Regardless of whether you are using a wide-format or small-format printer for sublimation, the production times are going to be the same. You can save labor time by grouping similar products or multiples of the same product together under the same heat press as the cycle time of approximately one minute remains – pressing 10 at a time reduces your labor cost.
I also recommend grouping products together and running them at the same time to help eliminate ruined products, which can add to your costs. Due to the fact that different substrates require different times, temperatures and pressures, setting up to make those substrates can be a challenge. If you are always switching back and forth, you will ruin products by missing those settings, adding to the cost to produce.
There is little to no set up, so printing one or 500 doesn’t change your costs too drastically. You can improve your cost on large orders by purchasing blanks at a lower price, and also with your labor efficiency. If you are making nothing but T-shirts, for example, your production team is going to get much better at it over time.
-Aaron Montgomery, 2 Regular Guys, MontCo Consulting
