How to Maximize Space in a Small Screen Printing Shop

 

Screen printing equipment and all the supplies required to print can take up quite a bit of space. If you are printing out of your home or garage, space is not always the easiest to come by. Your printing press might be competing with your bicycle for prime real estate in the garage. There's so much equipment necessary for running an efficient screen-printing business, every inch counts. Today we will discuss our favorite tips/ tricks and storage support items to help increase your workspace while taking up minimal space.

First lets discuss about how you can save space with your larger equipment pieces:

     1. Find Compact Pieces. Dip Tanks and Washout Booths are both great items in which you can find smaller and more compact versions. Industrial equipment can take up a lot of valuable floor space and can be very pricey. If you are working with minimal floor space we suggest opting for a dip tank and or washout booth that doesn't eat up your workspace. Dip Tanks can both help develop and reclaim your screen. Our washout booth was made specifically with printers with space constraints and is a must have for any garage or home set-up. It is 32” W x 24” D x 64” H.

     2. Table Top Spaces. Conveyor dryers and presses can be placed on top of tables and the space under the table can be used for space as well. For example you can place a table top press on a storage table that houses your frames. You can also place your conveyor dryer on a cabinet that you keep all your supplies in. This very simple concept usually looks really impressive too.

Utilize the wall for the following storage solutions

     1. Squeegee Rack. A squeegee rack is a great support item because it attaches to the wall and takes up no floor space and minimal wall space for multiple squeegees. Fill up the rack with your go-to squeegees and grab and go as you need. Never misplace your favorite squeegee again.  

      2.  Coating Station. The coating station is another great support item that can be attached to the wall. The coater only sticks out of the wall approx. 6 inches and takes up very little room. Alongside the minimal space this station takes up on the wall, it is a great tool for getting the perfect smooth coat of emulsion onto your screen.

     3. Magnetic strips. Small but mighty tip. Here at Screen Print Direct®, we love our ink spatulas, they make scooping ink out of the container clean and swiping ink across the screen easy. However, these spatulas can sometimes be easy to misplace as they are smaller and not always easy to spot. By putting a magnetic strip on your wall you can simply stick the spatula onto the strip and stay organized and free up a bit of shelf space for supplies

     6. Shelves. Instead of setting ink, emulsion, and chemical cleaners on a table use shelves. You don’t need anything fancy just a few shelves to keep your printing products off the floor. Shelves are also great if you have small children around and want to keep them away from painting your walls with plastisol ink or getting into screen-printing chemicals.

Get Crafty!

There are countless ways to organize your space and maximize operations.  It’s your space, make it your own. 

Any other valuable space constraint tips you can share with your fellow printers? All feedback is greatly appreciated. 

This article was originally posted by Screen Print Direct