How to Speed Up the Printing Process on a UV Printer

Tara

Lately, I've been struggling with a question: when printing products, is it faster to use a fixture or to use vision positioning? In our shop, we have both an older machine that uses fixtures and a newer one with vision positioning. With fixtures, the upfront work — drawing, cutting, and setting up — takes at least half a day. But once the fixture is ready, printing the same product is indeed fast. There's no need to scan each time — just place it on and print.

With vision positioning, there's no need to make fixtures, and switching between products is very convenient. But every time you switch to a different shape, you have to scan the whole table, which takes two to three minutes. Over the course of a day, all that scanning time adds up.

The problem is that we often handle small-batch, multi-variety orders. Sometimes a single order has only 20 or 30 products, and they're all different shapes. With fixtures, the preparation time is too long. With vision positioning, all that scanning feels like it's hurting productivity. So which method is actually faster in real-world daily production? Is there a rough guideline — like, beyond a certain order quantity, fixtures become faster, and below that, vision positioning makes more sense? I'm not sure and would like to hear from people with real experience.

Jeson

Based on your description, a useful diagnostic step could be to track the total time spent on each method for a week. Record the time taken for setup, scanning, and printing. This will provide concrete data to compare the efficiency of fixtures versus vision positioning. Additionally, consider the variability in order quantities and product shapes. If the majority of your orders are small and varied, vision positioning might be more efficient despite the initial scanning time. Conversely, if larger, more consistent orders are common, fixtures could offer better long-term savings. Would you like to share any specific data or further details about your operations to refine this analysis?

Peter

To get a clearer picture, tracking the total time spent on each method for a week as suggested is a great idea. Analyze the setup, scanning, and printing times. For small-batch, multi-variety orders, vision positioning might indeed be more efficient, even with the initial scanning time. However, if you tend to have larger, more consistent orders, fixtures could save time in the long run. Considering your frequent small orders, vision positioning might still be the better choice due to the reduced setup time. Keep an eye on the overall productivity, and you'll have a better understanding of which method suits your workflow best.