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Usual Planned Reprinting Amounts
Hi All,
When working on large print jobs (or small ones, I guess!) do you have a set expectation in regards potential need for reprints? The other day I printed about 8 x 2m panels of a full colour/coverage print and between small printer glitches, the vinyl picking up annoying scratches/marks or other issues, I had to reprint probably 3 of the panels to get it spot on.
The wife is getting fed up of me swearing and shouting about it, so was wondering as a relative newbie to the print game, is it just "one of those things", and if so is there an accepted reprint level which you work with?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Matt
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5 Replies
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That’s an extremely high level of rejects (37.5%) . So yes I would consider that unacceptable. Perhaps you need to look carefully at your process to determine where things are going wrong? Is the environment you’re working in ideal conditions or is it dusty, damp cramped or whatever. Try to get to the bottom of things to reduce the reject rate. I usually keep on eye on the start of a print just to make sure there are no issues, that way I can cancel a print before a lot of vinyl/ink is wasted. On a good day I can be printing all day long without a single reject.
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If you’re just starting out, you will make mistakes, eventually you’ll learn your machines and the best way to do things (there’s no right or wrong way, everyone seem’s to find their own way that works)
Last week our laminator just wouldn’t play ball, I binned meters and meters of stuff, reprinted it, and same again. Spent the weekend fettling the laminator and all’s good. :thumbsup:
Do as Phill say’s, try and identify where your problems arise, and try and reduce them. (we leave 400mm spacing between tiles so when laminating if it’s running out, we can cut it and start again)
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I think there is no way to guage the amount of wastage throughout a year, you can have great months where nothing goes wrong, then weeks from hell where things just go wrong.. a scratch on the print in an obvious place, dirt under the laminate from your clothing or similar, a head strike. Human error in the pre-press stages and so on.
Some things you can get around.. I once laminated 15mtrs of hoarding with gloss when it should’ve been matt lam.. easy enough to put it through again, others you just have to accept it and bin it!
I think if we were to add up every bit of waste (through error or just ends of rolls etc., we’d probably cry!
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Once did a survey extremely hungover. Costs us €8000 in reprints. Wasn’t popular that week. What made it worse was we didn’t even print it. Was a job for another printer. We just surveyed and installed it.
Now I’ll only have 6 Pints the night before surveys.
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quote Andrew O Brien:Once did a survey extremely hungover. Costs us €8000 in reprints. Wasn’t popular that week. What made it worse was we didn’t even print it. Was a job for another printer. We just surveyed and installed it.Now I’ll only have 6 Pints the night before surveys.
:smiles: Yes alcohol and work does not match. Ive only ever done it once. i never made it through the next day and decided that would be the last time. I think having your head screwed on properly is the most important part of our job.
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