in less words...this is why I fail at twitter.

But that's the thing... Alan can now see it and calculate it and demonstrate the numbers to others to show why paying $1100 vs $200 is better in the long run.  If you give him the details of your shop, screens per day, oem and other things going on in your process he will be able to calculate your ROI.  He never said that this pressure washer made him warm, fuzzy and tingly inside.  This ain't Chris Matthews and an Obama speech, it's screen printing equipment.

[alan802]

Nobody will be able to convince the other side of anything Gilligan so it's best to not even go there again.  I do things the way I do and it works and others that don't believe in that system do it differently and it works, and I do my very best to acknowledge and respect other people's systems and can only hope they do so in return.  There is plenty of evidence on both sides of the fence and nobody is wrong in this debate, but this is the internet and this is the last place anyone wants to be perceived as being wrong in any way so there will always be an argument.  I've got too much to do and know we're on a better path than the vast majority of shops out there and will continue to stay that course.  And when the time is right, when it makes financial sense to SRI, we'll go CTS and never look back.  But right now I have more than a decent grasp of the CTS technology to know we're not quite there yet, getting closer, but we need more bottlenecks and higher screen volume for it to be the right thing for SRI.

[Gilligan]

Even when no one is even suggesting anyone is wrong.

The Internet can be a very tricky thing.

[GraphicDisorder]

Nobody is wrong except Gilligan, he's always wrong. 

[bimmridder]

Alan, this is why I preface a lot of my comments with, "This is what works in MY shop".

[GraphicDisorder]

Well couple days with this thing so far and it's going to take a bit of getting used to the new way to do things to get the most ideal flow through here but so far we have not had to micro at all a few jobs and a few others just barely.  Just did a 6 color and only bumped 1 color.  I can see time savings there for our shop for sure. 

[ebscreen]

Not to pee on anyone's parade, but I get the feeling that if M&R built a FPU/TriLoc combo (like Alan has been saying for years)
the time savings/convenience "wow" factor on these things wouldn't be so drastic. Just the idea of carrier sheets makes me shudder.

[screenprintguy]

True Eb, buuuut, you still have to print film, you still have to take the time to line them up, even if it's quick, not as quick as printing the sep on the screen and boom you are done. You have to work with one for a couple days, and know what the hype is all about. Not that the FPU isn't a good idea, it's just another element of time and possible human error. We did it all three ways. I cut up a tri lock frame to do what Alan is doing, I don't think I had it quite dialed in as he does so I went back to carrier sheets again and now the CTS, there is no way I'd go backwards. NOOOOOOO WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!