# Plastisol pressing versus screen printing time: how long to screen print 50 shirts?



## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

OK.. all you screenprinters out there I have a question... from start to stop how long would it take you to make 50 tee shirts with one color. Now what I want is the screen making time and inking and drying and completion. The reason for this is I find a lot of our members really don't understand the aspects of doing tees that way. Now, I use plastisol (This is about those 2 only, not heat transfers) I did 50 shirts from start to finish in 1.5 hours. I believe time is money. So if one wanted to not spend the money on screen printing equipment as well as getting an education on screen printing they would benefit with plastisol made from another source. I am not confusing you am I?


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## aries (Mar 18, 2007)

*Re: Plastisol pressing vrs screenprinting time.*



badalou said:


> OK.. all you screenprinters out there I have a question... from start to stop how long would it take you to make 50 tee shirts with one color. Now what I want is the screen making time and inking and drying and completion. The reason for this is I find a lot of our members really don't understand the aspects of doing tees that way. Now, I use plastisol (This is about those 2 only, not heat transfers) I did 50 shirts from start to finish in 1.5 hours. I believe time is money. So if one wanted to not spend the money on screen printing equipment as well as getting an education on screen printing they would benefit with plastisol made from another source. I am not confusing you am I?


Being a dummie myself I think you are right on this comment.I would rather buy than do it myself.


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

*Re: Plastisol pressing vrs screenprinting time.*

I'd be a bit interested to know this too.

I would guess the median point of plastisol transfers vs direct screen printing (time-wise) would be around 20 shirts. Fewer and plastisol would be faster, more and screen printing would be faster. This is only a rough guess though (and it assumes a 1-color print).

Of course, how long sometimes takes is also variable between different people. I figure 50 plastisol transfers would take me about 2 hours instead of 1.5 hours. The swing-away press we're using might boost the time a bit, and I'm also accounting for setup time (sorting out and readying shirts).


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> from start to stop how long would it take you to make 50 tee shirts with one color. Now what I want is the screen making time and inking and drying and completion.


This would be interesting to find out from some of the screen printers on the board.

Any estimates guys?

Another thing to consider is the cost.


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

I have one of those All-in-One setups and currently do all my drying directly on the platen(yea i know, i am working on it). 

5 minutes to degrease and coat with emulsion. 

1-2 hours dry time with a fan. We'll call it 1.5.

During that time i would get my art printed and ready on the light table.

Exposing the screen for about 5 minutes.

5 minutes or so to washout the image.

10 minutes-ish under fan to dry.

10 minutes to tape off the screen.

While I am doing that i let the dryer heat up.

Each print takes me about 1 minute since i dry on the platen so 30 shirts an hour-ish but we'll call it 25 per hour since there are some practice prints in there and maybe a platen heighth adjustment.

So for me on probably the slowest equipment you can find it would take about 4 hours from start to finish to do 50 one color/one loc. shirts. With a ready coated screen it would be about 2.5 hours. 

Once i rig up a way to dry while not on the platen it should take me about half the time on the actual printing part soooo....

w/out a ready screen & drying on platen= 4 hours

w/out a ready screen & drying on table= 3 hours

with a ready screen & drying on platen= 2.5 hours

with a ready screen & drying on table= 1.5 hours

Give or take five minutes  if i did all the math right....lol


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## Fuzz (May 7, 2007)

Hmm there is a lesson to be learned there...

Make a bunch of screens up ahead of time and dont dry on the platen ...it will save you alot of time, money and keep your platen straight for much longer.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

My guess is about 50 minutes.

A total of 35 minutes for screen time. I know of alot of companies that will keep precoated screens because they go through so many of them. So this would cut your time down drastically.

As for me, I have a room built specifically for screens. It would take about 10 minutes for the drying a newly prepped screen, another 10 minutes for drying the coated screen, 15 minutes for burning and drying the screens. 10 minutes for printing and 5 minutes for folding.


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## CustomScreen (May 3, 2007)

we can coat expose and dry a screen in under 30 mins if we have to (with heaters, not to great for the life of the screen), and if its just a 1 colour depending on how big it is we might get 2 or 3 jobs on one screen, to print 50 white shirts probably 15 - 20 mins, 50 black shirts with flash and double coat of ink 20 - 30 mins, i would always pick screen printing over transfers unless you have loads of colours, with a good carousel its also a lot easier to get them all in the same place and you know its going to stick. a good printer should have next to no stuff ups but with transfers you always run the risk of the transfer slipping or it no all sticking and they don't last as long, average screen print uses .12c of ink i think it is, not sure how much your transfer cost.


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## graphicsetc (Apr 29, 2008)

Please excuse my inexperience, but what is plastisol?


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## perrolocodesigns (Oct 24, 2006)

50 light color shirts with dark ink -- 25 minutes total to create screen/print/bulk fold/clean up

50 dark color shirts with light ink (PFP) -- 35 minutes total to create screen/print/bulk fold/clean up


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

badalou said:


> OK.. all you screenprinters out there I have a question... from start to stop how long would it take you to make 50 tee shirts with one color. Now what I want is the screen making time and inking and drying and completion. The reason for this is I find a lot of our members really don't understand the aspects of doing tees that way. Now, I use plastisol (This is about those 2 only, not heat transfers) I did 50 shirts from start to finish in 1.5 hours. I believe time is money. So if one wanted to not spend the money on screen printing equipment as well as getting an education on screen printing they would benefit with plastisol made from another source. I am not confusing you am I?


So, at what point would vinyl come in if you have a small quantity. Let's say 20 shirts. I just did a one color design, white on red shirt with sport numbers on back. I don't have a cutter so I had to send away for custom transfers and order numbers form transfer express. Since the team needs the shirts right away I had to put a rush on the order which cost an additional $50, then two day air. What should be a simple and inexpensive shirt just became somewhat costly. Would this be considered the perfect job for a cutter?


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## LEO (Oct 10, 2006)

*Re: Plastisol pressing versus direct screen printing*

Is there a difference in washability?

LEO


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

I think by the time you got the custom transfers ordered, printed and shipped a screen printer probably has completed that job five times over. I agree transfers in hand and no screens made you will win with heatpressing transfers. If the screens are ready to go and a conveyor dryer is used, probably screenprinting wins the game. Not really an apples to apples comparison.


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## studog79 (Jul 13, 2006)

We have a person that does nothing but clean and coat screens thus we always try to have several available all the time.

Exposing the screen for about 6.5 minutes but we are doing other things while the screen is burning.

5 minutes or so to washout the image.

While drying we are printing other jobs.

3 Minutes to tape

1 Minute setup

If PMS match, water base or discharge of ink 5 minutes. If its discharge we let sit around for approximately 30 minutes, but we are printing other jobs while this is happening.

3 minutes after 1st print for someone to verify press check.

If its with a flash on our auto we would do a shirt every 8 seconds, if no flash every 5 seconds
Once i rig up a way to dry while not on the platen it should take me about half the time on the actual printing part soooo.... actual printing would be between 5 - 8 minutes

Tear down 2 minutes.

If no one else was at end of dryer catching shirts then add another 10 minutes to fold and box up.

5 Minutes for box labels and packing list.

Total you do the math.... I have a headache today and am too busy to add all this plus we would have had at least 3 different people workig on parts of this. We are never standing around waiting for something to dry or something. I'm sure I am also missing some other small things but that is close. As you see the actual printing is a very small part for us.


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

I agree that the printing time is no comparison. I also dont think the screen prep for a one color job and press set-up compares with ordering plastisol transfers and waiting on them to arrive. I dont have an exposure set-up yet but I can use cad-cut films and have a one color screen ready to print in about 30 minutes.


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Hi Wendy,

Plastisol is an ink that screen printers use.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

I'm not sure if this was answered but I'd like to know the answer. If you're just doing a short run of shirts with one color printing, where do you decide to use your cutter instead of sending a away for custom transfers. If it's a simple design like the one I posted previously in this string, it may even make sense to be able to do one color screenprinting on your own. Is this the case? Is there a vinyl that has a similar feel to screen printing. Maybe the flock material?


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

From start to fininsh: white tees: 1hr
black tees: 1.5hrs

Including printing transparancies, burn screen, dry screens, tape, ink, set-up, cure, fold and box.


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## studog79 (Jul 13, 2006)

We just printed a job today 1 color both sides 1110 shirts Navy on Orange and it took 3 hours and 50 minutes from setup to having them boxed. This was plasitsol with about an 8" print on front and back, different designs.


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## Greatzky (Jan 28, 2009)

studog79 said:


> We just printed a job today 1 color both sides 1110 shirts Navy on Orange and it took 3 hours and 50 minutes from setup to having them boxed. This was plasitsol with about an 8" print on front and back, different designs.



wow that's fast.. I need to get a seperate dryer as I use my flash for flashing and curing.. I don't cure on the platen though as I have a side area for that.... IF i had the room and money i'd definitely consider a conveyor dryer after I pick up a better computer printer for my films.

-Scott Lewis


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## fadzuli (Jul 8, 2008)

studog79 said:


> We just printed a job today 1 color both sides 1110 shirts Navy on Orange and it took 3 hours and 50 minutes from setup to having them boxed. This was plasitsol with about an 8" print on front and back, different designs.


6.2 secs per pc to load, align, print, flash, remove and pack. woah...


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

You can print and cure and stack/pack 600 shirts/hr on an auto.


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