Yeah Frog that must be what it is!
Zane, I totally agree on imageable area with this screen size- 17" w. is the max on a 25"w. static frame if you want to successfully register multicolor art imo. The tension dynamics of a static frame can cause mis-registration and frustrate print pressures at the perimeter of the art if you try and go bigger. I imagine a roller would be a bit more forgiving here since the mesh technically "ends" further outboard of the frame, assuming the press is front/rear clamping, but for statics 17"w is our limit.
Also agree that anything over that belongs on a 30"w frame. FYI, your spyder will (supposedly) image a 30x40 frame, there's just an upfront expense for the big drum which is spendy due to the machinery needed to correctly mill the drum at that format. We mulled it over and decided not to invest in that tooling until we get strong requests for that image size. For me it's the bigger the sweet spot the better, up to a point of diminishing returns with cost.
I doubt we'll use the 17x20 print size on Ts very often, this is more for bandanas and such. Our T orders typically run down to XS and that's topping out at 12-13" for an imprint that doesn't look weird. We get the same thing from clients who often think they want a 17"w image on Ts but don't understand that most art will look pretty bad when worn at that print width, not to mention your run would have to start at sz M/L.
For us, we run tooling that is 2" wider than the max width. This is to accommodate rounded squeegee corners, blade dynamics, press differences, etc. So it follows that a 17"w image would print with 19" platens and blades. I don't like blades printing too close to the edges of statics and I don't like having less that 1" on either side of the tooling wider than the image unless I'm running a smiling jack.
So 18" blades/floods and what size platens Sean?