A Newsletter from Screenflex Inks Canada Ltd. & www.screenprintcatalog.com

We were chatting today with a printer who was ordering a 5 gallon pail of emulsion. The question of freezing came up because at that time outside our warehouse in Calgary the temperature was about -33 Celsius (approx -28 Fahrenheit). The local radio stations were warning us that with the wind chill effect it was close to -48 Celsius (-54 Fahrenheit) and that exposed flesh would freeze in about a minute. And worse yet, tomorrow Calgary will awake to -38 Celsius. Even in the summer playground of Kelowna where the printer was calling from, it was -15 Celsius.

So, here is a reminder, DO NOT LET EMULSION FREEZE.  Frozen emulsion is useless emulsion. It separates and cannot be re-constituted. We know because about 8 years ago we had two 55 gallon drums of emulsion arrive frozen solid. More recently a skid load of product including emulsion en route to Yellow Knife froze when the truck broke down in the middle of nowhere 500 kilometers south of Yellow Knife. That is why we automatically deliver emulsion by heated service in Canada from October through March and then cross our fingers that  avalanches, break-downs and blizzards won’t mess it all up.

Another tip… plastisol ink is not damaged by the cold weather but it can thicken up a bit and needs to be brought back to room temperature for easier printing. A quick spin on the mixer can help a lot. One thing about plastisol ink though is that prolonged exposure to heat in the bucket can damage it. For instance, storing it next to a constant source of heat like a dryer or flash cure unit is not a good idea.

Canadian weather, yet another variable in screen printing.

This is the story about a naked bucket label.

We are in an artistic, creative industry. You would never know it though from the labels on supplies like ink, emulsions and chemicals. Why do they have to be so boooooring? Where is the art? Where is the creativity? You can find more colourful and creative labels on toilet rolls than on most of the products in our industry!

Well, Screenflex decided to do something about it. We worked with the graphic design consultant that produces all our other fine graphic promotional material to produce the Expose Emulsion label from the image that you see above. We wanted an eye-catching, but also relevant, label for our private label, high-quality, one-part SBQ emulsion.

We found the solution to both criteria in the “exposed” graphic. We then selected “Xpose” as the name of this fine emulsion to go along with the graphic and because of the obvious link between emulsion and “exposure”. Well, we thought it was clever anyway.

For the most part the responses have been overwhelmingly favourable. Neat! Cool! About time! Wow! But then, as one would expect, there have a few negative responses, such as the customer who felt that the Xpose label represented a “new low” in the industry. We take criticism very seriously, but we thought that this one was a bum rap.

But at the end of the day, regardless of how you feel about the nature of the graphics on artistic labels that better match our artistic, creative industry than anything that has been produced to date, it is still a fine one-part emulsion at a fine price. To order Xpose one-part emulsion (it comes in red or blue) go online at www.screenprintcatalog.com or call us toll-free at 1-800-661-7766.

If you would like a free mouse pad of this, the first really creative supply label in the industry, give us a call toll-free at 1-800-661-7766 and we’ll happily send you one.

And yes, it is true, we are working on even more creative, interesting labels. In fact, we would welcome suggestions and be more than willing to give credit for any that we can use. Email us at info@screenflex.ca and let’s put some fun back into this industry, at least on its labels.

You think that you have the flu’ so you go see a doctor. But he can’t tell if your lungs are clear because he doesn’t own a stethoscope.

Trying not to look too surprised, you ask, “But don’t all doctors have stethoscopes? Isn’t that the first item that they buy at medical school? Isn’t it so necessary for their jobs that they all have it hanging around their necks all the time?”

The doctor looks a bit irritated. “Well maybe… but do you know that those things cost a couple of hundred bucks? So, I’ll just stick my ear on your chest and listen to your lungs. Most of the time I can hear enough to guess whether or not the lungs are clear.”

That is not what you want to hear from a professional. “You’ll take risks with my health for the sake of a couple of hundred bucks? Thanks, but I’m out of here. I’m going to find a doctor that at least has the basic tools to do the job properly!”

If that were a true story, it would cause a scandal in the medical profession. But the equivalent thing happens every day in textile screenprinting and very little attention is paid to the problem. We are talking about the lack of proper checking of conveyor dryer temperatures. We are talking about under-cured prints.

Most of the time printers do not have the proper tool for testing dryer temperatures. A textile screen printer without a digital Thermoprobe is like a doctor without a stethoscope. Some printers use temperature guns and others use temperature strips. Both are about as adequate as the doctor’s ear on your chest… it will work somewhat some of the time but it is hardly adequate enough and it will cost you sooner or later.

The problem with the temperature gun, even if it is properly aimed, is that it will only tell you the surface temperature of the ink at that instant. Often it is not properly aimed and will tell you the temperature of the shirt or the belt, which is not what you need to know. The problem with temperature strips is that they will tell you approximately what temperature was reached but cannot tell you for how long it was maintained or whether or not you have cool spots in your dryer that need to be fixed.

The professional textile printer’s “stethoscope” is a digital Thermoprobe. It continuously displays the changing ink surface temperature as it moves through the dryer. It is the only way to know exactly when the ink reaches curing temperature and for how long that temperature is maintained. It also enables you to identify any cool spots, cooler sides in the dryer, under-heating and over-heating. Improperly cured ink is in our experience the number one technical problem for textile screen printers. It can be very costly when your customer’s prints start cracking, washing off, fading and becoming patchy.

We have seen this problem so frequently lately that we have decided to something special about it. We want to encourage every professional textile screen printer to use a Thermoprobe to check their dryer(s) every day.

Get the “cure”, get a Thermoprobe.     

Sixteen-year-old Cassie and 12-year-old Ryley still report for work at the Screenflex Calgary warehouse every day.

At 16 years old (that would be 112 dog years) Cassie is semi-retired and sleeps most of the day. She can be counted on to make an appearance at lunch time and again at about 5 o’clock when it is time to go home. Sometimes she’ll drag herself out of her bed to greet the mailman or the FedEx driver because they always have dog biscuits.

At 12 years old (that would be 84 dog years) Ryley is still active. His main contribution is tearing the shrink wrapping off incoming shipments but he too keeps an eye open for the mailman and the FedEx driver. 

Both are retired athletes and were very enthusiastic and successful competitors at Jack Russell Trials. Cassie was particularly fast and won many racing ribbons. Their favourite events were the obstacle races, flat races and anything else that involved running at full speed, jumping, recklessly hurling their bodies about and vicious arguments with fellow competitors. Cassie has scars and she limps, while Ryley occasionally has to visit Dr. Judy, his chiropractor, because of the lingering effects of vigorous competition in those wild younger days.

But in spite of advancing years, the terrier instinct remains strong. Squirrels, gophers and mice are still in mortal danger. In the summer, Ryley earned a bone from a Screenflex business neighbour for catching and removing a gopher from a furniture showroom. 

At a November 30^th Christie’s auction in New York, a Rolling Stones t-shirt went for more than $4,000.00.

At the same auction, a maroon 1973 tour Led Zeppelin t-shirt was bid up to $1,625.00.

The 1975 Led Zeppelin shirt and Physical Graffiti album in the illustration hang on the wall in Screenflex’s Calgary meeting room. We acquired the shirt about 18 years ago and later we found the matching album at an antique show.

Maybe it’s time to scratch around in the bottom of the closet or in that box of old t-shirts in the basement? 

That’s right, only Wilflex Oasis Plascharge (plastisol) or Wilflex Oasis Discharge (waterbase) ink has none of the “nasties” that turns off a lot of printers from wanting to print with discharge. Gone are the formaldehyde and the heavy metals.

And the best part is that Oasis Plascharge can be used with the Wilflex general purpose plastisol ink colours that are already sitting on your shelf. Use it for vibrant colours and a soft hand by avoiding the under-base white; Oasis takes out the dye in the fabric. That is why Oasis Plascharge can also be used in combination with a clear base such as Wilflex Soft Hand Clear to create a single colour print that exposes the natural colour of a cotton garment. The possibilities are endless for those willing to experiment with 100% cotton shirts.

Wilflex went looking for the safest discharge system possible and found it in England. Screenflex has the exclusive for Canada and you should see what some Canadian printers are doing with it! Amazing stuff …and ever so soft!

We’ve put together a great flyer that explains the product and its application. Just call for a mail or fax copy. You can also go to our e-commerce site in the Canadian section and under “Textile Inks and Additives” you will find “Oasis” from where a detailed Wilflex Product Information Bulletin can be downloaded. Also, as always, you can call Screenflex toll-free at 1-800-661-7766 for direct technical assistance.

Soft hand is where it is at right now, and Wilflex’s Oasis can get you there, without the “nasties” and the “smellies” of other older and outdated discharge inks.

This is all about the lessons learned in defending an unsuccessful law suit brought against Screenflex by an equipment manufacturer.

It involved a new but faulty conveyor dryer returned by the printer to Screenflex. Screenflex refunded the printer in full but the manufacturer refused to take the dryer back and instead filed an $11,000.00 law suit for full payment.

By the time that the printer returned the dryer to Screenflex’s Calgary warehouse, two weeks of production time had been lost. To make a long story short, the dryer malfunctioned from the moment that it was powered up. Over the next two weeks it had numerous part replacements. There were even a few scary moments when a t-shirt burst into flames.

Yesterday at the pre-trial settlement conference, good sense prevailed and the suit was withdrawn.

The judge advised the manufacturer that they had no chance at all of succeeding in their suit. She said that because the dryer did not fulfill its intended purpose, the manufacturer was in breach of contract. She added that the manufacturer’s argument that they had fulfilled their parts warranty was irrelevent because the dryer had not worked properly from the time that it was received by the printer.

She said that on the basis of the evidence provided, the manufacturer faced “insurmountable odds” with the added possibility of having all costs (including the defendant’s) assessed against them.

So what can we all learn from this? Well,  the circumstances of this case, observations made by the judge and experience with equipment deals in the past, enable us to pass on some important tips to screen printers. If you are considering buying a significant item of equipment such as a press or a dryer, you should take note of the following:

• Before choosing a brand or a manufacturer, do your homework. Try to find out how the manufacturer reacts when things go wrong. Most manufacturers and distributors are cooperative when things are going right. You want to know how supportive and responsive they are when things are not going right. Talk to people upon whose opinion you can rely. Talk to printers and distributors. Give Screenflex a call; we no longer deal in equipment and can therefore give you a more objective opinion than someone with a vested interest.

• Check the manufacturer’s web site but don’t necessarily believe everything that you read. Small, local manufacturers of manual presses have been known to claim to be “world renowned” equipment manufacturers. Check out their claims to fame. Search the internet. Ask for feedback on online forums. Dig deep.

• Just because a manufacturer has been around a long time and once had a great reputation, does not mean that they are still great. Has there been a change of ownership or management? Have key people left? How stable are they today? Even large international manufacturers of automatic equipment have been known to disappear. Do you want to own a new machine that has gone off the market?  Remember the Zelko and the Elexon? Both were beautiful automatics, but where are they now?

• Will the manufacturer or distributor install or assemble the equipment? Will they come to your premises? If they won’t come to your premises promptly to install or to repair, will they pay for a qualified third party to do it? If the answer is “no” to any of these questions, you should probably consider another brand.

• Talk to owners of the brand of the equipment that you are considering. Not just the happy ones listed on the web site or given as references, but find the unhappy ones and talk to them too.

• Ask if the manufacturer tests the equipment properly before it leaves their premises. Ask to see a copy of a test record or log sheet. Ask how thoroughly they test it. For instance, a dryer should be thoroughly tested with a precise digital Thermoprobe, not with less reliable methods such as temperature strips or infrared beam guns. Do you really want to buy a $10,000.00 dryer from a manufacturer who will not spend $500.00 on a Thermoprobe?              

All seem so obvious to you? That is because it is obvious. The big question is why do so few screen printers bother to do the obvious? If you are not careful, the risk is that you could end up with malfunctioning or under-performing equipment and/or you could end up in court. And even if you are forced into court and win like Screenflex did, it is still an annoying waste of time. In any case, who wants to do business that way?

But if things do go wrong, consult a good legal firm. Even if you appear on your own behalf, get good legal advice, get organized, communicate everything in writing and keep notes of every conversation. If you are reasonable and in the right, you’ll be surprised at how fair the legal process can be. It was for us in Ontario, one would hope that it would be the same in other jurisdictions as well.

Screen printing is tough enough in these times without losing production time to failed equipment. And you certainly don’t want to waste money on less-then-perfect equipment either. We have generally found that screen printers, especially smaller shops, are not assertive enough when dealing with equipment manufacturers and their distributors.

Demand the satisfaction to which you are entitled and you’ll be helping to raise the standards in our industry. Improved standards will benefit all of us, manufacturers, distributors, printers and end users.

Have an equipment horror story? Email me at michael@screenflex.com and share it with us. Just please do not mention names or brands, this is not about nailing anyone, it is about us all learning from bad experiences.

Now that is production productivity! And it is not just hype, it was timed before witnesses. Click on Kathleen for a bigger image if you would like a closer look. The shirt was printed in the Stretch Devices booth at the Orlando SGIA show.

It was achieved with art, equipment and materials available to everyone interested in producing high quality prints with high productivity. The key elements were artwork by Print This Inc., Newman Roller Frames, Ulano stencils, Wilflex Oasis Discharge ink, Wilflex Quick White, Wilflex GNS colours, and Wilflex High Density Clear. The separations were produced with Wilflex Easy Art separation software.

If you are interested in further details such as the print sequence, squeegee durometers, screen tensions, mesh counts, and other technical elements that produced this amazing print, give Margaret Best a call toll free at 1-800-661-7766. Also, if you need any information on the Newman Roller Frames, Ulano emulsion, Wilflex inks, and Wilflex Easy Art separation software used to produce this and other fine prints, call the same toll-free number.

When you call, make sure to ask about how cool-down units positioned after each flash helped to speed up the production. Screenflex offers the Tekmar Kwik-Kool unit.

We went looking for a superb one-part emulsion that could be manufactured at a great price for our textile screen printers. We also wanted to be the first to introduce artistic and creative labels to our industry. If this industry is all about art and creativity, you wouldn’t know it from the deadly dull labels on screen printing supplies.

The result is another first from Screenflex… Xpose one-part emulsion.

Available in red or blue, this is an ultra-fast-exposing emulsion. It is one-part (no need to add a sensitizer) and has a shelf life of one year, which is really useful for smaller shops. Not only is it faster-exposing and priced much better than other one-part emulsions like Ulano QTX, but it is economical to use because it only needs one coat on each side of the screen.

Shops with exposure units with weaker light sources, such as the Atlas 5-Way, or units with just fluorescent tubes, love Xpose emulsion. It significantly reduces their exposure times.

Large well-equipped shops love it too. Ask Bob Paton at Kajobi Clothing. He says that in fifteen years Screenflex’s Xpose is the best emulsion that he has ever worked with.

Want to know more, want a sample, or want to order? Call Screenflex toll-free at 1-800-661-7766.

We just cannot let this one slip by without sharing it with our Canadian printers.

Today we had a call from an Ontario printer, it went something like this (names withheld for obvious reasons)…

“Screenflex, good afternoon.”

“Hi. I’m calling from XXXXXX . Can you match and mix PANTONE® colours in plastisol?

“Yes we can. We have been doing that in our two ink labs every day for many years for textile printers across Canada.”

“What ink brands do you have?”

“Only the best one, Wilflex. And we use only Wilflex bases and pigments for colour matches.”

“Can you make just a quart of 159C for me for printing on a black 100% cotton t-shirt?”

“Of course.”

“When?”

“We’ll ship it today.”

“You’re kidding! Are you going to charge me extra for doing that?”

“PANTONE® matches require extra work so they are a dollar or two more than our regular standard colours, but other than that there is nothing extra.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I just called my regular ink supplier, XXXXXX. They told me that I would have to buy a gallon, even though I only need a quart and the rest will sit on my shelf forever. Then they said that it would take one-and-a half weeks to ship and that there would be an additional mixing fee of $65.00!”

“Now it’s my turn to ask this…  are you kidding? They are known for selling on price. Sounds like cheap isn’t as cheap as it claims to be. Are you sure you’re not kidding? ”

“No, I’m not kidding. And now I’m so glad I found you! So let’s talk about how I can buy all my ink from you in the future.”

“Well, you can buy online, even PANTONE® colours, at www.screenprintcatalog.com or you can just call us toll-free at 1-800-661-7766….”

“No kidding!”

Okay, so we’re using this call to brag a bit. But it is a great story about how some distributors treat screen printers. We like to hear stories like this because they give us an opportunity to remind textile screen printers that they do not have to tolerate shoddy service, gouging and poor quality cheap products.

There is a moral too… if you are in Canada and you have a PANTONE® match for a textile ink, just call Screenflex or order online because you can have it shipped same day in any size from a quart up, in Wilflex quality, and there is no $65.00 mixing fee.