|
|
By The Screenflex team, on January 28th, 2011
The January/February 2011 edition of Imprint Canada has a full-page article on a digital-only print shop in Vancouver. We know the two principals from their earlier days in screen printing. Both are nice guys and it is good to see them striking out in new directions. We wish them well of course, but we still have doubts about the productivity, the economic viability and even the technology of DTG printing.
First the technology… Inkjet printing in the graphics side of the industry is tremendously successful, inkjet printing in the textile side, not so much. Inkjet printing on a rigid, smooth white substrate is one thing. Inkjet printing on a soft, “furry” dyed substrate is an entirely different thing. In some circumstances some technologies are brilliant but their success is limited in other circumstances; the success of digital printing on fabric might be limited, at best.
Then there is the economic dilemma of matching the low-price mindset of t-shirt customers with the high cost of DTG, especially when only 60 prints per hour is considered “the fastest in the industry”. The article in question is noticeably silent on costs and prices, as are the web sites of the equipment manufacturers and the DTG printers. But one indication of the prices needed to pay for this technology is a “special” advertised on Oddball Workshop’s web site – “submit your own design from $20.00 a shirt”. When has a mainstream t-shirt printer last been able to quote $20.00 per t-shirt?
And what about special effects? For instance, we don’t believe that DTG printing can handle glitter, puff, foil, metallic or high density special effects.
If you are thinking about getting into the DTG business, some very careful market assessment and number crunching needs to be done. And perhaps the equipment salesperson is not the person to consult for an objective opinion. The technology might be “sexy” but the economics are likely to be an entirely different story. At the very least, you need to convince yourself that there is a big enough market for $20.00 and up t-shirts in order to pay for the equipment, labour and ink.
We reviewed the economics of DTG back in 2008 as well. Not much has changed. Here is that link:
http://www.insidescreenprinting.com/digital-tee-shirts-okay-but-can-you-make-money-by-michael-best/
By The Screenflex team, on January 27th, 2011
If you are starting out there will be no shortage of people willing to give you “advice”. Be careful, especially if you are a bit green. What seems like a cheap way to get started might actually be a way to waste money. Do your homework. Read, talk to people other than commissioned salespeople, research the net, and seriously consider working in a print shop to learn about the industry before spending even a penny on equipment.
For instance, here is the type of really bad advice (we are tempted to call it utter rubbish) you can get from some sources when you are thinking of starting out (it is an exact quote from a web site giving advice on how to make money from screen printing):
“Without these (a flash-cure unit or a heat gun), your ink would stay wet and create a huge mess on your t-shirts! While the big flash dryers would be nice, they start out at $237 and go up to $3,000. I started out with a $29 heat gun, but it crapped out in a week. I upgraded to a commercial grade heat gun like this one (see below) you can get at Home Depot for $97. Or search Amazon for a 16×16 flashdryer. Runs about $400 – $600 and it’s so worth it!”
Let us just say this in response…
This is NOT a dryer; it is a heat gun designed for stripping paint: 
This is NOT a dryer; it is a flash cure unit designed for gelling ink, NOT curing it:
This is just one example of a small (but proper) dryer. You cannot consistently and properly cure plastisol ink without one:
You cannot under-estimate the importance of properly curing your prints if you expect them to last beyond the first wash. Curing is such a fundamental element of textile screen printing that we have addressed the topic repeatedly on this blog.
Screenflex does not deal in major items of equipment, so if you want objective advice, feel free to contact us. It will not cost you a penny but could save you many. And be careful of that dude with the “advice”.
By The Screenflex team, on January 26th, 2011
The bleeding (dye migration) issue in polyester and poly/cotton blends has always been a problem and a long time ago ink manufacturers developed specially formulated white inks to deal with it. For instance, Wilflex’s PolyWhite has been respected for many years all over the globe as a reliable performer in “killing” dye migration problems very effectively.
But once in a while we’ll hear about a bleeding problem even when PolyWhite has been used on the garment. The good news though is that it is most often something that can be fixed quite easily. Yes, even if the dye has managed to bleed to the surface of the ink after an extended period! Usually what has happened is that either the ink was not flash-cured for long enough and/or the full deposit of ink was not fully cured in the dryer.
If you ever have this problem, here’s what works almost every time. Make sure that your dryer is heating properly and the ink surface is definitely reaching the full 320 degrees. Pass the shirt through the dryer and then while the garments are still warm, run the affected garments through a second time, making sure that they continue to reach the proper curing temperature. This double re-heating of the ink throughout the entire deposit will make sure that the dye-block chemistry of PolyWhite is re-activated and you should see the ink visibly whiten again. This tip has rescued more than a few anxious printers over the years.
Just remember though that in some bad cases of excessive dye in a polyester garment, the migration process can be very slow and take up to 2 weeks for the dye to reach the surface and discolour the ink.
On the topic of curing, you may want to see this as well.. http://www.insidescreenprinting.com/pizzas-and-prints/
By The Screenflex team, on January 25th, 2011
From the perspective of some manufacturers the show was quite busy. However, as we anticipated, apparently very few Canadians attended and almost all of those that did were from Western Canada.
Wilflex showed their Performance series for athletic polyester stretch garments first released at the SGIA show last year. There were also some new additions to their Oasis water-based line including a base that is still soft but gives more of a plastisol feel. We are not sure why anyone would want a water-based ink to do that, but we’re told that there is a demand for it in California.
We will shortly be posting details about the Performance series and the new Oasis additions right here on the blog.
Overall there seemed to be slightly fewer exhibitors than usual and many of the regulars had smaller booths than usual. Kiwo and Ulano (who, as you know, have common ownership) shared a booth but two other emulsion manufacturers did not exhibit at all. We are not sure whether that is a reflection of an economic situation or whether they have adopted a marketing strategy that does not include shows.
To sum up, in the opinion of one attendee, the show was not particularly earth-shattering.
By The Screenflex team, on January 21st, 2011
Over the years we have come across some weird and wonderful dryer problems.
We were once called by a customer to deal with an “ink curing problem.” It was one of those miserable -30 Celcius days with a nasty wind blowing, but we made the trip anyway.
One of the dryers was curing properly but the other was not. We were shown that the dials controlling the dryer temperature were set in the same position “as always” for both dryers, but the dryer closest to the outside wall of the shop had developed a curing problem. The outer concrete block wall was the clue. A quick check confirmed that enough cold air was coming through or off the concrete block wall to affect the air temperature in the dryer.
Just turning the temperature dial up a bit solved the problem. Fortunately, in this case there was not a lot of air movement such as drafts around the dryer. If there had been drafts, the fix would not have been as simple. Drafty air flows from opening and shutting outer doors can cause dryer temperature variations of 10, 15 or more degrees. In these cases adjusting the dials up and down won’t be of much help; you just have to stop the drafts.
Where you place your dryer relative to doors and other sources of air flow is important, but just as important is a Thermoprobe for testing the temperature of the ink film.
By The Screenflex team, on January 20th, 2011
Most standard plastisol inks require a cure temp of 320 degrees Fahrenheit. But that doesn’t mean that every print automatically cures if it has reached 320 degrees. Thicker and multiple-layer prints need to be exposed to 320 degrees a little longer to allow the entire ink deposit to reach that temperature. If the dwell time is too short and only the surface reaches 320 degrees, only the surface will be properly cured.
Think about your print as a deep-dish pizza. The thicker the pizza, the longer it needs at full temperature in the pizza oven to ensure that the center cooks. The crust and the topping may seem fine, but who likes a mushy, uncooked middle?
Many printers apply multiple layers of white ink to sweats to get the full coverage required to produce a bright, smooth white print surface. Then they become frustrated because even though their heat strip, heat gun or Thermoprobe reached 320 degrees, the print will crack in the stretch test. It is simple… the pizza didn’t spend enough time in the oven.
One more quick point about flashing and curing… an ink deposit does not fully cure under the flash. It merely “gels” or surface dries for the next layer or layers of ink to stack smoothly on top. So obviously the more you keep stacking the partially-cured ink, the longer the print needs in the heat chamber of a dryer to cure all the way through.
By The Screenflex team, on January 18th, 2011
Last week we posted an article about phthalate-free ink on infant clothing being a requirement in the U.S. Well, coincidentally, today it was announced that it was becoming the law in Canada as well, effective June 2011.
In the announcement, the Minister of Health said, “Today, we are again acting to make sure the toys and products that are imported, sold or advertised in Canada do not present a risk of phthalate exposure to children and infants.” She did not specifically mention imprinted garments but we are willing to bet that “products” pretty much covers clothing.
This might pose big problems for some manufacturers, but not for Canada’s textile screen printers. The answer, Wilflex’s phthalate-free Epic series, has been available for some time. Any colour in regular or special-effects inks can be made with the Epic mixing system. Alternatively, any colour, including PANTONE® matches, can be ordered from Screenflex in quart, 1 gallon or 5 gallon sizes.
By The Screenflex team, on January 13th, 2011
It was announced today that Target is coming to Canada. They have entered into a deal to do it via acquisition of the Zellers chain. What we have heard so far is that they plan to do the conversion to the Target name in 2013 and by 2014 have between 100 and 150 Target big-box stores across Canada.
So, the big question for textile screen printers is simply this… Is Target going to support the local textile screen printing industry or are they going damage it further by supporting low-wage offshore competitors?
Canadian textile screen printers, small local businesses and anyone else concerned about the exporting of our domestic manufacturing jobs or the destruction of local businesses, should think carefully before supporting a big-box multi-national business that does not support them.
Coincidentally, the origin of our article below ‘Pushing Back Against Cheap Offshore Manufacturing and Screen Printing’, was San Rafael, California where the residents are pushing back against plans for a new big-box store. And guess who is planning to set up that big-box store? You’ve got it… Target!
There will be much argument in the press, among economists and over kitchen tables in this country about whether this is good or bad for Canada and Canadians. But when the dust settles, we think that Canadians will come to realize that domestic job losses and the destruction of local businesses, are heavy prices to pay for cheap off-shore production.
By The Screenflex team, on January 12th, 2011
The SGIA show, once the must-attend annual event for Canadian textile screen printers has morphed into a digital show thereby becoming almost entirely irrelevant to textile printers. This is so widely acknowledged by now that it needs no further discussion.
That leaves the ISS shows as the only significant US-based alternatives for Canadian textile screen printers. Our long-time favourite is the Long Beach show in January each year. However, a quick informal telephone survey of Canadian textile printers (particularly in Central and Eastern Canada) indicates that only a handful will be attending the Long Beach 2011 show that is about to run from January 21st to 23rd. “Why is that?” you are probably wondering.
Well, we found that there doesn’t seem to be any single dominant reason among the many suggested to us. But two seem to crop up more often than the others: (1) the expense of travel and accommodation being disproportionate to the expected benefits of attendance, especially with travel budgets being trimmed in recent times; and (2) freely available information about new trends and products on the internet.
There have also been rumblings that a show every year was perhaps too frequent. This has apparently not been lost on some significant manufacturers notably absent from some of the shows in recent years. A few years ago we heard of a group of manufacturers planning to collectively urge that the SGIA show should take place every second year. This is not surprising when one hears that some exhibitors, particularly equipment manufacturers, have been known to lay out well over a million dollars on a single show. A big question in all of this of course is whether the show organizations can survive on say 50% of their current revenue.
For now, a full show calendar seems to have been set up for U.S.-based shows for at least this year, but don’t expect to see Canadians there in any significant numbers.
Want to take issue with this or offer a comment? We would love to hear from you at info@screenflex.ca
By The Screenflex team, on January 11th, 2011
Are you being asked to print special effects (gels etc.) on infant garments with environmentally-friendly inks?
We ask because many printers still think that environmentally friendly inks are only available in standard inks for cotton tees. Not so! All the special effects inks such as puff, suede, stretch, high density and the rest, are available in Wilflex’s phthalate-free and lead-free Epic series.
As with the regular ink series (classic line), you can make any colour you like using the Wilflex Epic mixing system or you can order the ink from Screenflex.
Canada has not yet legislated phthalate-free inks but we expect to be following the USA down that path sooner rather than later. In the meantime, you should know that any goods bound for the USA may be subjected to cured ink content inspection. Certainly the major retailers such as J.C. Penney, Sears and Walmart demand the use of e-friendly inks. Infant wear has to be certified that any embellishment is lead-free and phathalate-free regardless of where it is retailed. Apparently the sucking reflex of babies is the major concern – as you can see above.
By The Screenflex team, on January 10th, 2011
Today Kiwo announced a deal with Grunig-Interscreen of Switzerland to represent Grunig’s line of pre-press equipment in North America. The line includes a screen stretcher, a screen coating machine, an automatic screen frame cleaning machine and a vertical drying cabinet. As a Kiwo dealer, and although our focus is screen printing consumables, Screenflex can offer this line of equipment through Kiwo to Canadian screen printers.
We will not be holding any of the items in inventory but will be able to respond to inquiries and connect printers with the relevant experts at Kiwo. We make the introductions to the right people and then we get out of the way. Buying specialized equipment should not be taken lightly and the printer should be dealing with the trained equipment experts; usually that does not include the distributor’s staff.
In addition, we have been able to obtain favourable equipment deals for our customers because, unlike Canadian equipment distributors, our remuneration expectation from equipment deals is limited to referral fees. We negotiate to have the saving in distributors’ discounts and sales commissions passed onto the printer; we succeed most of the time.
By The Screenflex team, on January 10th, 2011
We heard today that Lady GaGa has done a deal with Tommy Hilfiger to bring out a fashion line. No, seriously! Whatever you may or may not think about that, let’s hope that it includes screen printed garments with designs similar to her outfit in the picture. Then let’s hope that one or more of our Canadian screen printers get a call from Hilfiger. Our ink lab can make any colour including a full range of fluorescents. We are on standby.
Yes we know; but it is a slow news day.
By The Screenflex team, on January 6th, 2011
As we are all painfully aware, Canadian textile screen printing has been hurt badly in recent years by cheap offshore producers in low-wage regimes with poor human rights records and little or no pollution control regulations. In fact, there is hardly a sector of our economy that has not been affected.
That is why we wanted to share with you the above graphic sent to us by a Californian associate. Apparently the people of San Rafael, California have been pushing back; perhaps it is time for screen printers from B.C to P.E.I and every place in between to push back as well.
Only buying Canadian-produced and Canadian screen-printed garments, and encouraging your family and friends to do the same, would be a good start. It is not easy to convince people to pay a bit more to help support Canadian jobs and businesses, but we have to try and we have to start somewhere.
By The Screenflex team, on January 5th, 2011
Margaret Best knows her re-tensionable frames as well as anyone in the industry. Over 20 years of experience with them in both manual and automatic shops, large shops and small shops, textile shops and graphics shops, means that you can trust that she knows what she is talking about.
We are offering copies of a detailed explanation that she recently prepared for a customer explaining what should be considered in the conversion process. It explains how to do a proper comparison with stretch-and-glue frames and what should be taken into account in assessing the benefits of re-tensionable technology.
We must mention though that after seeing many imitations and cheap knock-offs over the past 20 years, we still only advocate Newman Roller Frames. There are reasons why Don Newman has won awards for the Newman Frame from various sources including the SGIA; they are superior in design, superior in construction and they last and last. And if, like most of us, you are sensitive to the adverse impact that inferior cheap offshore manufacturing has had on our industry, you will be pleased to hear that the Newman Frame is manufactured on this continent.
The article is too long to publish here, but if you email us at info@screenflex.ca we will be happy to email you a copy. It is a must-read before you consider switching or testing. There is also a lot of information about re-tensionable frames on our online service at www.screenflex.ca Locate the product on the site and click on the “Read” link for descriptive and video material.
By The Screenflex team, on January 3rd, 2011
Once in a while we come across t-shirts that are just too weird, bizarre or ridiculous to ignore. Okay, so perhaps they are not production-worthy, but at least they give us a laugh. They might even stimulate some creativity and lead to something unique that could turn out to be marketable.
This one was designed by a software engineer for One Laptop Per Child, Chris Ball of Boston, Massachusetts. By lighting up it tells him when he has received an email and it even keeps count of how many he has. Yes, we know that people have iPhones and other devices that do the same thing far more efficiently, but you must admit that as far as t-shirts go, this is clever. On the upside, he is not going to misplace his t-shirt as easily as he could lose his iPhone or Blackberry. But on the downside, we don’t know what happens when he has to wash the t-shirt.
For the techies, here is what he used to rig it up… an Arduino Lilypad microcontroller, a few LEDs, conductive thread, and a Bluetooth dongle to communicate with an Android phone which has access to his inbox.
By The Screenflex team, on January 2nd, 2011
Is there a screen printer anywhere that hasn’t at some point had to deal with a difficult, complaining customer? Zig Ziglar claims that it actually represents an opportunity. We guess that he is saying that when you are handed a lemon it is an opportunty to make lemonade. Remember when Tylenol had that tampering incident that could have ruined the brand? Well, they turned it around and made lemonade out of a lemon by admitting to the problem, fixing it and then making sure that everyone knew that they had fixed it.
Ziglar says: “Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.”
By The Screenflex team, on January 1st, 2011
“In the end, the customer doesn’t know, or care, if you are small or large as an organization.. she or he only focuses on the garment hanging on the rail in the store.”
By The Screenflex team, on December 30th, 2010
We came across a web site with a great idea for using favourite old t-shirts to support a very worthwhile cause in New York City. We are so impressed with it that we want to share the concept with our Canadian printers in case it could spark a similar idea here. But even if it cannot be used for a socially worthwhile cause in Canada, perhaps it could be used to generate a business idea for a printer. Take a look… www.hellorewind.com
By The Screenflex team, on December 29th, 2010
You might have noticed that the Screenflex.ca online service was down for a week. We took it down for a major programming upgrade which (naturally) took longer than we had anticipated. Good news though is that it is up and fully functional again with greater speed and with the security upgraded to the best available.
If you have any suggestions for further improvements to the site, we would love to hear from you. Just click on “contact us” and use the email facility.
By The Screenflex team, on December 6th, 2010
Accelerated aging tests can give you an idea of how your transfer prints will release from the transfer paper up to a year after sitting on the shelf. Why bother? Well, along with using the best transfer ink and transfer paper available to give you a quality edge over the competition, this test can provide further assurance you will keep transfer reject or returns risks to a minimum.
The transfer release test:
Place the transfer in a hot box or a hot room for 100 hours at a temperature of 50 C (120 F). This, according to the Wilflex experts, will simulate a year of aging of the transfer print. After the 100 hours in the hot box, take out the print, allow it to cool to room temperature and transfer it. You have just had view of the future; now if we could only do the same with sales!
By The Screenflex team, on December 2nd, 2010
As we all know, the ultimate test of proper curing of a plastisol ink print happens when the end user eventually throws it into the washing machine. And the fact is that in real life no matter how many washing labels are sewn into a t-shirt or how many washing instructions are printed on neat little tags and attached to the t-shirt or its packaging, that t-shirt is going to end up in the washing machine with the towels, socks and dog’s blanket on the “heavy duty” cycle in hot water.
And we also know that if the print was not cured properly, some or all of it is going to go down the drain along with whatever washes out of the dog’s blanket. And then the same thing could happen to your reputation as a t-shirt printer; it could also go down the drain.
Because proper curing of plastisol ink prints is so critical, and even if you take the usual precautions like testing your dryer regularly during production, you might want to conduct a wash test on special jobs, or even do so routinely. If so, here is a recommended method of doing a wash test for proper curing.
Wash test procedure:
1. Cut the printed sample in half; 2. Place one half of the sample in a washer with three large bath towels; 3. Wash as a medium load in hot water with 90 ml of liquid detergent; 4. After the wash is completed, place the sample and the towels into the tumble dryer; 5. Set the dryer on high and dry for 30 minutes; 6. Ideally this should be repeated up to five times; 7. Compare the washed half of the sample with the unwashed half.
Fail:
The print fails if the washed sample shows severe cracking or loss of some or all of the print. This will mean that the print was not cured properly and could be expected to fail once it reached the end-users’ washing machines.
Pass:
If none of the above problems show up in the washed sample then the ink was properly cured and there should be no come-backs. Remember though that with any plastisol ink print you would expect a slight colour loss and a slight nap show through after repeated washing; this is normal and not a failed print.
If you want to read more about the evaluation of plastisiol inks, we have a detailed section on the topic in the “Technical tips” section of the web site right here: http://www.screenflex.ca/pdf/textile_evalplast.pdf
By The Screenflex team, on December 1st, 2010
We heard about a screen printer who spent the weekend looking for camouflage fabric, but he couldn’t see any…
By The Screenflex team, on December 1st, 2010
It is too easy to keep recycling screens without stopping to check their tension before putting them back into production. It is also too tempting to use an under-tensioned screen because of the cost and hassle of having it re-stretched and glued.These are not good things because screen tension directly influences printing results.
So what do we suggest as the best way to keep your screens at the proper tension throughout their productive life? A combination of re-tensionable frames and a tension meter. It is more economical than replacing or re-meshing stretch-and-glue frames and you will have removed another variable in pursuit of consistently great prints.
For a list of 11 considerations that would add up to give you better and more economical prints with a properly tensioned screens, click here: http://www.screenflex.ca/pdf/textile_mesh.pdf and scroll down to “Screen tension”.
By The Screenflex team, on November 28th, 2010
Just a quick assurance for those who have been asking about the impact of freezing on plastisol ink – there isn’t any. We know that because we once conducted an experiment by freezing plastisol for a week before allowing it to thaw and return to room temperature. Once back at room temperature it printed as well as the control sample that had not been frozen.
So if your delivery of plastisol ink arrives cold or frozen, just allow it to return to room temperature before flooding your screens. It is of course a different story for water-based products like emulsion… see the earlier article below.
By The Screenflex team, on November 21st, 2010
It is winter in Canada again and therefore time for our annual reminder that certain screen printing supplies can be ruined by freezing. At this time of the year labels something like the one above, should be taken seriously.
Emulsion has traditionally been the biggest problem in the Canadian winters both in shipping and storage. Although it is true that the smaller the container the quicker it will freeze, the size of the container is no protection. We once took delivery of two 55 gallon drums of frozen emulsion after a truck’s heating system failed. With the lids off they looked like two giant pink ice lollies. Once that happens the emulsion is ruined because when it thaws the various ingredients separate and no amount of stirring will fix it.
The other vulnerable products are water-based inks, blockouts and anything else water-based. So, take the “do not freeze” labels seriously from now until at least March.
By The Screenflex team, on November 20th, 2010
A world-wide shortage of a key ingredient in white pigment and white ink, Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) is having an impact on white ink prices.
Apparently TiO2 production has been lagging behind demand for at least the past year. That means that the price of TiO2 has shot up and that in turn means that any product made with TiO2 has increased in price. In our industry that includes white pigments and anything made with white pigments, such as white ink. So far this year it has amounted to about a 10% increase in white pigments and white ink prices. In a lesser way, it has also had an impact on any ink for which the formula includes white pigment.
According to one source, 70% of all pigments are made using at least some TiO2 and unfortunately currently there is no viable substitute.
As an aside, even though it’s not likely to make you feel any better about the TiO2 situation, it might interest you to know that white screen printing ink shares its main ingredient with some other products that we see and/or handle every day.While we were investigating the TiO2 shortage and its impact on our industry, we found out that Titanium Dioxide is also used in toothpaste, dental bleaching materials, house paint, road markings, skimmed milk, sunscreen and food colouring, to name just a few.
Back to our industry though… we’ll keep an eye on the TiO2 situation and post any new information here.
By The Screenflex team, on November 16th, 2010
The “crisis”:
Floods and/or droughts in cotton-growing countries such as China, Pakistan and India are given as the main reasons for what is being called the world-wide “cotton crisis”. For Canadian textile screen printers it means that there are delays in deliveries of t-shirts and that the price of a t-shirt is going up. And the really bad news is that we can’t find anyone with a reliable opinion about when the “cotton crisis” is going to be over – it could be a long time.
We asked:
So, what can be done by t-shirt printers to work around the problem? We asked some of our industry contacts in high places around the world how pinters and their customers are coping.
We were told:
The standard answer was that most of the brands and their printers are switching to poly or poly blend garments. But of course, as we all know, dyed poly and poly blend garments present dye migration (“bleeding”) issues. However, as we also know, we now have excellent dye-block whites (such as Poly White) that can be used as an under-base white on dyed poly and poly blends. Many printers do that, flash, and then print regular plastisol ink on the the Poly White. There are also inks (MVP series) designed for athletic poly.
Need some help?:
If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas about the “cotton crisis” we would like to hear from you. Just drop us an email at info@screenflex.ca and we’ll do what we can to help you.
By The Screenflex team, on March 3rd, 2010
Once in a while a manufacturer will surprise us with a really great idea with a really great price tag. This time it is ULANO with their EZ-FILM.
Okay, we know that we would have called it something else in Canada (we say “zed” and the Americans say “zee”) but just this once let’s indulge them and go with the “EE-ZEE” thing because it really does describe this product which is “easy” to use and “easy” on the budget too. In any case, ”EE-ZED FILM” would just be wrong; like if they had won the hockey gold medal – it would just be wrong.
This film is ideal for mesh counts of 110 to 156. We recommend it for use with standard textile plastisol inks. It is not recommended for water-based inks.
Here’s a quick list of why coating a screen with EZ-FILM is a great alternative to liquid emulsion: it is fast exposing; it dries faster than emulsion; it needs very little training to do; you get perfect stencils every time; you get consistent stencil thickness; you have fewer pinholes; it is convenient; there is no mess or waste; and the trasparent magenta colour allows for easy inspection and registration. So, what can you lose by giving EZ-FILM a test? Call us for a free sample pack of 5 sheets.
Screenflex stocks EZ-FILM in packs of 50 sheets in two sizes, 15″ x 17″ and 17″ x 24″. You can buy it and find detailed product infomation at www.screenflex.ca or call Screenflex at 1 800 661 7766 or email info@screenflex.ca And remember that we have 5-sheet sample packs in the 15″ x 17″ size for testing for just $1.00.
By The Screenflex team, on February 25th, 2010
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.
By The Screenflex team, on February 6th, 2010
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.
|
|
Comments are closed 
