Author Topic: I-Image/Screens  (Read 2585 times)

Offline ericheartsu

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I-Image/Screens
« on: April 07, 2015, 03:42:07 PM »
For those of you that use an I-Image, are you finding any difference between using rollers and statics?

I'm going to do an experiment this week, and see if we find any difference between using rollers with s-mesh, and statics with S-Mesh, with the tri lock.
Night Owls
Waterbased screen printing and promo products.
www.nightowlsprint.com 281.741.7285


Offline jvanick

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2015, 04:07:15 PM »
For those of you that use an I-Image, are you finding any difference between using rollers and statics?

I'm going to do an experiment this week, and see if we find any difference between using rollers with s-mesh, and statics with S-Mesh, with the tri lock.

HUGE difference for us... of course our S-Mesh statics were coming in with low tension (17-18N) and settling in at 13-14N...

but, with all the roller S-Mesh screens around 22-25N, we are generally right on with tri-lock vs having to micro with the static frames.

-J

Offline ericheartsu

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #2 on: April 07, 2015, 04:26:03 PM »
we are finding more the oppisite. Maybe because our rollers are old, and probably bowing, but we have more issues getting registration with all our rollers. 90% of them are in the 25-30n range.
Night Owls
Waterbased screen printing and promo products.
www.nightowlsprint.com 281.741.7285

Offline jvanick

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #3 on: April 07, 2015, 04:28:51 PM »
have you checked to see if they're flat?

the ones that I've had trouble with in the past are the ones that end up torqued.

Offline ericheartsu

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2015, 04:37:50 PM »
have you checked to see if they're flat?

the ones that I've had trouble with in the past are the ones that end up torqued.

yep! always do when we re-tension?
Night Owls
Waterbased screen printing and promo products.
www.nightowlsprint.com 281.741.7285

Offline Doug S

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2015, 04:54:31 PM »
I have shurlocs and rollers.  I've never had to micro with the rollers "even the first job I set up using rollers and the i image, it was perfect".  Shurlocs, however I'm about 60 to 65% on and the rest a small amount off but usually a very small amount of microing fixes it.  I mean very small amount.

I don't think its is a tension issue for me because my shurlocs are holding a decent amount of tension, about the lowest tension I have is a 150 at 22 newtons, I think it is more of the fact that the triloc only hits the corner points of the roller frames  compared to hitting more of the surface of the shurlocs.   In my case the stops on the i image holder touch the shurloc frames higher on the frame than the triloc does on press. 
It's not a job if you love doing it.

Offline GaryG

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2015, 05:01:26 PM »
Flat with -Stretching table or what are others using for "flat" surface?
And how flat is frame after frame when stretching by hand?
Worth it without stretching table?

Thx

Offline jvanick

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2015, 05:11:14 PM »
Flat with -Stretching table or what are others using for "flat" surface?
And how flat is frame after frame when stretching by hand?
Worth it without stretching table?

Thx

we use a shurloc accellerator setup on a table that I built... our frames are perfectly flat in reference to the exposure unit glass... (glass is sitting on a table right now, so I suppose there's a potential for it to be warped, but certainly not by a lot)

wierd that you're having issues with the roller frames tho as you'd think that the 3 points would match up perfectly on press vs on the i-image

Offline ericheartsu

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2015, 05:20:13 PM »
We RARELY have jobs work 100% of the time. Always back and forth with micros.

Also we stretch our screens with an old newman stretching table, then make sure they are flat on a granite table or on the glass on our exposure unit
Night Owls
Waterbased screen printing and promo products.
www.nightowlsprint.com 281.741.7285

Offline T Shirt Farmer

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2015, 05:29:02 PM »
Hey Eric,

Might want to contact Danny he has posted several times how he has set up HUNDREDS of screens and never had to adjust a micro. I am surprised one the fleet of M&R techs has not come and resolved this for you or that Mr Hoffman has not jumped in to help sort it out. I hope you get the unit to work properly with your frames this must be very frustrating.
Robert
allpremiums.com
Your Source for Decorated Apparel.

Offline ericheartsu

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #10 on: April 07, 2015, 05:40:53 PM »
Hey Eric,

Might want to contact Danny he has posted several times how he has set up HUNDREDS of screens and never had to adjust a micro. I am surprised one the fleet of M&R techs has not come and resolved this for you or that Mr Hoffman has not jumped in to help sort it out. I hope you get the unit to work properly with your frames this must be very frustrating.

Danny has been awesome. He is so helpful, as are most with their time.

Let's just face it, we are just a bunch of dummies over here.
Night Owls
Waterbased screen printing and promo products.
www.nightowlsprint.com 281.741.7285

Offline DannyGruninger

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2015, 07:18:14 PM »
Anyone is welcome to come out to my shop to watch us setup some jobs so you can see how we rarely touch micros...... This is no bs, but I have been running a press in my shop for a couple months now each and every day. On the press that I run I personally tri loc every job myself so there's nobody to blame if it doesn't register and I will tell you I rarely touch a micro.....Just today I was talking to one of my other press ops, as I saw him have to micro a screen and I was thinking WTF I have not touched a micro in probably 200+ screens being setup on my press. He said oh don't worry it was only out because on our dback we have side clamps and if the clamp is too close to the pallet center then the screen touches the side clamp before it touches the tri loc. He knew exactly why it didn't line up which he will not make that mistake again.

It did take me several months to figure out the best way to clamp screens - for example head #1 on my ch3 it is paramount to lock the screens in by first locking the rear clamp, waiting 1 sec then locking the front clamp. If I lock the clamps at the same time OR the front clamp first then we are out of registration every time...... Certain heads on my press I lock at the same time, where others I lock front first then back or vice versa. It is almost a game of trial and error but once I dialed HOW I lock screens in my registration has been close to perfect every setup.

Eric, I would try to lock all your screens down back clamp then front clamp and see what happens.

For my shop we have our rollers really dialed in tension wise along with the corner points that touch the tri lock/cts stops so we have really good registration with our rollers. Our static frames are not quite as close but for the most part we rarely micro those as well.

It took us several months to dial everything in here but like I've claimed we rarely touch micros. Anyone that wants to see this in person with a real shop stop on by, we've got nothing to hide.  ;)
Danny Gruninger
Denver Print House / Lakewood Colorado
https://www.instagram.com/denverprinthouse

Offline T Shirt Farmer

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2015, 07:35:46 PM »
You will figure it out Eric, very cool of Danny to help you out as well!

Hey Eric,

Might want to contact Danny he has posted several times how he has set up HUNDREDS of screens and never had to adjust a micro. I am surprised one the fleet of M&R techs has not come and resolved this for you or that Mr Hoffman has not jumped in to help sort it out. I hope you get the unit to work properly with your frames this must be very frustrating.

Danny has been awesome. He is so helpful, as are most with their time.

Let's just face it, we are just a bunch of dummies over here.
Robert
allpremiums.com
Your Source for Decorated Apparel.

Offline jvanick

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #13 on: April 07, 2015, 07:38:12 PM »
biggest 'trick' for us was learning to 'pinch' the screen and trilock platen together before locking them down.

Offline Dottonedan

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Re: I-Image/Screens
« Reply #14 on: April 07, 2015, 10:07:28 PM »
Not that I know much about setting up a press, but one thing I remember is to hold down the side of the frame while you lock it down. Otherwise, it will jump out of place when you lock it down.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2015, 10:10:07 PM by Dottonedan »
Artist & high end separator, Owner of The Vinyl Hub, Owner of Dot-Tone-Designs, Past M&R Digital tech installer for I-Image machines. Over 35 yrs in the apparel industry. e-mail art@designsbydottone.com