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Knowing when to upgrade a system is as important as knowing what to upgrade, especially when it comes to screen printing. It is a task that, as long as it may take, is vital to all, but if it starts clogging up your day, you may need to look at investing in automation, as Dave Roper, managing director of Screen Print World, explains.
Screen cleaning is one of those tasks that’s easy to underestimate until it’s eating hours out of every week. Most shops start out reclaiming screens by hand (hose, scrub pad, degreaser, elbow grease), and that works fine at low volume. But there’s a point where manual cleaning quietly becomes one of the biggest drags on shop efficiency. Here’s how to know when it’s time to bring in an automated system.
You’re reclaiming screens daily (or more)
A shop running a handful of screens a week can manage manual reclamation without much strain. But once you’re processing screens daily – or multiple batches a day – the maths changes. Manual reclamation typically takes 10-20 minutes per screen once you count degreasing, emulsion removal, haze removal, and rinsing. Multiply that by 15-20 screens a day, and you’ve got a full-time job that isn’t printing anything.
Labour is going to a low-value task
Screen cleaning doesn’t require your most skilled operator, but it does require someone – and that someone’s time has a cost. If you’re pulling a press operator off the floor to reclaim screens between jobs, or paying a dedicated employee primarily to scrub screens, you’re spending skilled or semi-skilled labour hours on a task a washout booth or automated reclaim unit can handle with far less supervision.
Reclaim quality is inconsistent
Hand reclamation quality depends heavily on technique, water pressure, and how thorough the operator is that day. Ghost images, haze buildup, and incomplete emulsion removal cause problems and can shorten screen lifespan. If you’re seeing screens fail early, or printers complaining about haze affecting print quality, inconsistent manual cleaning is often the root cause. Automated systems apply consistent pressure, coverage, and dwell time every cycle.
Water and chemical use are becoming a cost or compliance issue
Manual cleaning tends to waste water and chemicals because it’s hard to dose precisely by hand, and runoff isn’t always contained well. Automated washout booths recirculate and filter water, use metered chemical dosing, and contain overspray, which in turn cuts both cost and environmental compliance risk.
Your screen inventory has grown
Shops running a small number of screens can manage rotation and cleaning informally. Once you’re maintaining 100+ screens, or running multiple frame sizes and mesh counts, an automated system with consistent, repeatable cycles keeps things moving without a person having to babysit each screen through every stage.
Run the numbers before you commit
Automated washout units and reclaim stations range widely – from a few thousand pounds for a basic model to £15,000+ for a fully automated reclaim line. Compare:
- Current labour cost spent on cleaning per week.
- Water/chemical cost under manual process.
- Screen replacement cost from reclaim-related failures.
- Equipment and installation cost, including plumbing/drainage changes if needed.
If labour and screen-replacement savings alone cover the cost within a year or two, it’s usually a straightforward upgrade.
When manual still makes sense
Low-volume shops, those doing occasional custom work, or operations with fewer than a handful of screens in rotation per week often don’t see enough time savings to justify the investment yet. In those cases, a solid manual process with good technique and consistent chemical dosing can hold up fine.
The bottom line
Screen cleaning is invisible until it isn’t. Until it’s costing hours, ruining screens, or creating compliance headaches. When volume, labour cost, and screen quality problems start stacking up together, automating reclamation usually pays for itself faster than shops expect.
