Author Topic: It was just a pinhole  (Read 3793 times)

Offline jsheridan

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It was just a pinhole
« on: December 13, 2016, 10:17:44 AM »
That turned into a 2 hour discussion about errors.

Have not seen a "pinhole" in months.. pre press is that good.. well..

They missed one.. I missed it on setup.. puller missed it and catcher had close to 100 on the table before that vile son-of-a-bitch got taped off..

The Catcher is about to lose his job for missing it..

Thoughts?..
Blacktop Graphics Screenprinting and Consulting Services


Offline Doug B

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2016, 10:32:05 AM »
  I have been in the business 48 years now and I still miss something once
in a very great while. Unless there is more to it besides that incident, remind
me to never work for you.

Offline GraphicDisorder

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2016, 10:33:32 AM »
I think thats the trouble with pinholes, we get them so rarely anymore that I think my guys stop looking for them as hard and then one sneaks in and we get bit.

Brandt | Graphic Disorder | www.GraphicDisorder.com
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Offline Frog

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2016, 10:37:10 AM »
One thing is certain, during a run, it's rare to catch it on the first shirt, or even the first one off the press. Dust Bunnies are a similar gremlin.
That rug really tied the room together, did it not?

Offline bimmridder

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2016, 10:39:46 AM »
Is the catcher praised every time they catch an order successfully? If not, than I would have a quick conversation with them, and move to the next job. Short and sweet. It is a two way street. Just my opinion
Barth Gimble

Printing  (not well) for 35 years. Strong in licensed sports apparel. Plastisol printer. Located in Cedar Rapids, IA

Offline 3Deep

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2016, 10:53:43 AM »
If it's a small spot of ink give him the spot remover gun and move on, I hate to make a mistake and cuss my own self out about it but hey it happens. Oh and the if the catcher catches the first one your printer has already printed at least 10 to 12 more depending on the size of your press ;)
« Last Edit: December 13, 2016, 12:20:27 PM by 3Deep »
Life is like Kool-Aid, gotta add sugar/hardwork to make it sweet!!

Offline GraphicDisorder

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2016, 11:02:03 AM »
If it's a small spot of ink give the him the spot remover gun and move on, I hate to make a mistake and cuss my own self out about it but hey it happens. Oh and the if the catcher catches the first one your printer has already printed at least 10 to 12 more depending on the size of your press ;)

Or when you have a 30ft dryer like we do and the first one the catcher see's is probably closer to 30pcs printed at that point depending on which screen has the hole. We stress our puller needs to catch the issues for this reason, the catcher checks as well though and it sucks when he's the first to see it.
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Offline Frog

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2016, 11:09:53 AM »
We stress our puller needs to catch the issues for this reason, the catcher checks as well though and it sucks when he's the first to see it.
In a perfect world, sure, but at 5-6 seconds a shirt, to pull and stack, it's not too difficult to imagine a pinhole spot hiding like Waldo on a 200 sq in design sneaking through for a while.
That rug really tied the room together, did it not?

Offline GraphicDisorder

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2016, 11:20:16 AM »
Yup, but if we dont stress he's the first line of defense then the catcher would be that, which would be a problem.
Brandt | Graphic Disorder | www.GraphicDisorder.com
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Offline mk162

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2016, 11:26:46 AM »
So does the puller not check for them either?  Just the catcher?  I would put most of the blame on the puller.  That is how it works here.  By the time it reaches the catcher you've got anywhere from 12-24 pcs with a flaw.

Also, a 2 hour convo over something that should take around 20-30 minute to fix?  That sounds real enjoyable.  When you waste more time/money than it would have taken to fix the problem you may have blown it out of proportion.

Give the guy a blowout gun and a stack of shirts and have him go to town.  He was the last person in the production chain to miss it.  Do you blame him for misspellings too?

Not trying to come across as an ass here, but in the grand scheme of screw ups, this one is minor.


Offline Frog

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2016, 11:41:39 AM »
This is also a case where haste can make waste. I don't have a problem when the press is spitting out a couple of hundred an hour, but when it's pushed close to the limit, it's not realistic. I'd say that the loader has a similar stress level with needing to get the shirts straight, but catching pinholes and dust bunnies and sometimes fighting aggressive tack and still getting that shirt off before the board spins away,  can make unloading a much tougher job than it's often made out to be (and paid as).
Catcher has a little more time, but frankly, I've never worked in a production setting when shirts, on an a typical run were each caught and stacked individually as they arrived.
I usually have seen an end-of-belt worker managing 1-2 catch-bins serving 2-4 autos.

Bottom line, yeah, it's a bummer when this happens, and hopefully it's seldom, but it ain't always as easy as it seems!
« Last Edit: December 13, 2016, 12:25:17 PM by Frog »
That rug really tied the room together, did it not?

Offline jsheridan

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2016, 11:45:46 AM »
 currently running a press so I can't say much but this is not my decision the one who owns the company makes that call.

plastisol,.was.spotted out in 20ish minutes
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Offline GraphicDisorder

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2016, 11:49:58 AM »
Humans will be humans. We have to train our people to look for issues, first line and last line of defense and everywhere in between. But crap will happen still. That's just how it goes.
Brandt | Graphic Disorder | www.GraphicDisorder.com
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Offline Croft

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2016, 11:58:43 AM »
Thats really not worth a 2 hour talk and getting bent out of shape for, if it happens every week maybe. But the 2 people ahead of the catcher also are responsible they can't get away with just chit chatting up there hoping for someone els to catch an error. crap happens

Offline Shanarchy

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Re: It was just a pinhole
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2016, 12:53:55 PM »
Spot cleaning the shirts sucks to do. Give the person who had the responsibility of spotting the pinhole the task of having to spot clean them and fix his/her mistake. That will "motivate" them to keep a good eye out. Log the time it takes for them to spot clean them. If it becomes an ongoing issue you now have actual data to back up why they didn't get as good of a raise, got written up, or you had to let them go.

But outside looking in, if this is the first time it's happened in months, sounds like they are doing a good job. It's a fine line between making sure your workers know that we expect them to do their job right and making them hate working there.