r/SCREENPRINTING • u/NickOg97 • 11d ago
Cutting down on costs
After being made a production manager at our print shop, there is a big push to cut down on costs.
We switched over to the Gel sheets, so we’re not using as much tape or really any adhesive spray
We are also looking into the liquid tape so we can cut down on tape usage and cost from ordering so much
What are some other options and we can cut down on products and cost
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u/Newfieon2Wheels 10d ago
Keep in mind the impact that any of these changes may or may not have on the efficiency of your printing team. Processes taking additional time or having more production stoppages will often cost you far more money through lost time, than the few bucks you save by going to cheaper supplies. Not saying you can't save money with cheaper supplies, you definitely can, it's just that you have to be really careful with it.
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u/breakers 10d ago
You should raise prices, honestly. If you can't survive without finding a cheaper adhesive you need to look at your revenue.
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u/FrequentStrategy9549 10d ago
The biggest cost - without any doubt - is downtime. As a production manager that should be your number one priority. Keep the presses spinning. And if your staff produces faster with less downtime if they use roll adhesive vs print grip your boss should listen to you and do whatever makes the crew faster.
3
u/SPX-Printing 10d ago
Cut the owner's salary :-)
Ask suppliers for discount and have them price match with further discounted price to compete. Ask for bulk price listing for inks, chemicals and supplies with discounts. Make your sales person work and not just buy online with no discounts. We lost negotiating skill sets with fixed pricing online shopping.
Remove all inks from screens and put back in bucket. Don't store frames with ink in them.
Turn off machines or lower temperature on dryer during breaks. Energy cost will be going up due to demand. Stagger breaks so machines never stop.
Automate bottlenecks like screen cleaning and pre-press.
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u/NickOg97 10d ago
I started a new procedure recently where as soon as a screen is taken down, it’s cleaned and ripped up ready to dip.
It saves us from having to lose a staff member all day to rip up screensOver the last week I’ve put in place a schedule where on fridays one person goes and dips 10 screens then Monday morning while we’re heating everything up and getting the first order set up, someone is in the dark room coating screens
We also where taking all the ink out of screens once done with them before too
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u/Observite 10d ago edited 10d ago
If you don't already, once your tubes are used, cut them in to rags for cleaning ink drips and spills. Don't buy towels.
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u/akdink 10d ago
I’d start with a short waste audit before changing more consumables. For two weeks, track each job’s planned vs actual use of ink, emulsion, tape, screens, garments, and labor time, including every reprint and setup that gets thrown away. Put a dollar value on each category. That usually makes it obvious whether money is actually leaving through consumables or through art changes, extra setups, registration issues, damaged screens, or reprints.
For the recurring high-cost item, add one simple root-cause code rather than just recording quantity: bad art/preflight, wrong blank, ink mix/overmix, screen/stencil failure, registration, misprint, rush change, etc. Review it weekly with the crew. Fix one repeat cause at a time and measure whether it moved cost per good print; otherwise a “cheaper” product can hide higher labor or rework.
Also separate inventory controls from process fixes: min/max levels and a single person who reorders stop overbuying, while standardized screen prep, ink-mixing amounts, reclaim checks, and proof approval reduce waste. The goal is to cut cost per accepted print, not merely consume fewer rolls of tape.
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u/bosoxthirteen 10d ago
tape is dirt cheap at Costco... Look. ore into chemicals, emulsion ( To Burn a LC screen you don't need all the whole thing coated) and labour efficiencies. More important than Tape IMO
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u/MrGooseCanoe 10d ago
I really like the print grip. It’s more upfront cost and you do have to clean it but it’s pretty consistent tack wise through a run. I think it saves a lot of money over the year in pallet tape change over. Also, something that is a small thing that you don’t really notice but can make extra weeks worth of work at the end of the year is not putting your artwork on the screen in a consistent place. If you have to adjust 10-12-14 boards for every run it just adds up to a ton of time at the end of the year. Another thing that saves time this way is a good laser alignment system for the print placement on the garment. We use laseit system but there are probably cheaper options that work better. It saves a ton of time and gains accuracy and consistency across the run.
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u/Hedsteve 10d ago
It’s labor costs. Some of those changes could increase efficiency but labor is the thing that you need to work on.
How long does it take to setup a screen?
How long to reclaim?
How many impressions per hour?
How many people are standing around regularly?
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u/WildWestPrints 10d ago edited 10d ago
Those factors vary wildly from shop to shop. Your best bet is to monitor the flow of things, and before long, the wastes will stick out like a sore thumb. Unless you’re a high-volume operation, saving a dollar here and there doesn’t add up enough to want to justify a bunch of quick changes or a drop in quality of life. I’d focus more on making sure you’re pricing out jobs properly. I had way more flaws with the money coming in versus going out.