We are pleased to announce the installation of a brand new, state-of-the-art Roq You12 automatic screen printing press. Our new screen printing press (shown in the foreground to the left) features 12 stations and can print up to 8 ink colors. The Roq You12 also has an automated flash unit which cures the ink as the printed shirts rotate through the process. It can sense the exact moment the ink has cured and automatically advance the pallet to the next printing station. Just like our existing You 16, the new You12 is rated to print 1,000 shirts an hour. Yes, that’s one thousand custom printed t-shirts in one hour. Is that really possible? It IS possible, but we are limited by how fast our operator can load the shirts. Having said that, last year, Production Manager Travis Christiansen printed 938 shirts in one hour.
While getting new equipment is always cool, the real question is, “How does it benefit you the customer?” You’ll benefit in two ways. First, for a great screen printing job, it’s important that the base coat ink is properly cured before applying the second color. Since this new automated flash unit senses that the ink is properly cured before printing the next color on the tee shirt, you’ll get a better printed image. Second, this new machine increases our capacity to produce more t-shirts in a shorter amount of time. Therefore, you’ll get faster delivery for your next t-shirt order.