ImagesMagUK_Digital-Edition_Dec17

www.images-magazine.com DECEMBER 2017 images 59 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT second set of screens burned in case something happens on press so you can quickly swap one out. Make sure you have a support team in place that can keep ink in the screens, and shirts loaded on the carts or table so the loader doesn’t have to stop. Every once in a while trade out loaders so that there is good quality in loading and your staff stays sharp. Give a puller or catcher some experience running the press on a longer job, and have the regular press operator in the puller position mentoring them. This keeps your crew fresh, focused and engaged in the job. For press speed, nice and comfortable is better than teetering on the edge of too fast. If the loader is skipping boards because they can’t keep up, slow it down a bit to ensure quality. Keep a production log and record the total number of impressions produced per shift as well as any misprints. This is extremely valuable information to use later for estimating for other potential large orders, so make sure your crew takes it seriously. Tricks to increase speed When printing longer runs on dark colours, after a bit your platens will heat up due to increased exposure from the flash cure units. You can back down the dwell time under the flash units as the heated boards will help with this process. Also, make sure that your squeegee stroke length is tuned into the actual size of the image. You don’t need to have everything travel several inches past the image as that just slows down the printing. Adjust on press, as this small amount of time can really add up over a longer print run. As mentioned above, watch your press speed and load at a comfortable pace. Not stopping is the key. Have support crew add extra ink or load your shirts on the table or cart, as this will increase your throughput considerably. Remember, every time you stop the press you are losing about 15 shirts an hour. Keep quality a priority Quality prints are important, especially on larger orders. You don’t want to run the risk of your client rejecting or complaining about the order, so make sure your management staff keeps a keen eye on the job. Hang up a printed sample and have your catcher compare your sample with one off the belt occasionally. They should match. Watch your placement, as you can have a great-looking image but it could be printed crooked or off- centre. Train your staff to look for key items with the print and know what to do to correct any challenges. Most shops use a 2% per impression defect ratio, but for large orders it is common in the industry that this is reduced to 1%. If you are doing your job right, you won’t even come close to that. Make sure that your ‘recipe’ for printing the job is recorded, so that you know how to replicate the job if there is a re-order later. Record all mesh counts, Pantone colours in sequence, squeegee durometer, placement (3” down from the collar for example) or any special tips for running the job. Contracting part of the order Some orders are so huge it will be impossible for you to meet the deadline. One way to be able to take that order is to consider farming out a portion, or even the entire job, to another printer. This is a tricky business as you need to partner with someone who you can trust, has room on their schedule, and can produce the job and meet both quality and timing considerations. If you go this route, be absolutely clear on your expectations on the order with over-communicated instructions. Make sure an approved sample is provided. During production check in with them frequently for progress updates and to discuss any challenges. Get the okay from your client if you feel you need it. If you don’t want to disclose you are contracting part or the entire order to another shop, that’s acceptable too. However, at the end of the day, you are responsible for the order. If the other Every time you stop the press you are losing about 15 shirts an hour