New to screen printing? Here is what every box above asks for, where to find the number, and a typical example. Tap any ? next to a box to jump to its explanation.
- Pieces
- How many shirts or items are in the job, for example 144.
- Print locations
- How many spots on each shirt get printed, like front and back = 2.
- Total screens (all locations)
- How many screens the whole job uses. Each color in each spot needs one screen. A 3-color front plus a 1-color back is 4.
- Size/style changeovers
- How many times you stop to switch to a different shirt size or style, for example from adult to youth shirts. Count each switch, for example 2.
- Setup min / screen
- Minutes to put one screen on the press and line it up with the others. Time yourself on your next job. 10 minutes is the example.
- Test print + approval (min / location)
- Minutes to print a test shirt, check it and get an OK, for each print spot. For example 10.
- Prints per hour
- How many prints of one spot you make in an hour once you are running. Count how many you do in 10 minutes and multiply by 6. On a manual press, 60–100 is a realistic start (80 is the example). Automatic presses run much faster.
- Min per changeover
- Minutes each size or style switch takes, for example 5.
- Teardown + cleanup (min)
- Minutes to take the screens off and clean up after the job, for example 20.
- Productive hours / day
- Hours a day you actually print, not counting breaks or lunch. For an 8-hour day with an hour of breaks, enter 7.
- Start time
- The time you start printing, written like 08:00 (24-hour clock, so 1 PM is 13:00). It is used to build the day-by-day schedule.
