The Right Finish Ensures a Good Start

What you do after completing a screen print order impacts how smoothly the next job goes.
Sept 3, 2008

By Greg Kitson, Contributing Writer

In the post-press phase of screen printing, as throughout the production cycle, efficiency is your primary goal — and having set procedures in place is key to achieving it. By laying out the steps that must be taken, you’ll speed up the process and help ensure that everything is done properly. Also, your entire staff will be on the same page regarding what needs to be done next and how to do it.

What Is the Post-Press Phase?
Once a job is printed, you might think of it as finished and mentally move on to what the next order will require. However, these processes are concurrent, and this should be considered when developing procedures.

Post press encompasses the actions that take place after you print the garment. Before releasing a job, the press or set-up crew should make sure all production details are properly documented. This is the final opportunity for press personnel to make sure ink, screen and other printing information have been correctly recorded. Any test prints going into the job file should be labeled and matched with the corresponding paperwork. If you use a computer-management system, information should be posted at this point.

Write It Down
How well you document each job has a huge impact on how smoothly a repeat order goes, how long it takes to set up, and how consistent it is. In order to have CPR (consistency, predictability and repeatability) — a concept taught by veteran printer Mark Coudray, Coudray Graphics, San Luis Obispo, Calif. — you must document everything about a job.

When the final print in an order emerges from the dryer, whoever pulls and packs garments should check the number of each size and the total quantity against the numbers on the work order. (If the press is automatic, the number of prints to pack should match the figure on the counter.) The counts must agree before the printing phase can be considered finished. Only after the job is “released” can the transition to the next run begin.

Tear It Down
The next step in the post-press process is teardown, where you deal with the ink and screens.

Ink. The press crew should be aware of the criteria that determine whether to reclaim ink from the screens. Ink can represent a substantial investment, and as much as a half-gallon or more of ink may remain on the press.

In some instances, ink may be too contaminated with lint and other foreign particles to be worth saving. However, when you do reclaim ink, documentation is once again critical. If, for example, a run involves two different whites — such as an underbase and a highlight or two slightly different shades of blue — each formulation must be stored separately and returned to the properly labeled container.

The procedure for reclaiming ink begins with removing the squeegee and, when using an automatic press, the floodbar. Scrape the excess ink into the container and wipe the screens down, rack them, or send them to reclaiming, depending on your shop’s policy.

Screens. The work order should specify whether to reclaim or store screens after pulling them from the press. Sometimes screens are archived when they’re used for sampling and an approval for an order is expected. They’re also stored for rush reorders, as in the case of a sellout of special event T-shirts.

My shop keeps a small stainless-steel rolling cart at each press for taking screens to reclaiming and washout. Although we presently do both in the same area but not the same sink, we’re reconfiguring our shop to have a dedicated area for each procedure. Many printers use the same sink for screen washout during imaging that they use for reclaiming. While common, it’s not something I recommend because it promotes chemical contamination.

In our reclaiming area, imaged screens sit in a rack. Reclaiming begins with carding the screens a second time (putting the ink in a scrap bucket) and removing tape. We then batch the screens, usually by mesh count. Grouping finer and coarser meshes lets us reclaim them faster and more thoroughly because all screens in a batch require similar techniques.

We don’t reclaim a process screen the same way we do an athletic screen, and doing 30 screens used for a process print together boosts throughput. Again, efficiency is the name of the game. Our staff reclaims screens in batches of 50 to 125 a day. Usually the process doesn’t go on continually, but we try not to let imaged screens sit overnight, which would lengthen the time they’re out of the production cycle and increase the likelihood of staining.

As the screens are racked awaiting reclaim, a member of the press team determines what screens are needed for upcoming jobs. The screen print production manager matches the films and work orders with the mesh in the prepress phase, and determines on which machine he wants to print each job. These teardown and set-up functions are performed concurrently.

Once the appropriate screens are reclaimed, they go onto a rack. When these are completely dry, the screen maker pulls those with the meshes needed, coats them and completes the shop screen loop. Another team member then does the imaging. Typically, a reclaimed screen is back on a press in a day and a half. Assuming 240 working days in a year, we get as many as 150 images out of a screen per year.

Document It
The interrelationships between departments and their functions tie the production cycle together. Complete and correct documentation ensures the clear communication necessary for everyone to perform his job in concert. The work order can be an invaluable tool for accomplishing this.

The work order goes in a “job jacket” or is simply clipped together and accompanies the job throughout the process. This form provides written directions and specifications while serving as a procedural guide and quality-control checklist. It is also a place to note problems and changes that arise during production.

When a job is torn down, the work order should be corrected and/or updated. As part of the shipping procedure, we combine the information recorded during each phase of the job in a “work order pack.”  The information in the corresponding computer file is then updated. A printout of the job documentation goes into the work order pack along with the positives and a fabric test print, which is then archived in numerical order by job number. Everything necessary to review or repeat the job is together and easily accessible.

Greg Kitson is founder and president of Mind’s Eye Graphics in Decatur, Ind. Contact him at greg@mindseyeg.com or at mindseyeg.com.

Shining Stars
Despite an overcast economic forecast for many industries worldwide, the decorated apparel trade continues to glimmer through the clouds, as is evident by the finely crafted entries Impressions received for the 30th annual Impressions Awards competition.
January 05, 2009

The Next Level: A Business Expansion Case Study
Raw Talent Inc. co-founders share the experience of a recent upgrade from one manual and one entry-level automatic press to two high-output, 8-color automatics.



On a good day's worth of production, Cody Murray and Corey Bramlett, president and vice president of custom apparel company Raw Talent Inc., Bethlehem, Ga., pull in what a majority of their peers earn in one salaried year.
December 17, 2008

DIGITAL EDITION

Buckle Up for a Thrill Ride
The decorated apparel industry, despite substantial challenges in the U.S. economy, is alive and…well, we could be doing better. Wall Street — and the economy in general — are on a wild roller coaster as the credit crunch continues and decorated apparel is not exempt. While no one can predict the future with certainty, this survey-based analysis suggests we'll be along for the ride, but perhaps on a smaller coaster that doesn't rise as high or plunge as fast as the monster whipsawing the rest of the U.S. economy.
December 01, 2008

Ink-Matching Tips
Screen printers have two options when it comes to ink color-matching systems: pigment concentrates (PC) or finished inks. Using pigment concentrates, printers can measure concentrated pigments according to the ink manufacturer's formulation guide and mix them with a plastisol carrier base. A finished ink system already has the correct base-to-pigment ratio, so the inks come ready to print.
December 01, 2008

How to Handle Dissatisfied Customers
Learn the best ways to handle customers who are unhappy with your shop's work.
Even the best decorators in the industry occasionally are confronted with customers who are unhappy with their work. The real question isn't who's at fault. The issue is: How should you handle a dissatisfied customer?
December 01, 2008