Big Picture - September 2017 - 17

you had a three-shift operation, but employees were only
needed for the fi rst shift. The second and third shifts held
zero operators.
What does it take to have a printer run one or two shifts
unattended? Let's start with the mundane. The fi rst requirement is enough media. With a roll-to-roll printer, this
requires a ginormous roll. Typically, only industrial-strength
machines have a feed system robust enough to handle rolls
that large in diameter and that heavy. You can't put a roll
that's 18-plus inches in diameter or bigger on the typical
entry-level inkjet printer. But, as their systems become more
reliable, this may not be a bad idea for printer manufacturers
who make machines that sell for $15,000 to $150,000. With
board printing, obviously you need an automatic board
feeding and stacking system of sufficient capacity.
Speed plays a role in this, too. Obviously, the faster the
printer, the more speed has an effect on media capacity. One
benefit of this could be image quality. Let's say you have 16
hours to fi nish a job that would only take 10 hours at a faster
speed. You may be able to choose a mode that's slower but
outputs better image quality.
Next, you need an ink capacity to match the size of the
media rolls. Forget about cartridges. You need liters of ink.
But most of all, you must have a printer that is so reliable
that it can print for 8 to 16 hours without a clogged head, head
strike, media walking, or any of the plethora of other things
that can go wrong. Are there any printers currently on the
market that meet this criterion? Shoot me an email if you sell
one of them or know of one. I've been told they exist by
individuals whom I believe are credible, however I have never
personally verified this.
I would like to add another category to UP that I like
to call SUP. What'SUP? (Sorry, I liked it so much the fi rst
time, I had to do it again.) This is semi-unattended printing.
SUP is where one person is responsible for the production
coming off many printers. Think of the SUP operator as
a media loader fi rst and foremost. This has a number of
advantages. He or she can monitor far more industrialstrength machines with their smaller media handling
capability and keep them fed.
This technician can also periodically check the output
of the printers and intervene if the quality no longer meets
the criteria or there are any other issues with the printer.
In my 23-year career in this industry, there has been a
serious debate: Do you buy one expensive "industrial-strength" printer or multiple "entry-level" printers? At
different times I have found myself on both sides and have
acted accordingly. I will only state at this point that semiunattended printing supports the multi-printer argument.
FINISHING AUTOMATION
Let's say you have a UV printer with the automatic board
loader and stacker. If you installed a CNC machine that had
automatic loading and stacking inline to the printer, you've
now created automated printing and finishing.
Of greater interest to me is the class of 118-inch CNC
machines, specifically in the area of laser and powered
rotary wheel cutting for dye sub fabric. We currently have

three CNC machines in our shop, but our 126-inch dye
sub is cut with rulers and hot knives. Almost anyone
doing dye sub these days is doing silicon-edged graphics
or SEG fabric tensioning. And anyone with any experience
with SEG knows how important it is with this system to
get the cut size exactly right. Automating the cutting
dramatically improves cut accuracy while drastically
reducing the labor to do it.
After the fabric is cut, taking it to a semi-automated
sewing machine to sew in the silicon beading continues the
production efficiency. The garment, contract hospitality, and
other textile-based industries are heavily pursuing automated
cut-and-sew. Our industry will benefit from these advancements. Automation could make digital printing competitive in
garments, hospitality, and home décor. These are markets
with very high volume and low margins where efficiency will
be paramount.
I am confident automation will allow us, as an industry, to
lower our cost of goods sold while improving quality. It may
also open new, multibillion-dollar markets to our digital
technology. I figure if automation can drive a car, it can
autonomously operate prepress software, a printer, a cutter,
and a sewing machine. I predict those who adopt this
technology will make it difficult for those who don't to
compete. Our company's choice now is: Do we abandon the
markets with falling prices as we have historically done, or do
we automate and compete?

BOLD NEW IDEAS

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