TL;DR
- Registration errors show up twice: as lost press time and as rejected garments.
- Consistent screen tension and frame handling matter more than the alignment device.
- Track registration time per job — it is the leading indicator for short-run margin.
Registration is treated as a skill, not a process. Skills leave the building at 5 pm; processes stay.
Practical levers
- Standardise screen tension bands and retire frames outside them.
- Use registration marks and a fixed pre-registration jig for every repeat job.
- Store a registration record per job: screen IDs, off-contact, micro settings.
- Separate art preparation faults from press faults in your reject log.
- Train two people per shift; a single specialist is a scheduling risk.
Cost = Rejects × (Garment + Ink + Labour_touched) + Reprint_setup
2.8% registration rejects on 18,000 garments / month
- Rejected garments
- 504
- Full cost per rejected garment
- €4.10
- Monthly loss
- ≈ €2,066
- At 0.9% rejects
- ≈ €664 — €1,400 recovered per month
Interactive example
Registration time released per month
- Hours released
- 10.8 h
- Value if capacity-limited
- € 2.052
- Value if demand-limited
- € 0
Same calculation kernel as the full calculators. For a decision-grade result, open the matching calculator.
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Create a reportRelated reading
GuideIntermediate
Choosing the right registration system
Registration time is setup time — and setup time is the tax on short runs.
8 min05/06/2026
ComparisonIntermediate
Automatic vs manual registration
The comparison that changes short-run economics more than press speed does.
7 min22/06/2026
GuideIntermediate
Reducing setup time
SMED for garment decoration: move work off the machine before you speed it up.
8 min28/06/2026
BenchmarkIntermediate
Typical setup, registration and cycle times
Time benchmarks that decide short-run profitability.
6 min25/06/2026