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~limjnating The Screen Printing Pho~og ~p his -Prepress:

A Case Study in Pollution Prevention and Industry Readiness

by Catherine L. Zeman, Devang P. Mehta, Dr. Daniel G. Wilson, and Dr. Ervin A. Dennis University of Northern Iowa, Iowa Waste Reduction Center

Acknowledgments:

This work was supported through the Iowa Waste Reduction Center and the Small Business Pollution Prevention Center at the University of Northem Iowa. The Iowa Waste Reduction Center, a State of Iowa funded Center, provides technical services for waste reduotion and pollution prevention to small business clients in Iowa. The Small Business Pollution Prevention Center is an IWRC managed initiative funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cooperative Agreement (CR 82 1492-01-0). Support is gratefully acknowledged.

The research was conducted in the Graphic Communications Laboratory, Department of Industrial Technology, University of Northern Iowa.

is case study answers a variety of questions for both the pollution prevention specialist and the interested small business owner/operator. Focusing on the use of reasonably

priced digital data generation technologies, a multi-disciplinary research team worked to address the following questions:

Can reasonably priced, readily availabIe digital prepress equipment replace the traditional photographic positives generation techniques in the average screen printer's prepress operation?

Mechanical color? Process color work? What types of color work can be addressed with these reasonably priced technologies?

What substrates are most effectively used with reasonably priced technologies? Vellum? Polyester?

What are "average" screen printers doing in their shops currently? Can they afford these digital technologies? Will the reasonably priced equipment meet their needs in regard to formatting size, dot per inch, (dpi) lines per inch, (lpi) and production speed?

What costs and benefits might be expected in regard to waste generation if a screen printer decides to move away from photographic processes? Is there significant monetary savings to be realized when silver halides are eliminated from the prepress operation, or are there other reasons, equally compelling or more so, that might affect the screen printer's decision in regard to adoption and use of these technologies?

Answering these questions can aide both the small business owner and the pollution prevention service provider. The generation and implementation of these technologies is currently - occurring in all areas of the graphic arts. Learning more about the technology and its usekl- ness, not only as a pollution prevention tool, but as a smart business investment, can strengthen the position of the technical service provider when they make pollution prevention suggestions that include the use of digital technologies. As a technical service provider it is essential to know where the industry is "at" in regard to the use of environmentally friendly technologies and why they are most likely to use them. As a small business owner or operator knowing the direction the industry, your competitors, are moving in is essential for survival.

A Brief Background on the 6'Oigital Revolutionyy I nd Lithography

he use of digital technologies has been quickly revolutionizing the practice of the graphic T arts in a wide variety of areas including the screen print area as technologies, which have often existed in their infancies for some time, mature. The digital revolution has had its first and, thus far, farthest reaching impact in the area of lithography. Lithographers have an increasingly wide array of choices available to them when they look for digital prepress and computer to plate (CTP) technologies. The 1995 Graph Expo, held in McCormick Center, Chicago, Illinois, reflected these options with the entire first floor of the Expo hall being devoted to color electronic prepress, computer publishing, computer technology, graphic design, and software. Over 150 booths represented vendors offering new and improved technologies in these areas. A brief sampling of the technology innovations showcased offers a glimpse of the overall trends in the area for lithography:

Improvements in resolution for scanning equipment, color printers, imagesetters and platesetters; Optronics has developed what they call a "second generation" of scanners. imagesetters, and platesetters. Formats of 20x26 and 41x55 have been developed. Imagesetters with dpi of 2,000 to 4,000 are also being offered for sale. Heidelberg USA is shoLvcasing Quickmaster-DI, direct-image technology which enables operators to manufacture a finished product directly from postscript data without the need to expose film, in a dpi range of 1,270 to 2,540. Others are bolstering prepress capabilities with improved resolution color printers such as the Fuji, Pictography 3000 digital color printer, Prepress Solutions offers a Panther Plate/36P and Panther Plate/46P for platesetting paper and polyester plates at dpi's up to 3,048.

DuPont's Waterproof Pre View, a high-resolution desktop color proofing system calibrated to DuPont's Waterproof digital color proofing system allowing a very close match to the printed page direct from the workstation. Continued steady improvements in the.co1or match of digitally generated color proofs to off-press product have helped to place DTP technologies within the reach of lithography shops.

These examples are but a few among many manufacturers who have continued to offer innovative products and new technologies which drive the digital evolution of the graphic arts. While impressive in scope and rate of technology generation, the proliferation of technology and technology choices has been compared to a whirlwind of innovation. Dr. Frank Romano (NAPL/GATF, No. 3, 1995) professor of the graphic arts from Rochester Institute of Technology describing his impressions of DRUPA 95 in Dusseldorf, Germany, observed that the pre-press technologies have "moved beyond a dream -to a nightmare," noting the explosion in numbers and types of technology in this area. Romano further reflected that within the last two years the CTP area alone has, "gone from three to about 40 suppliers, selling about 15 different engines and 18 different plates."

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Improved color proofing systems; One of the notable new color proofing systems is

Digital Technology and Screen Printing

mprovements and innovations in the areas of resolution, format capabilities, and color proofing for digital and CTP technologies have also been permeating the areas of web, flexo-

graphic, gravure, and screen printing. Digital technologies have diffused into the screen printing shop at a slower rate than in the lithography industry but early technologies for the direct imaging of textiles have been in use for about 20 years (Cahill, 1995). The earliest machines, which functioned much like an inkjet printer, were manufactured by Milikan (Cahill, 1995). These machines were designed to print on carpeting and had a resolution of only about 20 dpi according to one of the screen printing industry's leading printers and a leader in digital technologies, Vincent Cahill.

A few of the problems that screen printers face when they try to implement DTS (direct to substrate; in this case the image is printed directly on the carpet, garment, etc.) are low production speeds, high cost for each print or design, and durability of inks suitable for DTS technologies. These problems are rapidly being addressed by companies such as Milikan, British Textile, Scitex Manufacturing, Stork, and Iris (Cahill, 1995). As with the other areas of the graphic arts, improvements in resolution and format capabilities are occurring along with improvements in production speeds, cost, and durability of the finished product.

Imaging Association (CSGIA), recognizing the importance of digital technologies for the industry recently opened the Center for Digital Imaging at SGIA's headquarters in Virginia. The ten- ter has gathered together some of the leading technology in the area from manufacturers such as Hewlett Packard, 3M Scotch, ProTech Orca, Info Graphix, Onyx Graphics, CalComp, and Candela. These industries have made equipment and expertise available to SGIA to help the . industry association develop technical expertise and practical information for their members seeking to incorporate digital technologies into their operations (SGIA, 1995).

The leading industry association for screen printers the, Screen Printing and Graphic

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Digitalizition of the prepress process to the point of producing a digitally generated positive for the imaging of printing screens, however, is currently within reach of the average screen printer's grasp, both technically .and economically. A technical evaluation of reasonably priced technology and an industry survey to analyze the usefulness of digitalization as a pollution prevention recommendation are the focus of this case study.

Technical staff and faculty of the University of Northem Iowa (UNI), working through the Small Business Pollution Prevention Center (SBPPC), managed by the Iowa Waste Reduction Center at UNI, developed a technical evaluation and industry survey case study which examined the use of reasonably priced, currently available digital technology for the screen printing prepress area. The remainder of this case study describes the technical aspects of the study and the findings from that area, describes the findings of the industry survey, and reflects on the - conclusions drawn from the work, providing suggestions for the screen printer considering the implementation of digital technologies or the technical service provider suggesting the implementation of such technologies.

Technology Evaluation o kinds of digital positives generation technologies, a laser printer and a plotter, were

evaluated for the purposes of this case study. An HP Vectra XW60 586 processor was used with a variety of traditional prepress software packages including Photoshop, Quarkxpress, Adobe, PageMaker, and Deskscan to generate two standard digital images €or mechanical color. Digital data were output from the CPU to either a Laser Master (laser printer) 1200 with peak dpi of 2400 or a Nova Jet I1 (plotter) with 50 lpi at 4 5 O diamond dot using double black cartridges. The laser printer had only one standard setting but the plotter allowed for multiple settings and the normal and enhanced imaging modes were used. The positive substrates examined were polyester and vellum. These parameters allowed for the evaluation of several different "test" conditions using two different positives substrates. These were:

Plotter, Normal Mode, Polyester Substrate;

Plotter, Enhanced Mode, Polyester Substrate;

.Laser Printer, Polyester Substrate;

Plotter, Normal Mode, Vellum Substrate;

Plotter, Enhanced Mode, Vellum Substrate;

Laser Printer, Vellum Substrate.

Positives were generated under each of these treatment conditions and they were then evaluated using a BTC Digimatic Solid State Duo-Densitometer and Color Analyzer (calibrated Spring, 1995). The well-established densitometer reading of 4.0 for the typical photographic positive is more than adequate for imaging screens. A densitometer reading of 2.0 is also deemed adequate for imaging most screens. This research indicates that screens can be imaged for mechanical color at densitometer readings above 1.25 (arth. mean). Screens with readings above 1.25 (arth. mean).were imaged by using Chromoline Pro/Cap 50 presensitized capillary direct film to a 250 mesh screen utilizing a FT 26 Ulta Plus nuArc fliptop exposure unit with an approximately 21 inch exposure length to a 3,000 watt metal halide lamp.

data points under each test condition were reduced to arithmetic means and modal. distribu- tions. The data were then analyzed for significant difference between treatment conditions using first the Paired T-test, T-test, and One-way Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance for parametric data. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test with Lilliefor's Correction was used to establish norinality and the Levene-Median Test was used to establish equal variance for the Paired T-test, T-test, and One-way Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance. If data points failed these parametric fit analysis, the less sensitive non-parametric tests the Wilcoxon the Mann-Whitney Rank Sum Test, and the Friedman Repeated Measures Analysis of Varian for non-parametric data, respectively, were used to establish statistically signi between treatment groups.

Following the generation of positives and their evaluation using the Duo-Densitometer, the

Findings from the statistical analysis of data indicate statistically signific between all of the test treatments achieving densitometer readings above 1.2

Two treatment conditions below the 1.25 (arth. mean) densitometer reading did not indicate statistically significant differences in the data. The three readings above a 1.25 (arth. mean) included:

Plotter, Enhanced Mode, Polyester Substrate;

Plotter, Normal Mode, Polyester Substrate, and;

Laser Printer, Vellum Substrate.

Comparison of the plotter data under normal and enhanced mode on polyester substrate indicates that statistically significant differences in densitometer readings occurred in each circumstance. Looking at the readings for plotter data between normal and enhanced mode on polyester substrate (see Figure 1 , attached), median values for each condition respectively were 1.25 and 2.36. This is a difference of 89 percent between enhanced and normal mode on polyester substrate. The statistical significance of the difference in values was supported by all parametric and non-parametric measures. Visual inspection of the positive for resolution, a subjective measure of the "crispness" of line edges, was considered adequate. '

produce densitometer readings above 1.25 (arth. mean). Median values for plotter generated positives on normal and enhanced mode were 0.570 and 0.455 respectively, a difference of 25 percent between the highest and lowest value (see Figure 2, attached). However, statistical measures of significant difference for this test group failed for both parametric and non-parametric measures. Visual inspection of the positives for resolution were not considered adequate and drying of the ink on the vellum substrate was also inadequate.

Median data for laser printer generated positives on vellum and polyester were 1.36 and 0.870 respectively, (see Figure 3, attached) a difference of 56 percent between the lowest and highest measure. Median data values were significantly different as determined by nonparametric meashes of statistical significance. Resolution was considered adequate based on visual inspection. A comparison of all values obtained and the modal distribution, providing an indication of the variability of densitometer readings across any given positive, are illustrated in Figure 4, attached.

A comparison of plotter data under normal and enhanced mode on vellum substrate did not

, Survey Data: he survey data provides an inventory of current practices in the screen printing industry in , T regard to positives generation and waste disposal options for screen printing prepress.

Screen printing CTS and digitalization have not proceeded as quickly as digitalization in the 'lithographic area, but CTS has been around for specific screen printing applications for at least . 20 years, mainly in carpet printing (Cahill, 1995). Acceptance of the technology has been limited by production time limitations, resolution limits, available size formats, and cost, all of which are quickly being addressed by technology vendors. But what are' "average" screen printers doing and itives ge not withstanding?

Our research team surveyed 374 companies in seven Midwestem States (see Figure 5, attached). The response rate for our four page survey was 26 percent. The majority of respondents for any single state were from Iowa, (30%). The potential respondents were all members of a leading industry association and could be considered to be "leaders" in their professional fields. Surveys were addressed to the owner/operator of the business as listed in the association's membership roster. Response rate to the various portions of the survey ran between 100 and 79 percent depending on the questions. Technical or equipment specific questions were consistent- ly responded to by 100 - 97 percent of the respondents. When questions on waste generation rates or waste disposal costs were addressed a 79 percent response rate was evidenced.

Surveys were tabulated and descriptive statistics ran using the University of Northem Iowa's SPSS system supported by the mainframe CPU. Statistics included frequency distribution (corrected for percentage of respondents), mean, mode, median, kurtosis, and various other descriptive parameters including standard error, standard deviation, etc. A correlational analysis using the Chi-square test and the simple T-test of significance was also conducted and will be briefly discussed.

A copy of the survey form used to gather the raw data is included as an attachment to this case study, First, a summary of the survey project findings and an overall evaluation of what the project means for the technical service provider or business owner/operator is provided. Then, following along with the layout of the survey, each section's findings are discussed in detail and accompanied by the most appropriate form of graphical presentation. It should be kept in mind that many sections of the survey will not lend themselves to a graphical presentation that totals 100% of respondents surveyed. Rather, the questions were created to describe industry tendencies and help portray what the statistically "average" screen printer might be doing in regard to the specific question.

Overall Survey Conclusions n overall description of the "statistically" average screen printer can be derived from the A urvey responses. This survey and statistics-mediated snapshot will, of course, not fit

every screen printer, but it can provide the technical service provider with an indication of where the screen printing industry is at in regard to the implementation of digital prepress technologies, how they view trends in this area as they relate to waste management issues, and help to educate the technical service provider community in regard to the technology needs and limitations that the industry faces. Using such information to assist in education and outreach programs regarding pollution prevention options can only enhance the effectiveness of business assistance programs.

The "average" screen printer, according to this survey, is running a diversified shop as far as manufactured products are concerned. Screen printers are most likely to be involved in garment and textile production (44%), decals and labels (43%), and nameplates, dials, gauges, and panels (27%). These printers are likely to be deriving 60 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent of their production respec m these areas. Please keep in mind that these descriptions are genera averages and that riety than this obviously exists in this graphic arts' area. This printer will probably employ between 11-20 people although 32 percent of respondents

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largest single category) employ less than 5 people. Their gross revenues will be $500,000 per year or less (40%, see Figure 6, attached).

Most use either a process camera andor high contrast film or diffusion transfer technology, or a combination of both to produce around 50-75% of their imaging positives with the other percentage of positives coming from hand cut film (1 5%) and perhaps an imagesetter to high contrast film (1 0%). If they are one of the leaders in the digital area, (26% are implementing this technology to some degree) they are most likely using laser printer technologies to print to vellum substrates for a small percentage of their positives production (see Figure 7, attached). The average prepress shop will be producing 10-50 positives per week (either photographic or digital, mainly photographic) and in most all cases (88%) less than 200 positives per week. The positives produced will include the following sizes in order of percentage produced: 10 x 12,20 x 24, 5 x 7, 8 x 10, and others as needed. The dpi range used for laser printer equipment in order of percentage used will be 600 dpi, 300 dpi, and 1200 dpi. The -1pi settings in order of use are 50 lpi and 51-65 lpi with higher lpi rulings being used only sparingly and in small percentages.

They are utilizing either diffusion transfer technology or an automatic processor with rapid access developer for the majority of their positives development supplemented by either the tray method or out-sourcing for certain (smaller) percentages of work. This will result in the disposal of approximately, 1.5 gallons of spent chemistry (developer/fix) per month at a cost of approximately $50 dollars per year. A word of caution is best exercised at this point. The response rate for the waste disposal and cost of waste disposal questions dropped to 79 percent of possible respondents. This indicates either an unwillingness to report waste disposal costs and amounts or an unfamiliarity with the actual figures in this area. Experience in the pollution prevention area supports the latter conclusion as many companies, small or large, do not ade- quately track the amount or cost of waste generation and disposal. If the company is using dig- *

ita1 technology for a percentage of its positives production, it is most likely generating 3-4 spent cartridges (plotter or laser printer) per year.

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When questioned about perceptions of the role of digitalization in the industry and of the continued cost of waste management relating to environmental regulations, 37 percent believe that photographic film use has decreased over the last two years, 68 percent believe that the reliance on photographic film would continue to decrease over the next two years, and 70 percent believe that the use of non-photographic positive generation methods would increase over the next two years. Eighty percent of respondents believe that the cost of waste disposal will continue to rise over the next two years in response to increasingly stringent environmental standards.

Correlational analysis conducted on several of the response categories indicates few cor- relations of significance and could relate to the large number of potential responses and "cell categories" this creates when using the SPSS statistical analysis system. This does not detract from the overall usefulness of the descriptive statistics.

lessons for the Technical Service Provider and the

eflecting on the questions posed in the introduction to this case study and the information R produced in the case study, several lessons become apparent which are of considerable value to the technical service provider.

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Reasonably priced and readily available digital prepress equipment is being implemented for limited percentages of the “average” screen printers work in the Mid-western .states surveyed. Our survey indicated that this was no more than 26% of the screen printers responding to our survey.

Good process color work remains a challenge for this less expensive equipment due to limitations in resolution of the digitally created positive. Additionally, continued improvements in lpi rulings for plotter equipment are necessary before the plotter based technologies can be applied to the broad range of lpi rulings used by the average screen printer. Continued technology improvements are expected to address this in the near hture.

Vellum substrates were most effective with laser printer generated images while polyester substrates were most effective with plotter generated images. The differences in substrate and adequacy of image density were statistically significant.

The “average” screen printer in this survey is in a state of transition, experimenting with and attempting to integrate new technologies into a work environment and production schedule that demands flexibility in formatting options, dpi, and lpi rulings for positives generated. The equipment evaluated in the laboratory provided adequate dpi for all needs indicated in the survey instrument, covered most of the formatting ranges reported, and provided an adequate Ipi ruling for the category of half tone rulings most often used in the industry (5 1 lpi). The need, however, for more flexible equipment in the areas of large size formatting and lpi halftone rulings was also obvious, especially if the industry is going to move directly to substrate printing.

Waste disposal costs were minimal ($50 per year) given the conditions of discharge that the majority of screen printers face, especially in rural areas of the Mid-west. In areas of the Country with much more severe water quality problems or population pressures on POTW treatment facilities requiring stringent pre-treatment agreements with industrial dischargers, the costhenefit ratio could tilt in favor of eliminating silver discharge. The main benefit from the digitalization of prepress operations is the increased flexibility and potential pro- ~

ductivity of digital output even while staff in the prepress area are reduced. It should be 1

noted that this study did not address materials other than liquid silver bearing wastes generated during the prepress process and savings could be expected in films, stripping films, and stripping materials. Technical assistance should be provided with these factors in mind when the overall costhenefrts of technology changes are being presented to the small business client. Certainly from a competitiveness perspective, it is in the businesses best interest to implement digital prepress technologies, and it is this point, competitiveness, not environmental issues that will most likely form companies choices in this area. Benefits to the environment are added benefits resulting from sound business practice.

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In-Depth Survey Analysis he following in-depth analysis delineates and provides commentary on the findings from ach section of the industry survey study. A copy of the industry survey study can be

found in Appendix A.

Business Product Focus r ~ - - - ~ ~ - - - - - - I - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - ~ ~

This section surveyed the types of products likely produced by the business client and the percentage of that product produced. The response categories allowed the printer to respond by the percentage of their business devoted to producing a particular product. Overall, the percentage of total respondents producing the product to some degree included, (see figure at righe.

following percentages are indica- Of the response categories, the

tive of the largest response by mag- 20 nitude or range of magnitudes to the

50

40

30

percent of product produced by the technique in question.

Percentage of Total Respondents

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Conclusions

garment and textile production followed by decals and labels; and with name plates, dials, gauges, and panels; and binders or ad specialties trailing a close third and fourth respectively. What is' also striking about the response data is the wide variability and diversity of the operations. The variability of responses and the small percentages of any business taking 100% of their production fiom any one area within the screen printing SIC attest to the diversity of mar- kets the average screen printer serves. Further, the top four categories of production avail themselves well to the production of digital positives and would require resolutions as well as format sizes within the realm of the technologies evaluated in this study.

The majority of respondents indicated that significant portions of their business came from

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Number of Employees Number of Full Time Employees This was a straight forward evaluation of the number

of fill time or fill time equivalent employees at each business surveyed. This information is graphically presented in the figure to the right.

Conclusions Eighty-six percent of the owner operators reported less

than one hundred full-time employees (FTE). Seventy- one percent of respondents employ less than 50 FTE. The mean value based on the frequency distribution for respondents is 11-20 FTE. These figures underscore that many of the screen printing shops the technical service provider may work with are small businesses. Suggestions for implementing process changes that have a net environmental benefit must also make sense to the bottom line. If cost savings in waste management and disposal cost were the only criteria to be offered for switching processes, the inducement to change may, not be great enough to just@ expenditures in such small operations. In that case, the technical service provider will need to have some

d technical information that points to the production efliciency and greater flexibil

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Conclusions

The majority of respondents had annual gross sales in 1994 of under one million dollars per year (60% of respondents). Forty- percent of respondents had annual gross sales for 1994 of less than $500,000 dollars. Interestingly, the largest single category of respondents (30%) indicated that their gross sales for 1994 were over two million dollars. These findings illustrate that while many of the screen printers responding to this survey report are doing very well, many other shops are operating within tight profit margins. Pollution prevention suggestions should be well researched and any suggestions made on changing process technologies should include supporting information on industry association, technical process assistance, or educational programs available to make the transition as economically “painless” as possible for the small business client.

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Positive Generation Methods

A positive is an image produced on a translucent or transparent substrate, such as lithographic film, difision transfer film, polyester, or vellum, which is then used to expose indirect film, directhapillary film, and/or direct emulsion. A variety of methods were listed as options and the respondent was then asked to indicate the percent of positives generated in the said manner. Overall, the percentage of respondents using a particular type of positives generation technology by response category included:

Of the response categories, the following percentages are indicative of the largest response by magnitude or range of magnitudes to the percent of positives produced by the technique in question.

Process camera and photographic high contrast film, while this was the single most utilized process by percentage of companies, the percentage of work within any company devoted to this method varied widely with 32% of respondents who used the technology indicating that they used it for 10-50% of their overall positives generation ’while the other 18% of respondents using the technology employed it for 50- 100% of the positives they generated.

Process camera, diffusion transfer, 24% of the respondents who reported using this method relied upon it for 10-40% of the positives they generated while 21% relied upon it for 50-100% of their positives generation.

Hand cut stripping film, 39% of those using this technology rely upon it for 10-30%,of their positives generation. The remaining 2% utilizing this method rely on it for under 10% of their positives production.

Imagesetter to high contrast film; of the shops using this method, 18% use this technique to generate over 50% of their positives, while 8% use this method for 10-40% of their positives generation.

Laser printer to vellum, 14% of the shops using this positives generation technique use it for 10-40% of the positives they generate, while 12% use it for 60-1 00% of their positives generated.

Plotter to cutting film, of the shops using this method in their prepress operations, 15% use it for 10-50% of their positives generation, while 3% use it for over 70% of their positives generation.

Laser printer to polyester film, 14% of the shops using this method generated 10-40% of their positives in this manner, 1% generate 60% of their positives, and another 1% generate 70% of their positives using this technique.

Pen and ink on polyester film or vellum, 11% of respondents use this technique for 10-90% of their positives generation. Interestingly, of that 11 %, 2% use it for 90% of their positives generation.

Other methods, respondents in this category indicated that they were outsourcing their prepress operations. Of the 11% of shops that used “other” methods of positives generation, it was relied upon 10-90% of the time with the single largest percentage (2%) relying on this technique 30% of the time.

Transfer type and illustrations on film or vellum, of the 6% of shops using this method, the spread on percent of use is quite wide ranging in small percentages from 10-100%. The single largest percent of shops using this technique (3%) reports using the method for 10-20% of their positives generation work.

Phototypesetter direct to high contrast film, of the 4% of companies using this method, the spread of percentage of use is evenly divided between 10,40, 50, and 100%.

Plotter to vellum, 2% of the respondents use this method for 10-20% of their positives generation work, while 1% use it for 40% of their work and the other 1% uses it for 100% of their work.

Digital, only 1% of respondents were using “digital” approaches and this particular group indicated that they used it for 90% of their positives generation.

using thi:

Conclusions

Of the positives generation techniques surveyed under this section process camera and photographic high contrast film, process camerddifksion transfer, imagesetter to high contrast film, other methods (assuming that the out-sourcing shop uses photographic prepress methods), and Phototypesetter to high contrast film are silver halide utilizing methods. Based on an analysis of responses, most screen printers are relying on process cameras with high contrast film or process camerddiffusion transfer processes and relying on those for fairly large percentages of their work. A surprising number of respondents (41%) still rely on hand-cut procedure to produce certain portions of their positives.

Of the digital technologies used, 26% of respondents rely on a laser printer to vellum positives generation technique, but responses indicate that this is relied upon for only small percentages of the overall work. Experimentation in the digital area appears to be occurring to the largest degree in the plotter to cutting film and laser printer to polyester film area. Overall, however, a minority of shops rely on digital processes for less than half of their positives generation. Surprisingly, no one responding to the survey was using the plotter to polyester film approach to positives generation, a technique the research team found to be most effective in terms of producing quality positives with adequate resolution and densitometer readings. Once again, as was illustrated in the types of products produced, diversity of techniques for positives generation techniques was underscored. The fact that at least 26% of the respondents are using digital techniques, albeit for small percentages of positives generation, is indicative of a cautious willingness to embrace the new technologies.

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Positives Production Per Week ' The number of positives produced per week by the average company has a direct bearing on

the'kinds of positive generation equipment that can or should be used in the prepress process and on the number of units a typical shop might require to meet its needs. Respondents indicated the following positives produced per week (PPPW) trends:

Conclusions I Positives Produced Per Week Eighty-nine percent of the companies

surveyed generate less than 200 positives per week with the largest single percentage

, of companies (43%) generating 10-50 positives per week. Equipment evaluated in this study could conifortably accornrhodate the numbers of positives produced per week by survey respqndents. Average positive production per week could also be increased using digital equipment as the technology became more comfortable to the prepress

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specialist. Digital production methods have the potential to produce more positives per day per specialist than traditional prepress methods. Once again, this is dependent on the specialist becoming proficient and comfortable with the technology.

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Approximate Size of Positives and Percentage Used

Respondents were asked to indicate the average size of positives generated and the percentage of positives generated in each size category. This allowed the research team to evaluate the equipment needs of practicing industry professionals and to evaluate this in light of the equipment used during the study.

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Conclusions

In regard to the category “Other” the following screen sizes were noted: 24xl20,32x48, 20x24, 11x14,18x24,12x14,48x96,48x120,22x28,4x4,24x24,24x30,16x20,

ersity of the “Other” category and the wide spread ries underscores the diversity in size of work and currently available digital imaging technologi

e size ranges, positives exceeding a 36x40 i t used in this study. This poses a challenge for

, for example, the individuals indicating th ouid have to carefully seek out specialized 36x120. To underscore this point, 46% o sizes of positives for some portion oft

tives generation work.

It is also clear from the survey that the majoriv of screen printers cse standard size screens for most of their work. In these cases, the use of digital technology, as described here, would not be excluded based on screen size. However, for all shops to make the shift to digital, manu- factures of digital imaging technologies \vi11 have to expand their equipment’s formatting options to make their products available to a larger sector of screen printers.

Methods of Processing Photographic Films

used and to indicate what percentage of each method they used, both automatic and tray methods ivere possible response options.

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Respondents were asked to identi@ which method(s) of photographic film processing they

Conclusions ‘

The.response rate dropped 10% when this question was asked. The ‘61ikelihsod” of the technique being used was measured with this question. The “Other” category measured the likelihood that outsourcing was used to generate positives. Responses indicate that diffusion transfer technology and rapid access development are the two favored photographic development processes and they tend to be used for well oVwhalf of the typical shop’s positives processing.

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II(Y.III~IIII.I.I.I.IIIIII.I.IIIIIIIUII.IIII~~

Volume of Chemistry Disposed per Month, Photographic Processes Positives generation processes involving silver halide films and chemistry based development processes were listed, and respondents Lvere asked to indicate which process they used and how much waste was generated from that particular process. The response rate for this question dropped to approximately 79% indicating that respondents either were not aware of the volume of spent chemistry generated each month or were reluctant to share that information, or both. Amounts generated were measured in gallons of waste per week.

i

Conclusions The 20% drop in potential response rate on this question was striking, and bears mentioning

again as it was the largest single drop for any of the categories with the exception of digital imaging wastes. Overall, the data indicate that three areas predominate in the amount of waste generated and in the development technique(s) used to generate waste; diffusion transfer developer, rapid access developer, and fixer respectively. The “Other” category of response, in all cases, indicated amounts of less than one gallon of waste per week. Averaging the above figures over a year using mean data provides a figure of approximately 18 gallons of chemistry disposal per year for the statistically “typical” screen printer.

Amount of Waste Disposal per Month, Digital Production This question was similar in nature to the previous question in that respondents were asked

to indicate which wastes from digital production were generated and the amount generated on a weekly basis. The response rate to this question was between 50 and 80 percent of respondents indicating two things, 1) fewer respondents would be generating digitally based wastes as fewer screen printers are using digital technologies to generate positives, 2) some respondents confused laser jet cartridges with office copier, ink jet, and office printer cartridges with the cartridges from digital production plotters and imagesetters. Therefore, statistical responses to this question should be interpreted with a margin of error of f 4-7% easily.

ercent. This, along

even out at about 3-4 cartridges per year for an “average” company.

i

Comparing the “average” generation of waste from photographic positives generation techniques (aprox. 1.5 gallondmonth or 18 gallons/year) to the generation of 3-4 laser or plotter cartridges per year gives an idea of the trade-offs involved in switching to digital prepress technologies from the perspective of waste generated. This also indicates that the case for waste reduction would need to be made on the basis of state and local effluent limitations and on the cost of chemistry disposal along with the business side benefits to the implementation of digital technologies such as competitiveness, increased productivity, and greater marketability of finished products. \

Expense of Photographic Film Waste Removal for FY 94

techniques were asked to quantify their disposal costs on a yearly basis for FY 94.

n ~ ~ n ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ m ~ ~ - ~ m ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Respondents who incurred waste disposal costs related to photographic positives generation

Conclusions It is apparent from the breakdown of responses

that the majority of respondents pay no more than $50 dollars per year in waste disposal costs. In the vast majority of cases, no more than $300 dollars per year will be spent on these expenditures. The rate of response for this question was 91%. This is quite a drastic improvement compared to the response rate for the amounts of photographic and digital wastes generated. One respondent indicated that over $2,600 per year was paid for photographic waste disposal,

Disposal Costs $301-500

0

I u ~ I I I I I I ~ I ~ m m ~ n ~ . I I I I I I I I u ~ ~ ~ ~ I I & I I I

Output Device Resolutions (dpi) Used in the Preparation of Positives Respondents were asked to consider the total amount of line copy, including type and illus-

trations, used in the preparation of positives. This question gives an idea of what the average screen done.

ts for dpi resolution are and the range in which mos om the perspective of digital equipment capabilities.

I

Conclusions The three most commonly responded to dpi, based on overall percent response, were 300,

600, and 1200 dpi. However, it is also quite apparent that the screen printer relies on a wide range of dpi rulings for moderate percentages of work in each of the potential response categories and equipment suggested or chosen must be capable of meeting these needs. The “Other” response category included such dpi as 65, 360,400, 60-70, and “laser”. The equipment that was evaluated in the technical portion of this study provided up to 2,500 dpi which is adequate to the needs of respondents based on the survey findings.

= U ~ I I ~ ~ I I I I I I I I I I I I U I I - I I I I I ~ I I ~ I R Typical Screen Ruling used for Halftone Production in Ipi

Respondents were asked to indicate the range of screen rulings used when half-tones were part of their positives generation process options ranged up to and over I2 1 lines per inch or Ipi. Although no category for “other” response was included with this question, enough responses outside of the established percentages were noted to calculate these into the frequency distribution.

(Conclusions The most frequently used lpi of all responses was the 0-50 Ipi range followed by 51-65 and

66-85 lpi, The most frequently indicated spread of responses being 0-85 lpi. A diversity of lpi rulings are obviously employed in each shop depending on need. Most shops are not using lpi rulings above 86 lpi for the majority of their work. The lpi capabilities of the plotter used in this study was 50 lpi and would provide service for a majority of respondents. It is evident, however, that screen printers need to use a variety of Ipi settings in their work and will need equipment flexible enough to meet their needs. The “Other” response category included listed responses above 121 Ipi and could be considered along with the +121 Ipi category.

Perceived Trends in Photographic Prepress

< - - I m - m - - - - u I - I I 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 1 - . 1 1 1 - - - - - - -

A series of five questions concerning perceived trends in photographic prepress and the role of envirowental regulation and waste disposal costs were included to qualitatively sample opinion in regard to this issue. Respondents were asked to identify trends in industry practice and regulatory climate by evaluating the questions with increase, decrease, and no change response options.

A) Over the past two years, photographic film positive production (imagesetter, camera) has been on the: Increase 35%, Decrease 37%, No Change 28%

B) Within the next two years it is anticipated that positive output from photographic film production will: Increase 28%, Decrease SO%, No Change 22%

C) Over the past two years, non-photographic film production (laser printer, plotter, transfer type) has been on the: Increase 68%, Decrease 7%, No Change 25%

D) Over the next two years it is anticipated that non-photographic film production will: Increase 70%, Decrease 7%, No Change 23%

E) Due to environmental regulations, future costs for waste management will: Increase 80%, Decrease ?A, No Change 18%

Conclusions It is evident from the attitudinal response portion of the survey that the majority of screen

printers, while perceiving that change in the prepress area is inevitable, have not necessarily seen a corresponding increase in implementation of digital technologies in their shops or the shops of their colleagues. This is indicated by the wide spread in responses to question A and the cluster responses to questions B, C, and D. Question E clearly indicates that the majority of screen printers expect environmental concerns and regulations to continue to play a role in waste management costs and believe that this will affect their bottom line in a negative fashion. This also indicates that rather than seeing environmental challenges as an opportunity for technology .innovation and process improvement, the average screen printer sees these challenges as- a threat to profit margins. The message to the technical service provider is clear. Pollution prevention specialists need to become acutely aware of the industrial processes and trends in the industries they work with and tailor educational programs so that the most beneficial aspects of developing technologies and pollution prevention concepts are melded. If this type of education and technical assistance can be disseminated to the small business client, perhaps the potential, as well and the negatives of environmentally challenging business decisions can be seen and evaluated by the client.

Abramic-Dilger, Karen

and Suggested Reading:

1995 "Big Bonus," American Printer, Vol. 21 5 No. 6, September.

1995 "DRUPA Product Analysis," American Printer, Vol. 2 15 No. 4, July.

1995 "Tough Decisions," American Printer, Vol. 22 15 No. 2, May.

1995 "Digital Imaging on Textiles: Swimming with The Tide," Screen printing/Garment

American Printer

Andrukitas, Joe

Cahill, Vincent

Printing, November.

In-Plant Printer 1995 "Digital Proofing Roundup," In-Plant Printer, Vol. 35 No. 5, October.

1995 "Proof Or Consequences," American Printer, Vol. 2 16 No. 2, November.

1995 "Wired Webs," American Printer, April.

1995 "Reality Check," American Printer, Vol. 214 No. 6, March.

Jeffrey, Noel

Jeffrey, Noel

Lamparter, William C.

NAPL (National Association of Printers and Lithographers) 1995 PrePress Market Watch, Vol, 4 No. 3, August.

NAPL/ GATF (National Association of Printers and Lithographers/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation) 1995 "CTS System Choices Abound At DRUPA '95," Sheetfed Operations Quarterly, Vol. 2 No.3.

NAPL/GATF (National Association of Printers and LithographersEraphic Arts Technical Foundation) "Panacea? No. But CTS Still Gets Rave Reviews," Sheetfed.Operations Quarterly, Vol. 2 No. 4.

Petersen, Debbie 1995 "Selling Digital Color," American Printer, Vol. 2 15 No. 6, September.

SGIA (Screen Printing & Graphic Imaging Association International) 1995 "Center for Digital Imaging Update," Tabloid, Vol. 17 No. 10, October.

i

Dear Screen Printer

Your assistance in completing the enclosed survey will be greatly appreciated. I did receive many responses from my first request, but I’d like additional responses to improve the validity of the overall .results. Yes, it will take some of your valuable time to complete the 13 items, but I don’t know of a better way to acquire the data. If you are not the appropriate person to complete the survey in your company, please forward it to the person who is.

Please postmark the return envelope on or before Wednesday, June 14. I’m targeting June 30 as the completion date for tabulating the data and summarizing the results.

Thank you very much..

Ervin A. Dennis, Ed.D. Graphic Communications University of Northern Iowa

Survey -- Use of Positives_ for Screen Printing

\ a a \ \

INSTRUCTIONS: Please read each question carefully and provide the answer by checking the

tions. Please make every effort 'to be as accurate as possible. appropriate box or legibly writing in the spaces provided. Many answers may be approxima- i

3

Note: I f you have questions interpreting any part oftfiis survey, please telephone: (319) 273-2753

PART 1: Demographic Information

1. Business Product Fociis:

Check all that apply .................. and ............................. CircIe percentage of business 0 0 tl c3 0

0 0 tl 0 0 0 d

Binders or Ad Specialties .......................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Ceramics, Flat Glass .................................................. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Compact Disk ........................................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Containers/Other 3-D objects .................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Decals and Labels ...................................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Fine Art/Sengraphs ................................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Fleet Marketing ......................................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Garments and Textile Products ................................. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Name Plates, Dials, Gauges, Panels .......................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Outdoor signs/ Billboards .......................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Circuits/Electronics ................................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Other ..lo 20 30 40 50 60 70 SO 90

Point of purchase and Displays ................................. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 SO 90

Please make certain the total = 100%

100

100

100

100 . 100

100

100

100

100 100 . 100

100

100

t

2. Number of full time equivalent employees: (Check only one box)

U 1-5 c) 6-10 0 11-20 0 21-30

CI 31-50 0 %io0 0 Over 100

3. Gross sales from screen printing prodiiction for FY '94: (Check only one box)

0 $500,000 - 1 mil. c) S1 mil. - 2 mil. 0 over S2 mil.

Page 1

PART 2: Positive Production Techniques

NOTE: A "positive" is defined in this survey as a positive image produced on a transparent or nanslu- cent material (such as lith film, diffusion transfer film, clear polyester, or vellum) which is used to expose indirect. film, direct/capillary film, and/or direct emulsion.

4 . Methods of positive generation or exposure:

Check all that apply .................. and ............................. Circle percentage of use Pen and ink on film or vellum ................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Transfer type and illustrations on film or vellum ...... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Hand cut film (such as rubylith) ............................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Process Camera - photographic high contrast film ... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Process Camera - diffusion transfer (PMTs) ............. 10 20 30 30 50 60 70 80 90 100

Laser printer to film dpi ?.......................lo 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Laser printer to vellum dpi ? ...................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Plotter (ink jet) to film .............................................. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Plotter (ink jet) to vellum .......................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Plotter to cutting film (such as rubylith) ................... 10 20 30 30 50 60 70 80 90 100

Phototypesetter direct to high contrast film .............. 10 20 30 30 50 60 70 80 90 100

Imagesetter direct to high contrast film ..................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Digital direct to screen emulsioii ............................. 10 20 30 30 50 60 70 80 90 100

Other ..lo 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Please make certain the total = 100%

5. Approximate number of positives produced per week (including tiiiplicates & reverses): (Check only one box)

c3 1-10 0 10-50 0 51-100 0 100-200

200-500 0 50-1000 0 Over 1000

6. Indicate the approximote size of the positives produced and the percentage used.

-. Check all that apply .................. unci ............................. Circle percentage of use El 5 x 7 .......................................................................... io 20 30 -a0 50 60 70 80 90 io0

cl 10 x 12 ..............................................................*. ) 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

0 20 x 21 ....................................... ............................. 10 7-0 .30 40 5 0 00 70 30 90 100

8 10 ......................................................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

13 x 17 ................................................................. f 30 30 5 0 00 70 SO 90

0 Other 3) 40 50 00 70 SO 90 100 ~ k e cen;iin the total = 100%

Paae 2

7. Method of processing photographic film materials:

Check all that apply .................. and ............................. Circle percentage of use 0 Automatic processor w/lith developer ....................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Automatic processor w/ rapid access developer ........ 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 I00

Tray method w/ lith developer .............- ..... e & e ........... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

17 Diffusion transfer processor ...................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

...... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 Other Please make certain the total = 100%

8. Volume of chemistry disposed of per month relating to positive production.

Check all that apply .................. and ............................. Circle gallons used per week 0 Lith developer A & B (concentrate) .......................... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Rapid access developer ............................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 c] Acetic acid stop bath ................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Fixer (Concentrate) .................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Diffusion transfer developer ...................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Cl Other ...... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

List if different amount

10

10

10

10 10 10

List if different amount

9. Amount of chemical disposal per month relating to digital positive production.

Check all that apply ................ ..and ............................. Circle, units used per week Laser printer toner packs ...........................................l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0 Inkjet cartridges ......................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 fJ Other ...... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1:

10. Financial expenditures incurred for waste removal relating to photographic f i lm material and

(Check only one box) processing chemistry for FY ‘94

e3 $0-50 $51 - 150 $151 - 300 C1 $301 - 500

CI $501 - 1000 0 $1001 -2000 Other $

11. Of the total amount of line copy (such as type and ilhstrtltions) prepared or used itz the preparation of positives, indicate the oritput device resolutions iised it1 dot5 per inch (dpi) .

1. Check all that apply .................. and ............................. Circle percentage of use 300 dots per inch .......................................................lO 20 10 40 50 60 70 SO 90 100

0 600 dots per inch ........................... 60 70 SO 90 100

1200 dots per inch .................................................... 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 SO 90 100

0 2400 dots per inch ..................................................... 10 -0 10 40 50 60 70 SO 90 100 Q Other ..IO 20 . 30 40 50 70 80 90 100

‘11 = 100% Pann 2

12. Of the total number of halftones prepared or used in the preparation of positives, indicate the typical screen rLiling(s) used in lines per inch ( lpi) .

Check all that appIy .................. arz ~.............................Circ Ie percentage of use

e7 51 to 65 lines per inch ............................................... 10 20 30 40 S O 60 70 80 90 100

11 66 to 85 lines per inch .............................................. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

0 86 to 100 lines per inch .............................................lo 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 101 to 120 lines per inch ...........................................IO 20 30 40 . S O GO 70 80 90 100 0 Over 121 lines per inch ............................................. 10 20 30 40 SO 60 70 80 90 100

:J 0 to 50 lines per inch, ........................................... .io 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 go 100

Please make certain the total = 100%

13. Based on any trends that you perceive in your business, answer the following:

Check only one box per item Increase

a.

b.

C.

d.

e.

Over the past two years, photographic film positive production (imageserrer, camera) has been on the:

Within the next two years it is anticipared that positive outpitt from photographic film production will:

Over the past two years, non-p}~iograp}l ic~l~n production (laser printer, plotter, transfer ope) has been on [he:

Over the next two years it is anticipated that non-photographic film production will:

Di~e to environmental regulations.fi~iure costs for waste management will:

Decrease

0

0

0

0

I

No change

,

Comparisons of Median Densitometer Readings 5

w 4 m t: v f 3

0

Figure 1

iotter, Enhamee

t PNPoly - Plotter, Normal Mode, Polyester Substrate

A

- 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 Positive Generated (Treatment Number)

Comparisons of Median. Densitometer Readings

2.5 r Figure 2

[ZIPEVel - Plotter, Enhanced Mode, Vellum Substrate

PNVel - Plotter, Normal Mode, Vellum Substrate

Comparisons of Median Densitometer Readings Figure 3

l1um Substrate

LPPoly = Laser Printer, Polyester Substrate

Positive Generated (Treatment Number)

Comparisons of Median Densitometer Readings Figure 4

0

*., n i 0 n

t.r f 1-5

0 1.0

8 0.5 6

0.0

t U S I

VI

odal Distribution (1.34 - MPNVeI - Modal Distribution (1.1 1 - 1.28) c]ILPPoly - Modal Distribution (0.80 - 1.00) \

Percentage Response by State

Missouri Figure 5

* G&ss Safes FY'94

U 1 1 I 1

'Z 3; I 0

0 v) #

3

by Category

Figure 6

J

P =5 r 0 0.4 ua

osirtive Generation Techniques Used Figwre 7

Positive Production Technique Used

~limjnating The Screen Printing Pho~og ~p his -Prepress · SIC 27-71 /J" ~limjnating The Screen...

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