Where to locate open heads on an auto and why.

[ZooCity]

We're installing a 14 station with 10 heads this month and I'm running scenarios on which heads to leave open.  Wondering where everyone else places their open heads and why.  This will be our first press with stations with no print head on them. 

I do know that we do not print black or other low buildup colors first down before UB anymore.  Love the concept but it doesn't run in my shop's reality of scorchy blends and quartz flashes.  The black always burns up the fabric beneath before the white gels. 

We do like to use a greaser on head 1 for many jobs and we love using a roller screen (maybe an iron someday) at the cool down/immediately after the flash.  So I'd like to leave head 3 open but will miss using a smoothing screen in the cases it's used as a cool down.  I think once you figure out where to put the first non-printing station it falls into place from there but I'm still torn. 

[blue moon]

we just left the the first and last two print arms in. While it would be more intuitive to leave the second and second to last open, it makes more sense to skip the head 3 and 10 in your case (it was 3 and 8 for us).

pierre

[jvanick]

Depending on how much fleece you do, I would suggest leaving the first or last head off so you can have someone in the middle applying webtack.

Otherwise, I like my flash in head 3 so I can use a lint screen in head 1.

And then like Pierre said, second to last and the one before it so you can flash before a highlight white.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[ebscreen]

No matter what you do you'll wish it was different at various times.

Print color maximization is usually the deal breaker though so personally I'd go second and second to last.

And luckily, if the quantity warrants it, the machines are super modular and moving a head is not out
of the realm of possibility.


And to note, we have yet to scorch a single piece on the Roq.

[ffokazak]

I love having numerous heads before my flash. That way I can have several underbase screens setup at once.

My first flash is on head 4 of a 12 colour machine most of the time

[TCT]

Check back for a similar topic that Mike(screenprintguy) had posted before he got his GT3. I remember it being a good thread with real good points. If memory serves me correctly, I want to say it was like 4 and 10.

And luckily, if the quantity warrants it, the machines are super modular and moving a head is not out
of the realm of possibility.

^^^^ Is SO correct. Even adding a head/color yourself a year or more down the line is easy.

[ZooCity]

Excellent thoughts! 

Leaning toward 2 and 10 open but double indexing, which we will be doing on this machine, throws a little bit of wrench in that.  We didn't order an iron but I think I want to play with having an op apply foil inline and press it on the last head so there that too...

Guaranteed I'll eventually regret whatever configuration we settle on, haha.  Reviewing all the jobs we used to revolve and some others to see what's best fit for our print methods. 

Stoked in any case to have the extra open heads though, printing or no.   It's going to really sing for our usual dcub/plasti top color configuration on many jobs.

[DannyGruninger]

Our eco would be pretty similar to what your getting and I started with 3 open. Eventually moving it to number 2 and happier with that. I always liked being able to print flash roll/iron and 3 made that lose a station. We recently made the switch to primarily all hsa or dbase combined with hsa and being able to pfpf is nice. The good thing is your super savvy/mechanical so moving a head is an easy deal if you ever want. Love the open heads, when we aren't using a flash in that 2nd head it's nice to use it as viewing station during setups/runs. I've seen guys stick it close to the end and like that but I like my 2 flash to have at least 4/5 print heads after it to build your color or have the ability to jam another one in there before a final color if needed. I suppose it all depends on how your trying to print. With most of our waterbase we print a few then flash print a few flash or pfpfp low color but we used to stick a flash in 3 and none anywhere else then print everything wow smashing together.... print the base flash it then go 10 colors but not like that anymore lol

[1964GN]

On our 12/16 YOU we left #3 and #9 open and it's worked well for us.

1) Lint Screen
2) UB
3) Flash
4) Roller (testing the ROQIron at the moment)
5,6,7,8
9) Flash
10,11,12,13,14

[Inkworks]

You want at least 2 print heads before the flash, and a cool-down after, similarly at the end you want a cool down and 2 print heads after the second flash.

[alan802]

It would be head 3 here, but I HAVE to have the 1st 2 heads available but I've never had the issue of burning underneath the black and we print black down 1st all the time (not many triblends printed here.  But if you're going to run a greaser then you really need 2 heads just like I would do. 

And I LOVE the idea of having 4 stations more than your color count.  I hear the argument against that all the time but I've had an 8/12 for several years, and a 10/12, now a 12/14 and the 8/12 was more "versatile per color capacity" (just made that up and it probably doesn't make sense to most but oh well).  It was a true 8 color press where an 8/10 when printing darks is really only a 6/10 in most cases.  And I get it, just slap two more print heads on the press but really you aren't going to use them very often anyway, at least we didn't.  I bet head 3 on our RPM doesn't have more than 1000 impressions on it total in almost 8 years and the press's count is 2.4 million, so do the math on that.  We certainly didn't get our money's worth on that head up to this point.  Maybe in another 5 or so years we will, but the flash is on head 3 right now and doesn't look like I'm moving it anytime soon. 

[heray11]

 It may be to late for me to answer  but I would, if you have the qty of work, leave num 5 6 open. Yhis way you cud run two jobs at once, if you have a close enough dryer,  or if you have fronts and backs on a large order, it would cut you time in half and DOUBLE the profits.  If you likke money>  Howard 713 344 8604

[tonypep]

Our presses are configured from job to job with open/flash/print/rollers wherever/whenever we need them

[Admiral]

The only head that I can really agree on just about never needing would be head 3 on the machine.  This is where the first flash sits 99% of the time and the 1% it needs to be in 2 means head 3 is a cool down.  That would mean no roller / smoothing screen after the flash is the only potential down side for us there. 

We have a 12 color 14 station and definitely have used heads 4-12 a lot and needed everyone at some point...

If I had to choose though here is what I would do:
1 Print Head
2 Print Head
3 (Flash/cool down)
4 Print Head
5 Print Head
6 Print Head
7 Print Head
8 Print Head
9 Print Head
10 (cool down or last flash before HL white and next head is a cool down)
11 Print Head
12 Print Head
13 (unload)
14 (load)

The idea of 3 empty stations for loading / unloading sounds neat and helpful for fleece but it would be too niche and not how I would want to schedule people anyway.

[Prince Art]

It may be to late for me to answer  but I would, if you have the qty of work, leave num 5 6 open. Yhis way you cud run two jobs at once, if you have a close enough dryer,  or if you have fronts and backs on a large order, it would cut you time in half and DOUBLE the profits.  If you likke money>  Howard 713 344 8604

So, you're saying, essentially, run 1 large press like it's 2 smaller presses, with load/pull stations in 2 different places? Interesting. I personally am in no position to use that idea; but that is a completely new thought to me. And I like new thoughts! You never know what further new & useful thoughts they may spawn. Thanks!