Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
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Discuss the different types of equipment needed for screen printing. Topics include manual screen printing presses, automatic presses, dryers, folding machines, starter kits and high end machines.
Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
re: Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
The silver press is a great press, but keep in mind its still a starter press. By the time you retrofit any starter press with something that comes on a pro line press you're going to be in the ball park price range of a pro line press anyway, with that said we are looking into it.
re: Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
Well I'm fairly new to screen printing but how hard/expensive would it be to outfit starter presses with this micro registration unit? SCREEN PRINTING EQUIPMENT AND ATTACHMENTS
re: Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
We are in contact with them and exploring the combination. I will keep you all posted as to the results. It will take about 2 weeks but I won't forget you guys.
re: Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fingerpainter
Well I'm fairly new to screen printing but how hard/expensive would it be to outfit starter presses with this micro registration unit? SCREEN PRINTING EQUIPMENT AND ATTACHMENTS
I just purchased one micro attatchment recently just out of curiousity. I don't have the silver press but the press that I have doesn't have micros. I haven't installed the head yet cuz I need to drill new holes for the head to fit. But from what I can tell you it seems pretty solid, but we will see how well it hold regsistration. I'll let you know when I have it set up.
re: Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
I'll chime in here with my humble opinion, having never owned either the press mentioned, nor the Livingston system. I did, however, own a CAPS press with micros, and it was about the cheapest press you could buy new at the time that had micros (I paid $1650 for it brand new). All I can say is that the micros were almost unusable. The problem with the cheaply manufactured micro components (and the rest of the press was actually quite good) was tolerances were very poor. Too much lash in the threads of the micros, so that when you moved one in one direction, the others would move just enough to throw things off. What you pay for in a high-end press is the precision. I currently have a Vastex 2000HD 8/4, and what makes it work so well is that the micros are spring-loaded, so that the various micro screws are tensioned within the threads, resulting in linear movement. Antec Legends are set up the same way. Others, such as M&R Chameleons which use the turnbuckle style of micros have higher tolerances in their machining.
I'm not trying to knock the silver press, or really even the livingston system, but you get what you pay for, and as TJRyonet says, by the time you manufacture a good micro system into an inexpensive starter press, it's not inexpensive anymore. They sell the Riley Hopkins presses, which (while I'm not sure about the joystick system) are a decent press at a reasonable price, and they're available to be fitted with standard micros, although there are fans of the joystick. Looking at the Livingston photos, I'm not sure that those micros are that good as far as thread tolerances go. In a nutshell, there really is no way to beat the system. People who buy entry level presses, even those from major manufacturers, who then bellyache about the quality, have only themselves to blame for trying to get "something for nothing". A lot of us have learned that lesson the hard (and expensive) way. If you're buying an entry level press, know that you're not getting the same thing for $700 that the rest of us are paying $4000 - $6000 for, and accept it's limitations. An inexpensive press will print t-shirts, but set-ups for multi-color work requiring tight registration will be difficult, and all the variables involved in getting everything working together, from accurate films, to tight screens, decent stencils, and registration on the press, are what makes the rest of us "suckers" pay good money for a high-end press.
re: Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
I appreciate the honest evaluation...and I'm sure you're right. I'm a newbie when it comes to screenprinting, so I'm always interested in the advice and experience of guys who have been doing it for years.
That said, I'm interested in getting better performance from the press I currently own. Setting realistic expectations is important, but my thoughts are that microregistration, even if it's not as well manufactured or implemented as other systems, will make my prints easier to register. That's my main goal.
I'm sure if I continue to screenprint and become more serious about it that I'll end up upgrading to a different press. For now I'm just hoping that Ryonet will be able to add micro to the silver press.
re: Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
You might try getting in touch with Neil at this address:
In posts over at screenprinters.net, he used to offer plans via a downloadable .pdf for setting up a micro system that would work on any press. The plans were cheap, and in fact, I bought them. I don't know if he still sells them, but you could give him a shout. I didn't see them on his website as being available for purchase. If he does, and you buy them, you'll kick yourself in the butt at how simple a concept they are. How well they work in practice, I don't know having never actually used them, but it might be the ticket for someone on a shoestring budget and an entry level press that has no micros. There were parts of the concept that I'd have improved with hardware upgrades, but as he describes it, you may very well have the stuff laying around in your garage or utility room to make it . . . it was that simple and cheap.
Last edited by tpitman; May 17th, 2009 at 07:27 AM.
re: Can the Silver Press be fitted with micro-registration
What is considered normal variance for micro and non-micro? Are we talking 1mm vs. 5mm or .5mm vs. 10mm? I've been sending my stuff out and would like to do it myself but in needs to be very tight.
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