Proper sequence of lays

1 December 1999



The secret of successful volume production has always been planning. Stan Caplan reveals his detailed programme for shirt finishing.


For most of my business years I have been challenged to produce quality shirts without touch-up (except for unusual sizes) while getting maximum production.

The latter had to be achieved without any sacrifice of quality whatsoever, and if there was a choice between the two, quality came first. For 30 years, my parents and I owned and operated the drycleaning, laundry and tailoring concession at Ft. Meade, Maryland, USA. The base always had a complement of more than 25,000 military personnel at any time. During the Korean and Vietnam Wars it often exceeded 45,000.

Our largest volume consisted of 10,000 to 12,000 laundered shirts per day, of which about 75% were military and 25% civilian. Since military personnel stood inspection in my shirts, the work had to be of high standard and since high-ranking officers wore both civilian and military shirts (similar to dress shirts) they had to be near-perfect. Female personnel wore form-fitted blouses which were heavily starched and without touch-up.

What was the secret to my success with all these mixes of shirts? Many factors provided the solution. First of all, the type of finishing equipment makes all the difference, particularly if you want both quality and production.

We needed a cabinet body-bosom-yoke press that could be fitted with any size and type of shirt. The answer was a form-fit style buck with pressurised air filling the sides (stiff expanders were not flexible enough for small and tapered shirts) and an extra-wide tail-clamp to fit small and tapered shirts to the buck.

Time saving

In the early to middle 1950s only one manufacturer made a cabinet-press such as the one just described, so we bought 22 of them. Today, every manufacturer can supply that type of cabinet press and in a double-buck configuration with a strong vacuum to take the place of the tail clamp. These time-saving features were not available back then.

I think the cabinet shirt-unit is the single most valuable contribution to the shirt-laundry industry in this century. If you carry over 100 psi of steam, your piping is properly engineered, your steam traps are 80 pound rates, your padding and covers are changed at proper intervals, your unit layout is efficient, your equipment is well-maintained and your operators are trained and motivated, then you are ready for the most important factor in shirt finishing, the proper sequence of lays.

Double-buck unit

The layout of this unit is critical to the achievement of maximum production and top quality. If you do not intend to use two operators right away, then this unit is not for you. Each operator must use at least three pieces of equipment in order to have adequate heat down-time since quality laundry finishing dictates that the shirt must be completely dried under the press-head. If not, the shirt will have a wilted appearance and the collar will not be smooth on the inside neck-band. From the first diagram, you will see that there are two collar-cuff presses and a triple-heated collar-forming unit.

Proper laying of the collar by snapping and arching it, and proper placement of the collar on the heated former, without the hindrance of an inserted hanger, will ensure a smooth comfortable fit for the customer. Also any shrinkage of the collar's interlining will be minimal.

Work Procedure operator No. l

1. Remove finished sleeves from Machine No. 1 and hang shirt on shirt hanger to Machine No. 2.

2. Take unpressed shirt from the damp box, located on the operator's right side of No. l, and put on No. l and send bucks in.

3. Go to No. 2 and remove the shirt from the shirt-hanger and put it on No. 2 collar and cuff bucks and close the head.

4. Go back to No. 1, remove finished sleeves and hang the shirt on the right shirt-hanger to Machine No. 3. Perform step 2.

5. Go to No. 3, remove the shirt from the hanger, put it on No. 3 collar and cuff bucks and close the head. Perform steps 1 and 2.

6. Go to No. 2, remove the shirt from the collar and the cuffs buck, hang the shirt on the right-hanger, remove the shirt from the left shirt-hanger and put it on the No. 2 collar and cuff bucks and close the head.

7. Go back to No. 1 remove the finished sleeves and hang the shirt on the right shirt-hanger to No. 3. Perform step 2.

8. Go to No. 3, remove the shirt from the collar and cuff bucks, hang the shirt on the left shirt-hanger, remove the shirt from the right shirt-hanger put it on the No. 3 collar and cuff bucks and close the head.

Note: There are now seven shirts in process. Repeat steps 5 through 8 continuously.

Work Procedure-Operator No. 2

1. Remove the shirt from the right shirt-hanger to No. 2, put in buck of machine No. 4 and send it into the cabinet.

2. Remove the shirt from the shirt-hanger to No. 3, put it on the buck of No. 4 and send it into the cabinet.

3. When the finished shirt from step 1 comes out of the cabinet (No. 4) remove it, break the collar at the neck-band, slam it against the former, rub against the heated collar former, two or three times, from forward to rearward and back (like shining shoes with a cloth), button the collar button, place the collar over the former down onto the heated cone as far as possible (make sure that the collar is even at the neck-band seam all around) and press both your thumbs side-to-side against the front portion of the collar to give it a creased effect all around. Leave the shirt (collar) on the first former.

4. Go to No. 2 and perform Step 1.

5. When the finished shirt from Step 2 comes out of the cabinet (No. 4) remove it, break the collar at the neck band seam against the second former, rub it against the heated second collar former (No. 5) two or three times from forward to rearward and back, button the collar button down, place the collar over the former and down onto the heated cone as far as possible (making sure that the collar is even at the neck-band seam all around), press both of your thumbs side-to-side against the front portion of the collar to give it a creased effect all around. Leave the shirt (collar) on the second former.

6. Go to No. 3 and perform Step 2.

7. Perform Step 3.

8. Perform Step 3, but place the shirt on the third collar-former and hang first away. Use an 18-inch-wide, executive collar shirt-hanger.

Note: By using the triple-heated collar formers (No. 5) the collar is being formed and moulded for a considerable length of time without any real loss of production.

The next shirt removed from No. 4 will be placed onto the first cone of No. 5 and the second shirt will be removed from the second cone and hung away. Repeat the steps continuously.

If these routines are practised and mastered by the operators, you will get excellent quality finishing because of longer head down-time, thoroughly drying the shirt under head and pressure.

Collars will stand up crisply, cuffs will be smooth and front button strips and fly fronts will be smooth and wrinkle free, not puffy. Production should be between 100 and 110 shirts per hour per unit. Remember, "quality first, production second equals repeat business." A "butterfly" collar support holds the collar up and improves the shirt's appearance.

Single Buck Unit

If you can afford a little more investment money and space is not a prime consideration, two single-buck units are more flexible than one double-buck unit, and you have an automatic insurance policy against being shut down completely when one unit is down for repairs. Each operator works independently on a unit and a competitive spirit is constantly in place. You always can see which operator is the better of the two.

You will see from the second diagram that there is only one heated collar-former although triple formers can be used in this unit if desired. However, the shirt collar would be forming for more than 65 seconds, making the triple-formers unnecessary. The laying of the collar is the same procedure as that described in the double-buck unit.

Work procedure

1. Remove finished sleeves from Machine No. l and hang the shirt on the shirt-hanger to Machine No. 2.

2. Take the unpressed shirt from the damp box, located on the operator's right side of No. 1, and put it on No. 1 and send bucks in.

3. Go to No. 2, remove the shirt from the hanger, put it on the collar and cuff buck and close the head.

4. Go back to No. l and perform Step 1.

5. Perform Step 2.

6. Go to No. 2, remove shirt from the collar and cuffs bucks, hang it on No. 3's hook, remove the shirt from No. 2's hanger, put it on the collar and cuff bucks and close head.

7. Go back to No. 1 and perform Steps 1 and 2.

8. Go to No. 3 remove shirt from hook, put on buck, send in.

9. Perform Steps 6 and 7 10. Go to Machine No. 3, move the shirt from the buck, break the collar at the neck-band seam against the former, rub it against the heated collar-former (No. 4) two or three times from forward to rearward and back, button the collar button, place the collar over the former and down onto the heated cone as far as possible (make sure the collar is even at the neck-band seam all around) and press both of your thumbs side-to-side against the form portion of the collar to give it a creased effect all around. Leave the shirt (collar) on the former.

11. Perform Step 8 12. Perform Step 6 13. Perform Step 7 14. Go to former No 4, move the shirt from the cone, insert an 18 inch wide executive collar shirt-hanger into the collar and hang away on the finished rail or conveyor.

15. Perform steps 10 to 13.

Note: Production should be between 48 and 55 shirts per hour, as many as 60 per hour is attainable.

Since the shirt collar is tight against the heated cone of the collar former for about 65 seconds or more the quality is equal to the triple-cones recommended for the two operator unit. Also, if you are using a double-buck cabinet press with only one collar and cuff press, you are better off removing one of the cabinet's bucks if the machine does not have a single buck option switch.

One operator is slowed considerably with a double buck cabinet press with only one collar and cuff press.

If you can afford the extra cost, two single-buck units are more flexible than one double-buck unit.

All this data is from my experience of more than 10, 000 quality shirts per day with almost zero touch ups.



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