Halftone printing is all about the dots. The whole concept of printing various tones by fooling the eye is the very definition of a halftone. The tones we get are determined by the accuracy of the dots we print.
One of the most perplexing, challenging aspects of printing four-color process is balancing color on press. This difficulty is due to the general lack of color knowledge of press operators and supervisors, most of whom started as entry-level helpers or general production workers.
Misprints, everybody has them. Some days are better than others. Some jobs are always a problem. How much is it costing you?
Whenever the topic of print quality on press arises, the conversation will usually drift to the topic of off contact. This is one of the most critical parts of the print equation.
A key ingredient in print productivity is the life of the stencil. With automatic presses now configured to eighteen colors or more, the chances of the press going down because of screen failure are quite high.
True process color printing on textiles has been around for about 30 years. Any screen printer who has tried it knows that printing halftone color on a fabric surface is much different than if it were printed on paper.
Color-to-color fit is one of my pet peeves. I hate out of register images, especially ones that have made it to the general public. It takes so little to make it right in the first place.
Your ability to see and communicate color is critical to professionally reproducing designs. In our highly competitive market, understanding color makes the difference between a delighted client and one who is disappointed with the final result.
We have had our Gauntlet III in production for nearly 3 months and have been thrilled with the machine. We have already put over 120,000 impressions on the machine and it is still going strong. We have found that the individual off-contact for each printhead helps with various printing techniques. It is also a plus to be able to adjust in 1/16” increments when needed. Our first job was a 9-color on dark apparel with a 17” print stroke and one flash. We were able to run the machine comfortably at 920 pieces per hour. The addition of the laser for print placements has saved us valuable time where we used to mark our pallets with a T-Square. The touchscreen interface is very user friendly and easy to make adjustments when needed.
Having a built-in maintenance schedule [M&R’s Maintenance Minder™] for the machine is another perk and allows management to easily assure that the presses are being properly maintained. We have not had any problems to date with the machine but are at ease knowing that all parts that we could ever need are able to be overnighted to us.
Overall, we have seen an increase in our production numbers due to the efficiencies gained with the newest technology on the market. We are able to run as fast as we can clear a screen and dry our underbase.
Simply put, the Gauntlet III is a beast and is built to run 24/7/365.
The Diamondback R Series is our first auto press, and it is the best thing we have ever done here at Showdown Merch. Matched up with the Mini Sprint 2000 and the Red Chili's, we are able to triple our workload easily. This press is the easiest press to set up and do a large order with, and take down is a breeze.
Amazing service on such a great product.
Any shops out there can feel free to give us a call at (403) 887-3388 if you need any other reviews on this product.
The Sprint 3000 is superb and we are really, really happy with it. We've got the recipes dialed in for our inks now and it's running great. We have noticed improvements in the finish on our plastisols, too. They seem to be coming through much softer. Assuming it's because we are much more efficiently curing than with the electric curers!
Our new i-Image ST is the biggest improvement to prepress we’ve ever seen. It’s eliminated our need for film, and unlike film, digital images are easy to store and retrieve, making blown-screen replacement a snap.
i-Image ST has improved our screen quality, increased screen-generation speed, and reduced cost. Screen production is way up because we’ve cut exposure times by 75%. And i-Image has virtually eliminated post-processing screen touch-ups. We could never produce screens of this quality—or at this speed—the conventional way. Our CTS screens are unmatched.
Multi-screen jobs come out perfectly registered, and since i-Image ST pre-registers screens for Tri-Loc, our entire prepress process, from screen prep to registration, has been cut dramatically.
Our i-Image ST will probably end up being one of the fastest returns on investment we’ve ever had.
M&R makes the most high quality screen printing equipment in the world. Even with that said, parts get old and can wear out. Usually, at the worst possible time. It’s times like those that we’re glad we chose M&R as our equipment manufacturer. Even years after the sale, we can count on M&R 24/7. They are part of the fabric that is Ink Brigade. An instrumental partner in our success.
A frantic call in the middle of the night is always met on the other end of the line by an experienced member of their service staff who expertly diagnoses my issue, and starts the process of solving our problem.
No matter the age, or oddball part, the parts department makes sure I’ll have what I need the next morning. My printing crew hardly misses a beat and we don’t miss the deadline. That makes for happy customers and makes me appreciate M&R more and more every year. We rest easy knowing people like Dan Goldberg and the rest of the service and parts departments are working hard for us behind the scenes every day.
