How do you calculate effective squeegee speed?

Divide printed length by the runtime in minutes. For 1,200 ft over 8 hours: 1,200 ÷ 480 = 2.5 ft/min average. At 90% uptime the press was moving at about 2.5 ÷ 0.90 = 2.78 ft/min while actually printing.

What is a good squeegee speed for printing electronics?

It depends on ink and mesh, but screen-printed electronics run far slower than graphic printing because deposit control matters more than speed - fine-line work is often only a few feet per minute of web advance. Optimize for consistent thickness, not maximum rate.

Why is the while-printing speed higher than the average?

The average spreads the shift's output across every elapsed minute, including registration checks, screen cleaning, ink replenishment, and changeovers. While actually printing the press must run faster to make up for those stops - here 2.78 ft/min against a 2.5 ft/min average at 90% uptime.

How does squeegee speed affect ink deposit?

Faster speed shortens the time ink has to transfer through the mesh, thinning the deposit and risking open or high-resistance traces. Slower speed increases deposit and can cause bleed or bridging. It is a direct quality lever, not just a throughput knob.

Should I plan capacity with raw or effective speed?

Plan with the average speed. It is the demonstrated whole-shift rate; planning at the higher while-printing pace ignores the stops every real run contains and produces delivery dates you cannot hit.

What is press efficiency in this calculation?

It is the fraction of runtime the press is actually printing at speed, uptime net of stops. At 90% efficiency, one in ten minutes of the scheduled run is lost to non-printing activity.

Printed Electronics & Flexible Hybrid Electronics calculator

Squeegee Speed Calculator

Squeegee speed is the linear rate, in feet per minute, at which a screen-printing press lays conductive ink onto flexible substrate, the master variable that sets ink deposit, edge definition, and throughput on printed-electronics lines. Process engineers tune it against mesh, emulsion, and ink rheology because too fast starves the deposit and opens traces, while too slow floods lines and causes bleed. This calculator converts a run's printed length and elapsed hours into the average web speed in true feet per minute, and also shows the higher speed the press held while actually printing, once stops for registration, cleaning, and material changes are stripped out. That average number is what you should feed into capacity planning and delivery commitments.

What this calculator does

Squeegee speed is the linear rate, in feet per minute, at which a screen-printing press lays conductive ink onto flexible substrate, the master variable that sets ink deposit, edge definition, and throughput on printed-electronics lines.
Use it when squeegee speed in printed electronics and flexible hybrid electronics is being committed and you need a throughput number you can defend.
It converts printed length over elapsed hours into the average web speed in ft/min, and divides by uptime to show the faster pace the press held while actually printing.

Formula used

Average web speed = printed length ÷ (runtime × 60)
Speed while printing = average speed ÷ (uptime ÷ 100)

Inputs explained

Printed web length completed:
Press runtime:
Press efficiency (uptime):

How to use the result

Use it to convert a shift's output into a realistic ft/min rate for capacity planning, quoting run time, or comparing press configurations.
It treats efficiency as a single derate and assumes speed is throughput-limiting, it will not tell you whether a faster squeegee is degrading ink deposit or trace quality.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for copper and brass mill shapes stands at 542.853 (BLS, Jul 2026), up 52.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,543 per tonne (IMF via FRED, Jul 2026).
The U.S. has 11,261 computer and electronic products establishments employing about 815,443 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate effective squeegee speed? Divide printed length by the runtime in minutes. For 1,200 ft over 8 hours: 1,200 ÷ 480 = 2.5 ft/min average. At 90% uptime the press was moving at about 2.5 ÷ 0.90 = 2.78 ft/min while actually printing.
What is a good squeegee speed for printing electronics? It depends on ink and mesh, but screen-printed electronics run far slower than graphic printing because deposit control matters more than speed - fine-line work is often only a few feet per minute of web advance. Optimize for consistent thickness, not maximum rate.
Why is the while-printing speed higher than the average? The average spreads the shift's output across every elapsed minute, including registration checks, screen cleaning, ink replenishment, and changeovers. While actually printing the press must run faster to make up for those stops - here 2.78 ft/min against a 2.5 ft/min average at 90% uptime.
How does squeegee speed affect ink deposit? Faster speed shortens the time ink has to transfer through the mesh, thinning the deposit and risking open or high-resistance traces. Slower speed increases deposit and can cause bleed or bridging. It is a direct quality lever, not just a throughput knob.
Should I plan capacity with raw or effective speed? Plan with the average speed. It is the demonstrated whole-shift rate; planning at the higher while-printing pace ignores the stops every real run contains and produces delivery dates you cannot hit.

Last reviewed 2026-08-11.