Impressions - August/September 2024 - 45

Turns out this saying was adopted from some Navy Seals who
were training at the same gym, it being a commonly used term
among Seal teams. The fundamentals of this philosophy are also
applicable to many of the processes involved in screen printing
and apparel decorating in general. There are several ways to
think about it, but some of the most relevant pertain to waste
and energy conservation. To focus on improving those areas and
making them smoother, i.e., reduce resistance or friction, we
first deconstruct them and then look at the parts that contribute
to the process as a whole. That done, we can reassemble them to
achieve better flow and higher productivity.
Less motion, greater efficiency
A basic principle of efficiency is addressing the micro first and
then reflecting back on how this affects the overall, larger process.
To start out then, what do we mean by waste when it comes to
screen printing? That by itself can be a bit of a pandora's box,
because there are lots and lots of potential areas that either produce
or contribute to waste in printing. It is therefore useful
to categorize them first into process waste, and component
or product waste.
Process waste can include things related to tasks, movements,
staging steps and transporting or adjusting processes. If there
are excess steps being done to prepare screens, fold and stack
shirts, load ink into the screens or even just load each shirt onto
a pallet, these all represent waste that can be reduced. Bear in
mind that getting rid of the unneeded is often more effective
than adding something extra. In some cases, a process can be
automated or even eliminated entirely depending on whatever
technology you may have in hand.
To pick a specific example, has your shop ever tried to figure
out the most efficient way of loading garments to be printed?
Most shop owners and operators would say they know what
the best process is already. The interesting thing, though, is how
much a simple thing like loading shirts can vary from one operator
to another. Some printers like the garments to be stacked
with the side to be printed facing down. Others prefer them
facing up. Still others prefer to have their shirts off to the right
or directly behind them.
The point here isn't to say which group is right, but to look
at the results they achieve. If, for example, you measured the
A basic principle of efficiency is
addressing the micro first and then
reflecting back on how this affects
the overall, larger process
method that is consistently less tiring to the loader and has the
least tendency to distort the garments being decorated, you
will probably have a winner. The technique that ends up being
your own " best practice " will also probably require the least
steps and the least twisting of the torso or bending at the waist.
When you're decorating hundreds of shirts even these kinds of
little extra wasted motions add up.
On a side note: one of the fastest, most efficient T-shirt loaders
I have ever seen employed an " under the armpit " style. The garments
were stacked behind her on a cart equipped with a foot
pedal that would raise the cart incrementally as the shirt stack
was reduced. The operator would load by reaching across her
body with her left hand and then stretch her right arm out to
grab the other seam without turning around. The top garment
would then be popped open in one smooth movement over
the pallet and gently pulled back at the shoulders and smoothed
as needed. She told me the right amount of tack on the pallet
was key to doing this well. It was fast, but not rushed, with zero
wasted motion or extra steps needed.
Getting Your Ink Right
Another area where manual screen printers, in particular, can
improve their processes is in the area of ink. The ink that comes
from most suppliers tends to be too thick out of the bucket. This
is especially true of white and light-colored inks in which the
pigments are heavier. Experimenting with an ink additive when
working with your most commonly printed inks can make an
enormous difference, especially if you have to consistently do
two passes with the squeegee to get the screen to clear out. The
best viscosity of ink should clear out of the screen in a single
print, unless you are printing with a heavy solid or high opacity.
Another way to ease the arms and wrists of a manual printer is
to add some extra EOM (or " emulsion over mesh, " which stands
Rich Santo of Chicago's Culture Studio, where doing things
right comes first, efficiency second and speed comes as a
natural consequence. Photo by Thomas Trimingham
Aug./Sept. 2024
P.45
Impressions - August/September 2024

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