This is a “good news / bad news” story.

Oh yes, we all know that the Canadian textile screen printing industry needs all the help that it can get right now but, unfortunately, some manufacturers have indicated that they still have to put up their prices. Apparently there have been raw material price increases that have to be passed on. The exception is Ulano who have chosen to not pass on an increase – see the next story.

Wilflex (still the manufacturer of the best screen printing ink in the world) has indicated in a letter to its distributors that 2009 was a tough year. They say that as a result of managing costs through their “Lean Six Sigma” initiative they don’t have to increase the prices of their newer environmental range of inks but they do have to increase the prices of their Classic Inks by about 5%. That is the bad news part of this story.

The good news part of this story is that Screenflex is going to absorb the price increase and NOT PASS IT ON to our Canadian Wilflex customers. In addition to the continuing strong support from our customers, there are two reasons that we can do this. After our Western Canadian sale we undertook a reorganization and belt-tightening that resulted in some cost savings, and the stronger Canadian dollar has helped a bit as well.

Our dollar looks good for now and we will continue to manage our costs carefully even as we increase our sales base. Unless anything significant changes, we should be able to hold the prices down for some time yet.   

 If you have any comments about this story specifically, prices in general, or anything else for that matter, I invite you to drop me an email at michael.best@screenflex.ca  or call 1 800 661 7766 and let’s chat.

Finally some good news out of the U.S. for Canadian screen printers! A letter from Ulano to its distributors dated January 18th, 2010 and signed by Gary Gayton is interesting for the fact that it is not a usual manufacturer’s annual sorry-but-we-have-no-choice-but-to-increase-prices whine.

Quoting from the first paragraph…

“As Al Guercio mentions in his column in the January issue of the Ulano Worldwide Distributor Report, our sales – your purchases from us – have been on the rebound for some months now. No one can be sure we’re out of the recessionary woods yet and there are continuing risks of higher energy and chemical costs, inflation, and devaluation of the US Dollar. Nevertheless, we have decided not  to increase prices at this time. We think this is supportive of you and our mutual customers in what is still a difficult, uncertain economy.”

Notice…  Ulano has decided to NOT increase prices.

Screenflex applauds this news. Finally somebody seems to appreciate what the surviving textile screen printers have been enduring lately, particularly those on this side of the border.

Stanley’s Calgary office will continue to serve printers in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Territories with exactly the same range of products and services that Screenflex provided as well as products and equipment that Screenflex did not carry. Wendy Wenzel has moved over to Stanley’s to manage the business acquired from Screenflex. Printers will therefore be assured of a relatively seamless transition and will still have access to Wendy’s friendly and knowledgeable assistance. Stanley’s Calgary office can be called toll free at 1 800 661 1553 or at 403 243 7722. Wendy can be emailed at wendy@stanleyssignsupply.com

Screenflex will now focus on Central and Eastern Canada (from Manitoba east) from our office and warehouse in Cambridge, Ontario. All contact information for Screenflex remains unchanged. The toll-free number is still 1 800 661 7766 and the email contact is info@screenflex.ca

The Bests want to thank Western Canadian printers for not only their business over the past 21 years but also for the many memories, the laughs and the friendships. At the same time though we remember with fondness the staff and customers who, for one reason or another, passed away during the past two decades.

So, after 21 years in Calgary, Screenflex has left the building…

You probably don’t need reminding by this photograph recently taken at Lake Louise in the Rockies, what time of the year it is again in Canada. But let us remind you that it is now when you have to be careful to not allow emulsion (or any other water-based products) to freeze.

Freezing does not take long in the cold temperatures that we have been having across the country. In some places like Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba it has been down in the minus 20’s and minus 30’s for extended periods this winter already. When you receive a delivery of emulsion from us in winter, and even though we ship all emulsion by heated service, we suggest that you immediately check to ensure that it is not frozen. Cold but flowing is okay; frozen and solid is not okay.

Screenflex has many freezing horror stories such as the frozen 55 gallon drums of emulsion a few Decembers ago and the skid of product on a “heated” truck that broke down in the middle of nowhere 500 kilometers south of Yellowknife. Once emulsion freezes it is useless, wasted, finito, toast. So, keep your emulsion in a cool but not freezing place.

First of all though, before we look at ink costs, printers should keep in mind that they have much bigger cost issues brought on by the decline in the value of the Canadian dollar. Garments, equipment and other imported items should be receiving much more attention than the pennies per print that ink represents.

But since at Screenflex our focus is ink, we want to remind you that there are measures you can take to reduce the volume of ink that you apply to garments and in so doing, reduce your ink costs. Don’t overlook the obvious; it always amazes us how often this happens. Here are some important cost-saving measures: proper selection of mesh; proper mesh tension; proper squeegee selection; and appropriate equipment settings.

Just to illustrate what a difference mesh selection can make to ink cost, look at these results that we produced using Wilflex’s Ink Management System (IMS). We entered all the variables to determine the cost per print (ink type, print size, % coverage, mesh count). We did our comparison by changing just one variable, the mesh count.

When we went from a 110 mesh to a 158 mesh we cut our ink cost by 37%. Then when we moved up to a 196 mesh we cut it by a further 15%. We moved up to 230 mesh and cut the per-print ink cost by another 25%. Our model showed that the ink cost using 110 mesh was more than twice as much as the ink cost when using 230 mesh.

Even though, in the end, the ink cost is mere pennies per print, it is worth considering your mesh counts and using higher counts wherever possible. Aside from the ink saving, your prints will be softer, which is very “in” right now.

And what exactly do we mean by pennies-per-print? Well, in our model we assumed a solid 12 inch by 12 inch print covered 100%. And the cost in the worst case using 110 mesh was just over 10 cents per print which we brought down to just over 4 cents per print using the 230 mesh. Oh, and the pricing? That was at the latest prices adjusted upwards for the latest exchange rates.

Screenflex cannot do anything for you with regard to the international money market and the cost of a U.S. dollar. But we can bring you quality products, efficient friendly service and competent technical support; all at just pennies per print.