ImagesMagUK_October_2021

www.images-magazine.com 34 images OCTOBER 2021 Industry experts provide insight and guidance in all areas of digital garment and textile printing Digital helpdesk Luke Mitford of MHM Direct GB, which distributes Brother DTG machines, offers essential advice on how to organise an efficient DTG printing workspace Luke Mitford An efficient workflowwill enable greater productivity and interruption as possible. Will a linear or circular workflow work best for you? This is important as it sets the basis of your operation’s workflow. Linear workflows work like a typewriter. Start at the beginning with your order, work through each stage step by step until completion. Once complete, go back to the start and begin the process again for the next order. Circular workflows are never-ending: you start at the beginning for your first order, work through each stage, then when you get to your final stage and complete that order, you’re already back at the beginning of the flow, ready to go straight into the next order. The two main factors that determine which workflow is best for your business are the dimensions of your space and what access you have. Stock should be easily accessible so it can be put into production with minimal travel. Production should be condensed into a tight and efficient workflow to minimise movement – by reducing the time wasted travelling between each piece of equipment, output will be increased. S etting up a new workspace or making an existing one more efficient can take time. But the more time you spend planning and thinking through any potential issues, the better it will work in the long term. First, you need to assess the space. What’s the access like – do you have just one route in? Doors in and out, single doors, double doors, rollershutters, is it on a ground floor or one, two or even four floors up? Are there any staircases leading to that space? Does this access not only give you enough room to get staff and stock in and out, but can you get your machinery in? Do you have enough people to move equipment? Do you have a pallet truck or options for getting a forklift or crane? Do you have everything you need to run the machinery you’re planning on using? Network points, water, waste/ venting, compressed air, gas, electric single phase/three phase? Do you have enough plug sockets to accommodate all the equipment? A lot of problems and complications can be avoided by assessing the space properly and what you require of it before starting an installation or workspace move. Workflow patterns Next, how will you use this space? Layout is important. Where will stock come in? Where will orders be printed? Where will the orders be checked, packed and despatched? You need to ensure that orders can move from one section to the next with as little travel