Making it Safe: The personal side of screen-print shop safety

by Douglas Grigar, Master Screen Printer

(A version of this article originally appeared in the May 2005 issue of PRINTWEAR.)

*For a free poster of “Basic Rules for Screen Printing Shop Safety,” visit the “Downloads” link to the right.

 

Perhaps the least favorite subject for a business discussion concerns things we have to do but that don’t make us any extra money. Any legal-compliance issues - being just about as exciting as a personal-hygiene lecture in high school gym class - are at or near the top of the list.

So, rather than spend your time on the torturous details, going into depth over the minute nuances of safety regulations and requirements, I will instead share some personal observations - based on actual in-plant experience - some humorous, some sad, and in some spots, akin to a fire-and-brimstone Sunday sermon. So buckle your seatbelts ‘cause here we go!

Whose Job Is It?

Safety is everyone’s responsibility, the owner and management to formulate rules and implement them, and the employees to maintain them for the benefit of their own health and the safety of others. The primary concept is simply that awareness of mechanical, chemical, and fire safety procedures are a benefit to workers and to the plant as a whole. Clear safety programs will, have, and do help improve morale in the shop and increase its efficiency. But without a serious review accessing the plethora of research sources, a few items may be overlooked. It is always the small things that become large trouble spots later; in other words, when it comes to safety, little things can grow up, then return to bite you in the nether regions.

The Non-Human Component

Equipment, chemicals, electricity, and even the chance additional fire share one basic trait: they are inanimate and cannot think. Inanimate things cannot make judgments about their behavior, they have no ability to have compassion, empathy, or sympathy, and they certainly have no mercy. That automatic press will be totally unable to hear or react to the fact that, as your hand is pulled out of joint, you are screaming at the limits of your lungs. Because substances, conditions, or actions cannot contribute to safety in the shop, it is you, the management and workers, who bear the entire responsibility of safe use and procedures.

[The screen printing plant is an ironic mixture of flammable chemistry (and other flammable substances) and equipment that generates intense heat - a surefire recipe for disaster if proper care isn’t exercised.]

 

Speaking of Fire (and Brimstone)

Every shop dreads the thought of a fire; sadly, I have witnessed too many shop fires for my comfort. The cause of all the fires I have seen and likely will see is human error in combination with the screen printing plant’s use of flammable materials in close proximity to heat-generating devices. Thus, the question of a shop fire becomes not “if” but “when” a fire will test our intestinal fortitude. A flammable platen under an infrared flash unit combined with a lunch break often leads to a “crispy critter” for a platen…or much worse.

Is that an RPG*…or Screen Opener?

We have all used the notorious “fireball in a can” - the aerosol-type canned liquid product labeled “screen opener.” Few things in a print shop are as potentially explosive as this product. I have witnessed several explosions in shops caused by this item, all of which involved a misplaced can rolling down the conveyor belt and into the dryer. The resulting explosions shook the walls and removed parts of the dryers at high velocity in all directions.

I also witnessed a young worker deliberately try to ignite the spray from a can of screen opener, James Bond style. You know, as a joke. This lucky worker walked away from this potential death sentence with only the removal of eyebrows and several inches of hair beyond his normal hairline. The ingredients of this product read more like what is in “rocket fuel” than an “ink cleaner.”

(*Rocket-propelled grenade)

Hot Lamps, Hot Flashes, Dryer Pile-Up

Exposure lamps of the single-point variety often create considerable heat; eventually that heat will dry out all of the window cleaner from the rag used to clean glass, then start a fire. This will almost always happen while everyone is in the next room washing out the last batch of screens.

Flash units are a necessary part of printing garments, but the surface temperature is often high enough to start a fire or brand cattle. No printer wants to impart that waffle pattern onto their skin, but we all know a few who have.

If garments get stuck in the dryer or pile up in the catch-up box and reach the top, everything passing onto that conveyor belt piles up and eventually reaches the heat source. If you are printing by yourself, this can often reach the flaming point before you turn around and react to the problem.

Fire Extinguishers

Your local fire department is often glad to help train you or your staff in the correct use of extinguishers - with live demonstrations and hands-on practice - sometimes for a small fee, often at no charge. If only one person uses only one extinguisher only one time, and it saves your shop, would it not be worth the time invested? If you do provide portable fire extinguishers and expect your employees to use them in an emergency, you are required by law to make sure every employee has hands-on training on the use of the device. Class A, B, and C fire extinguishers have graphic labels to indicate the type of fires on which they can be used; you must match the unit with the possible fire types in the area in which the unit is located; combination extinguishers are often available.

Business- and industrial-related fires and explosions kill over 175 people each year in the United States, with more than 4,500 serious fire-related injuries added on top of the tragic death toll. The prevention, control, and escape from fire should be a major concern in every screen printing plant…and not just because of the legal requirements.