Well, I have read all that Printex related stuff and after some thinking I decided to buy one, just to check what's that hype all about. :D
First, I must say I'm not connected in any way with Printex USA sales network, nobody asked me to post anything to get some "special discount", nor do I have any business connections with Robert. I'm just a screen printer like many of you guys here, and I will try to give you some honest opinion about the piece of equipment I just bought.
Prism arrived on time as promised and after few days the install has begun.
Install was smooth and fast. Some of my guys helped, 'cause I think that's the good way to have your employees know and understand their machine better.
Install is just to be done.
I received spare parts kit as promised.Lift cylinder, chopper cylinders, frequency converter, spare quartz lamps, printhead control panels, various electric and electronics, pneumatic valves, fittings, gauges, power supply, air lubricator-regulator, all kinds of sensors, etc...all was there .
After install is done it looked like this: (I'm waiting for a larger dryer)
And soon, the time has come. Let's make this beast print some t-shirts:
(the first 3,000 front and back)
Here "Sporty" and Printex Prism are working side by side. No bashing, no arguing, they are doing just fine. :cool:
And let me tell you about that M&R's press above. After 2-3 minor tweaking in the first month, this little fellow is serving me without any major problem for almost 6 years now. Power supply and two proxies were the only parts I've changed, if I'm right. Yes, there were times when I needed at least two extra heads badly and larger print area, but "Sporty" has made me some nice bucks so far. Well built piece of equipment, no doubt about it.
Printex Prism print head in action:
So, to sum it up: As of today, we are close to 10,000 impressions on Prism. No problems of any kind whatsoever. Press looks like a very good and rigid build. Setting up the jobs is easy and fast. A lot of electronic controls on your fingertips at every head. They improved software, with shortcut to printhead settings on the main control panel. Print heads are working nice and smooth. Nothing is an "option" that has to be extra payed, everything is included in regular price. Sq/Fl Air locks, foot pedals, etc... I don't like the main counter all the time in the corner the display, it could be good if it can be turned on and off. (maybe it is possible, I didn't check). Also, the press is a bit louder ("whoooosh" air out sound when the upper table is going down) and due to open indexer. With a bit of modification of the base housing (lift cylinders and indexer are open) this can be solved easily and as I understood they are working on it. It is not a big issue, tough. What I liked a lot so far is that press automatically locks the screens, squeegees, floodbars, when the print is started. Sometimes, when re-registering or setting the job workers forget to do it and I can tell you, loose squeegee or floodbar can make a big mess when powerful machine start to index and flood-print.
So, for now guys, that would be all. I know, it is to early for overall review, but so far-so good. I will keep this thread updated. At the end, I will drop some of our recent works for you to check.
Have a nice day and have those presses spinnin'!
Re: Printex Prism review
Good deal, awesome that everything has worked out like you had expected. Love that spare parts kit.
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What type of production numbers can you get with that dryer with 2 presses running? Can you squeeze 1000/hr with both presses running on it? You definitely need to upgrade to at least a 60", 12' of some kind. Might I recommend the sprint international, exceeded my expectations and they were high.
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Well Alan, we were lucky with image area on these specific t-shirts. Just a small (5"x3") print on the back just under the neck and also not a big one on the front. So, the shirts were folded before going to the dryer. We did something like 360 pcs on the "Sportsman" and about 450 on "Prism" (it was the first job, the guys just started learning the machine)
I know, Sprint International 60" would be a great dryer, I will check the price.
Re: Printex Prism review
Great review.
I'd still hesitate to buy one even if it was the last press on earth, but nice review all the same.
:D
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Best of luck with it, nice clean shop but you will surely need a bigger dryer. No doubt it is a goo machine.
Not to take away from the post but I would hope the delivery was quick, in Europe correct?
I see you also have the front screen holder mod which will give you an extra 3" of stroke length over the existing machines. Only been saying that for a year now.
I do see a few more things but no biggies.
Owner/Operator of Middletownink
Re: Printex Prism review
You are going to get amazing service, He can't screw you over too. I wonder if this is where my 80k went. LOL I have an Interchange new dryer I will sell you, it's a 76".
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When you send him pics, CC me and throw in pics of that exposure unit. ;)
"you don't need a hook for the worms to dance."
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Great review. Let's update it later in life?
Is this the first one to actually get their spare parts kit? Curious. I know several us customers that don't have theirs still. Maybe never will get em.
Brandt
Graphic Disorder
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Re: Printex Prism review
Thanks, evo. Printex Prism was at this moment simply the best deal for me. I checked with some Prism owners in Europe before buying and opinions were good. I don't know about the feedbacks for Hurricane and other models, I haven't checked, but I can understand Mike's and Jeff's situation. I also checked with some other manufacturers, some were willing to make sale, some were not so interested, I would say.
Jeff, this one is not yours, it's 12/14. :) As for the dryer, what would be the price?
Brian, the press was delivered in exactly 47 days after down payment. Yes, I'm in Europe, and I think you people should work something out there regarding all that fuss, it's a pity, these guys in Poland and I would say this brand too, they both deserves better. Yep, you noticed that screen holder mod, useful addition.
Brandt, I will update for sure. Regarding the spare parts kit, as far as I know, all of the Prism owners in Europe I've checked, got one. Not sure about the lower cost presses, though.
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25k for the dryer.
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Nice Looking Press Artex!
It is a shame Printex came to the USA market the way they did.
I doubt very much that it is the way they do business. I to, have
talked to printers in other countries, and their sentiments echo yours.
Great Reveiw!
The 76" Interchange is a great deal for the money, Jeff is asking. It is a great
dryer!
Good Luck!
winston
Re: Printex Prism review
I actually got a complete spares kit when my press arived, off the top of my head one other customer received a good one and two others received "mini kits".
Owner/Operator of Middletownink
Re: Printex Prism review
From what I know nobody in us got parts kit.
Brandt
Graphic Disorder
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Re: Printex Prism review
Nope no one received one. As everyone can see here there is a world of difference between dealing with Barnes and dealing with the manufacturer direct.
Another wrong on my press which the pics reminded me of is the fact my screen hangers are not notched for w triloc which is another point in their advertisement. (triloc compatible)
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:confused:
Dude, does the list of "wtf's" on your press ever end?
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It's compatible Mike, just have to get a saw out.... lol
Brandt
Graphic Disorder
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Re: Printex Prism review
I'm digging that stitch look print and the leather looking print. How were those done?
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Thanks, Winston. I really appreciate comments from someone who has so much experience in this field. Regarding Printex at US market, I hope they will find some solutions after Andrew's visit.
Simulated leather effect has been achieved with mixing two or three different bases just to get the right stiffness, hardness (not too hard, not too soft) like in the real leather. I think we've used here Wilflex's cork and rock base with maybe just a small addition of the puff, but you can experiment with other bases too (all manufacturers have equivalent to these). Then, use of pigment concentrates to achieve the right leather like color shade. Just one screen, thick stencil, print to achieve desired thickness. After the print is cured, we used some kind of alum-plastic foil colored red on one side. Then, heat press with crumpled foil on top of the print, for getting that cracked texture and that reddish shade on the top.
That yellow stitched effect must start with the art making and it is more demanding to print. After the job in computer is done right (wider white, original lettering, lined overlay, thread, stitch holes) it is printed like this: wider white base, flash, yellow shade letters (cork base and a bit of plush base mixed, thick print), flash, lined overlay on top of the letters (one Pantone shade darker yellow ink), flash, black stitch holes (reduced ink or process black), then grey thread (just a bit of puff in the ink). You should play with the right amount of the plush base (or similar) for the right softness and velvet like feel. As for this example, photo doesn't do it justice, it looks and feels extremely realistic, even when you have it in your hands.
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Congrats Miso on your new press. It's been great chatting with you for a while and I am so happy you have received what you ordered, expected and deserved! You have a nice looking shop, so clean!!! And I love that floor. Thanks for posting the photos, really interesting as well as the open clean testimonial for both brands you have. Can see you can't wait for a new drier. I am jealous of Promoprint Adam being able to visit, I would love to see this in production and look forward to future posts of how you find this and your opinions findings etc.
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Thanks, Mike. Bring one bottle of some nice NZ's Sauvignon (or whatever you choose) and I will let you play with the Prism for a day. :)
No, seriously, you should consider coming with Adam for some short European tour.
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Miso, if ever I was closed would definitely look you up! By the way, your prints are awesome, I would have so much to learn I may need to bring several cases.
FYI some people may not know your area is famous as a high end textile hub. Adam showed me some garments, beautiful cotton and manufacturing. Extremely high end quality.
Now I don't mean to be rude or to hijack this thread, but American quality seems much lower. The two worst quality shirts we print in here are Fruit of the Loom and Gildan. We don't try to sell them because you don't get so much repeat orders as you do with a more expensive and higheqr quality shirt. I sell 100 times way more shirts at $6.50, an I would Gildan or Fruits at $4.50 when customers feel the difference. Not to mention tubular loading.....
As printers many people look at the science of the print rather than the science of the substrate or shirt. There are many types of cotton, the longer the strands the better quality and they don't go fluffy. There are combed and brushed finishes and after treatments such as mercerising to give the softness. As well as weather the fabric is knitted in single thread or double thread, the needles per inch count or gauge of the machine, and the setup of needles and stitch tensions as well on the knitting machine. And yes quality costs a bit more. But it's easily seen and felt.
We bring in some really nice cotton tees from Bangladesh and its easily viewable the difference between them and Gildan. But what's funnier is printing a cmyk or tonal job on a coarse brushed short cotton tee and in front of the customer throw on a nice tee and the print quality even looks so much better, feels luxurious, and they never buy cheap again. We print and airfreight to the states for one customer for the last six years now, and so not every decision is about a three buck shirt. The better the cotton the flatter the surface and the nicer it prints, also less or no fluff and dust on the surface. No holes in the shirts, no twist, easier lining up, washes well and doesn't go out of shape. Not packed full of starch and doesnt scorch. People remember that when they go to buy again
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Ftl is in mexico now... Trust me I know, we used to have one of the mills 20 mins south of me... Lots of ppl felt that. Damn nafta!
"you don't need a hook for the worms to dance."
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I guess we know where and who the problem is now, don't we.
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Problem with America is not many want to pay the higher price for the higher quality apparel, trust me we wish as decorators to print on nothing but top shelf goods.
Anyways most of all out tees are not American well at least American made they are made all over the globe bust mostly south of our border.
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I did my apprenticeship as a knitter, we owned a factory with about 500 staff manufacturing here a long time ago but went broke and liquidated a long time ago now, and as NZ led the way in lowering tariffs and import duties and forming free trade agreements no industry was hit quicker or harder than the clothing and footwear industries which is now limited to fashion and small runs, and only about five percent the size it once was. Most of our garments come from Fiji, China, Vietnam, India and low wage countries. My point is that an extra buck can buy a lot in terms of fabric quality and garment construction. It's also nice to print on quality fabric as you can get much better prints off it, as well as better margins. Different markets have different driving forces. I see that a lot at sourcing trade fairs in China and the like. Also HS codes on imports, we run metrics dividing the HS volume by population demographics. Some interesting things like the adage American women assuming aged 16 to 65 would buy 3.2 handbags per year, compared with one through most of Europe and Australia. It's the disposable culture. Same with umbrellas, cheaper metal mechanisms that buckle and get binned and buy three, rather than one decent one that can turn back after blowing out, as well as vented, fiberglass and plastic
Re: Printex Prism review
Review continued...
One of the reasons we decided to buy Printex Prism was because of the large print area machine is capable to print. Those jobs were usually done manually and having an automatic press with print area of 40"x36" (alternating print heads) was a huge step forward to us.
So yesterday we did some samples for a major brewing company. Promotional t-shirts for the upcoming European soccer championship, full front and full back, to be printed on cut pieces before sewing.
The big screen (38"x26") is mounted.
To have uniform pressure with a squeegee this wide (24 inches), we added manual squeegee clamps on the sides, at the ends of the bar.
Because of some halftones in the upper part of the artwork, we used two red screens. (305 for the halftones and 195 for checkered flag in the bottom half of the t-shirt)
Size of the t-shirt cut piece was men's XXL. Just to get idea there is regular 16x22 pallet on the left to compare.
Similar on the back.
As you can notice we used alu frames here, so tension was something like 20-25 Newtons at the best. However, the prints were nice and uniform, with perfect registration. Heads movement was smooth (of course, we slower the print speed a bit).
Regarding the press in overall, no major problems so far. Sometimes, when printing jobs involving a 3D screen in it, we use shims or coins for higher individual off contact and here we did have an issue with a manual screen clamps. They couldn't be raised up enough to allow us enough space between screen and bottom of the screen holder to put something in between. So, as you can see on that right empty screen holder on the first picture, we unscrewed plastic foots from them to get enough clearance and we are now waiting for new, shorter manual clamps to be sent from Poland. Nothing big and for sure not an issue for regular central off contact prints, but if you want unbiased review where every single thing will be mentioned, here you have it.
Until the next chapter,
Dream in color, folks!
Re: Printex Prism review
Did Robert Barnes sell you this and did he do the install? That maybe the difference.
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No. I bought the press from Printex Poland. Polish crew did the install too.
Re: Printex Prism review
That's the difference, No Robert Barnes!;)