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Making print make money
In his final article for 2007, Peter Kiddell acknowledges the decline of screen printing in the point-of-sale sector, while highlighting the process’ bright and profitable future in a vast range of emerging, high value markets
My word it’s December, Father Christmas has been hard at work in the print shop with his elves producing the RFID tags for the presents and new electroluminescent nose covers for his reindeer. No, I haven’t overfilled the pudding with brandy but Father Christmas recognises the importance of screen printing in developing technologies. It is fair to say that an increasing amount of the display printing in his Grotto is digital that has been enhanced with the special effects only possible with screen. Even his high volume litho printed flyers have some wonderful heavily textured varnish on the snow that gives it a realistic sparkle and feel. That special touch of screen printing is omnipresent.
So there you have it, a year in screen printing encapsulated in one idyllic scene. Well, not quite.
What started as rumour, then moved to innuendo, further onto opinion and finally to fact is that screen printing as a frontline process in point-of-sale is no more. There are companies in this sector who still have screen printing as their main production tool but for the leaders in the field, digital and large format litho has usurped screen printing as their primary process. This will continue and some of the larger companies will only use screen printing for special effects or in applications where the characteristics of digital and litho printing inks are not suitable.
Squeezing the process
How this has come about is a mix of spin on behalf of digital printing equipment suppliers, end user ignorance and apathy of screen printers. Added to this large format litho used for laminating to heavier board and direct onto plastics and board up to 1.3 mm. Screen printing has been squeezed by both processes.
It is still a fact that screen printing has continued to be a fine profit generator for those who are practitioners: often digital provides the profile but screen gives the profit.
I want to make it absolutely clear that point-of-sale is where screen has taken the big hit. As the most visible sector it is rather obvious. In other areas screen reigns supreme. It has an ability to lay down controlled ink films in a way that cannot be matched by any other process. Add to this screen’s ‘ink friendly’ process and you see how it can be adapted to many different applications. This is highlighted by increasing numbers of individuals taking up screen printing in their homes using basic hand benches at the same time the process is expanding into sophisticated applications like solar cell and printed electronics production.
The shift of screen away from point-of-sale to industrial applications is demonstrated by dryer manufacturer Natgraph. Its order book stretches out to 2008, with biomedical, electroluminescence, glass, credit cards, aerospace automotive and textile just some of the areas its dryers penetrate. Becoming a supplier of dryers to Sakuri has also been a tremendous boost to the company. Efficient dryers let Sakuri cylinder presses work at their optimum print rates in several emerging applications. Once you identify an application’s optimum inks system the next decision is dryer configuration. This, in turn, determines print rate and hence printing machine type. All too often I come across people who compromise dryer specification (trying to save a few pounds) and end up with reduced production that costs hundreds of thousands.
There is no doubt Fespa Berlin was this year’s screen printing highlight, with three halls of screen printing equipment resulting in high order levels for exhibitors. Computer-to-screen led the way in new products, with CST, Luescher, Sefar and Kiwo all offering new equipment designed to improve stencil imaging cost and quality. Payback on this kit is often within two-years. With costs of up to a thousand pounds for a set of large format photopositives, it is easy to see how quickly the investment can be repaid.
Equipment cost
Fespa also saw some Chinese screen printing equipment manufacturers with some machine constructions remarkably similar to European designs. Complacency by European manufacturers could be disastrous. However, with the explosion in screen printing in China it is unlikely there will be reliable supplies from that country for some time as they will struggle to satisfy domestic demand. Initial equipment cost is important but with downtime and rejects costing a small fortune that price advantage can disappear in an instant.
I know this is supposed to be about screen printing but I must highlight the approach of some digital printing machine sales people and their employers. Many are honourable and provide correct information about machine performance, service support, warranties and ink costs: others don’t. As It isn’t like buying a screen printing press. Print rate is often meaningless, ink usage a fantasy and reliability a dream. Speak to users, see the machine running and time the print rate on different jobs. Haggle on ink price, service and extended warranty costs. Pay when you are completely happy the machine is performing to the agreed specification. Beware you may be shown a sample printed at high resolution and low speed: it will look absolutely wonderful. The market rate for print is such that achieving that quality in production would be uneconomic. It is not WYSIWYG it is WYSIWYTYWG: What You See Is What You Think You Will Get and that is the difference between success and failure.
Recently, a print department screen printed part of a campaign as it was uneconomic to print digitally. The resulting screen print was so much more vibrant it made the digital print look rather dowdy. Fortunately the materials were not displayed together so it was not obvious to the client. With the increased margins of screen printing over digital printing the company is aiming to improve its screen print capability and not be quite so digital centric.
So what is special about this year in screen printing? I think realising and accepting the process’ decline in certain applications can be a positive message. There is no doubt some major ink suppliers see their growth as digital but they will not necessarily be able to sustain high ink prices indefinitely. A midrange supplier of screen printing consumables has had its best year since it was founded. As the big boys change their focus, so the smaller more nimble companies take advantage. Printers are also recognising that digital has not been the profit centre they expected. Industrial printing continues to flourish but is threatened by a constant slippage of manufacturing to China. However, work sent abroad is coming back because of delivery and quality issues. There is also the matter of product security. No amount of non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements will be worth an RMB in Nantong. You will never find your ideas locked into competitive products. If you think otherwise back me to win the 100m at the 2012 Olympics.
Printing profits
It is vital that exponents of screen printing continue to improve their techniques and upgrade their equipment. A well run screen printing facility is a joy to
even the most flint eyed financial director. Hark! Is that the jingle of Santa’s sleigh, no it’s the profits going into the astute screen printer’s coffers.
