Is It Time To Upgrade Your Screen Printing Equipment?
It isn't always as cut-and-dry as "my dryer just died" when deciding if an upgrade or replacement may be necessary. Here are some tips to help you decide if an upgrade might be right for you.
Some things might be easy to determine - does one of my press arms no longer hold the pallet because there is a giant crack in the metal? This is an easy one to answer, but what about some of the electrical equipment in your shop - your dryer, your exposure unit, your flash unit, etc. If they turn on then they must be working properly, right? Well, that may be true, but it may not tell the whole store of what screen printing equipment in your shop might need replacing.
Consider first of all your exposure unit. Are you not seeing exposure times as short as you used to? If you are using a unit with halogen or fluorescent bulbs, you might have inconsistent performance across bulbs. Sometimes this is easy to spot, but not so much if you are experiencing inconsistent burns in your emulsion (some spots washing out easy, others perhaps not washing out at all). Some of the new LED exposure units offer incredible exposure times and greatly increased bulb life. Rather than continuing to replace bulb and suffer from performance issues, it might be time to consider an upgrade to the newest technology for your business.
The screen printing dryer can sometimes be the hardest piece of equipment to diagnose, and most shops have the 'if it turns on it must be ok' attitude, but this mistake can be costly. Consistent speed for higher output shops absolutely depends on a properly working dryer having the ability to hold heat properly within the drying chamber. If you find yourself constantly having to adjust heat , belt speed, or element height in order to maintain proper curing, it might be time for a comprehensive inspection of your screen printing equipment.
The same principle applies to your flash unit as applies to your screen printing dryer; look for inconsistent heat and varying flash times as reasons that you should perform a thorough inspection. Issue like this cause lost production time, are inefficient for a shop, and cost you money. If you are constantly stopping to make adjustments to your screen printing equipment, then your shop is already losing money that could be spent on a proper upgrade.
As always, Texsource maintains an experienced sales staff that is standing by to help you diagnose any screen printing equipment issues that you might have. Call us today at 888-344-4657 for free advice on upgrading with no obligation. We look forward to hearing from you! www.screenprintingsupply.com
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