You already know the routine: load, position, press, wait, peel, repeat: 120 an hour on a good day, with your most experienced operator glued to the machine. The press isn't the bottleneck. The waiting is.
The APEX X6 breaks the cycle. While one garment presses, you're loading the next two. No dwell-time babysitting, no rushed placements at hour six, no output cliff when your best operator calls in sick.
Manual auto-open press
Sustained output~120 / hr
Operators pressing1 — glued to the machine
8-hour shift~960 shirts
To match 340/hr~3 operators, 3 presses
APEX X6, one operator
Sustained outputUp to 340 / hr
Operators pressing1 — loading while it presses
8-hour shift~2720 shirts
To match 340/hrAlready there
At three operators' wages saved, the X6 is a hire you never have to make.
What the Numbers Usually Raise Next.
Two questions shops ask right after running their math, and where to go from here.
My operators are fast. Will automation really beat a skilled hand on a manual press?
On a single garment? Your best operator ties the machine. Over a shift? It's not close. A strong operator on an auto-open press holds ~120/hr until fatigue, breaks, and hour eight. The APEX X6 sustains up to 340/hr with one operator because pressing and loading happen simultaneously, and station 6 presses identically to station 1 all day. Automation removes the waiting that wastes your operator's skill.
What if my volume doesn't justify the X6 yet?
Then don't buy it. Buy the rung you're on. That's what the Vector, Titan, and Atlas lines are for ($339 to $3,990+), and they share the same support, warranty, and supplier relationship. Plenty of shops start on a Titan dual-station and step up when order volume forces the conversation. The ladder exists so your first MicroTec isn't your last.
Numbers look good? See them run.
Book a live demo at the Orange, CA showroom or on video, and watch the throughput you just calculated happen in real time.
