CHICAGO — Perhaps Wes Nelson, who heads the sales and service efforts of finishing equipment manufacturer Sankosha USA, described the relationship between a traditional drycleaning or laundry press and its padding the best: “They are like tires to an automobile.”
Equip your automobile with a good set of tires, then properly maintain them, and you can drive tens of thousands of miles on good roads without incident. Fail to keep them in good condition and it won’t matter what your ride looks like or how powerful its engine is—the road ahead will eventually be a bumpy one.
This month, American Drycleaner reached out to representatives from various finishing equipment manufacturers, as well as press pad makers, and asked them to analyze the relationship between press and pad, and how they work together in producing quality finished garments.
Q: What does changing press pads involve? Is it difficult?
John Rizzuto, vice president, Air World, press pad/cover manufacturer: Drycleaning pads and top plates are fairly simple to change, while certain shirt unit covers and pads require more time and skill to change properly.
Richard Greco, national sales manager, Hoffman-New Yorker, press manufacturer: Most pads are held in place with a drawstring and springs. Changing is not difficult.
Wes Nelson, head of sales and service, Sankosha USA, press manufacturer: It’s not rocket science, but it is important they are installed properly to not only produce the best possible quality but also provide optimum longevity.
Brent McWilliams, regional sales manager, FH Bonn, press pad/cover manufacturer: Changing press pads does not have to be difficult. With proper planning, it should be done at downtimes of the day, or on the weekend. Although some of the newer shirt equipment does take more time to change, for the most part, the majority of the equipment does not require a lot of time.
The key is to take off all of the old padding and to install securely the new. And to plan your changes and not have to do it on an emergency basis when you may be busy and may not have the proper padding in stock.
Q: What are some signs that a cleaner’s press pads need to be changed?
McWilliams: Operators need to keep an eye on their presses. Be it a shirt unit, an automatic pant topper, a steam air finisher, or whatever, they need to ‘eyeball’ them regularly in order to get maximum efficiency.
Torn covers, hard padding, worn-out steel base padding, leaking valves, and even dirty, stained covering can all lead to poor finishing.
Remember, the typical consumer understands the basics of stain removal and cleaning, but they go to the cleaners many times because of the finishing. The first thing that they notice upon coming back to pick up their clothes is how nicely (or not) their garments have been finished.
Greco: Broken buttons, ripples in the fabric, seam impressions, creases that are not sharp.
Yuriko Tanabe, vice president, European Finishing Equipment Corp. (Hi-Steam), tensioning equipment and press manufacturer: If the covers placed on the tensioning finishers get dirty or starchy, they can be washed and placed back on the machine. Some cleaners replace these covers with a generic version available in the market, but those do not offer the finely calibrated level of air blowing and result in the garment not drying properly.
Rizzuto: With heat and pressure, pads can become hard. When you push your hand down on the press pad with no indentation, it probably needs to be changed. Also, when steam and vacuum is restricted, it's time to change. A good tip is to write the date the pad is changed right on the pad.
Nelson: The most obvious are showing of excess dirt or the cover is torn or ripped.
Q: What are some signs, apart from pad condition, that indicate a press isn’t working properly?
Nelson: In most cases, an operator will notice additional touch-ups being required.
Greco: Poor quality. Having to re-press an area several times. Not able to lock.
Q: How much can a damaged or aging pad on a drycleaning press affect the quality of finished garments produced by that press?
Greco: Poor pad equals poor quality equals higher production cost.
Rizzuto: Garments pressed on a newer pad are significantly better than those pressed on a worn pad. When cleaners have a routine schedule on changing their pads, they maintain the most consistent pressing quality.
Nelson: Not only will quality suffer but additional labor costs will be incurred to fix this problem. Even the most skilled operator needs the proper tools that will allow them to do their job.
McWilliams: Worn-out pads and covers will not yield the best finishing and could be the reason that your customer will soon or has already left the cleaner to ‘test the waters’ elsewhere.
If you missed Part 1, you can read it HERE.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].