Art, Ad, or Alchemy

Episode 23: An Interview With Industrial Printer Ken Johnson

An interview with industrial printer Ken Johnson on how he approaches printing on challenging shapes and materials.

Published

3 months ago

August 26, 2024

Andy MacDougall

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IN EPISODE 23, Andy MacDougall interviews Ken Johnson, a lifelong screen printer who started in printed circuit production in the Bay Area when electronics manufacturing in the USA really took off. After going through ups and downs, and ended up with a unique business called www.specialtyscreenprinting.com. That specialty? Printing industrial parts using screen printing, servicing a range of manufacturers and fabricators in Oregon and the western USA.

In the 2-D world of screen printing, somewhere between puff tees and posters, exists the world of the 3-D printer. The human version, not the machine. That’s someone who knows how to print images or logos directly — and permanently— on 3-dimensional housings or fabricated parts with weird angles or print locations, all of them made with challenging materials and finishes.

All this and more on this episode of the “Art, Ad, or Alchemy?” podcast and companion column from the September-October 2024 digital edition.

ABOUT THIS PODCAST: Screen Printing: Art, Ad, or Alchemy? covers the wide variety of uses of the world’s oldest printing technology in its modern form. The podcast introduces listeners to the people and the magic behind the squeegee. From leading-edge medical devices fighting COVID, to fine art and rock posters, the clothes you wear and the teams you cheer for, the electronic devices and new energy sources that will guide our future – it’s a screen printed world out there, and host Andy MacDougall will take you into it.

Let’s Talk About It

Creating a More Diverse and Inclusive Screen Printing Industry

LET’S TALK About It: Part 3 discusses how four screen printers have employed people with disabilities, why you should consider doing the same, the resources that are available, and more. Watch the live webinar, held August 16, moderated by Adrienne Palmer, editor-in-chief, Screen Printing magazine, with panelists Ali Banholzer, Amber Massey, Ryan Moor, and Jed Seifert. The multi-part series is hosted exclusively by ROQ.US and U.N.I.T.E Together. Let’s Talk About It: Part 1 focused on Black, female screen printers and can be watched here; Part 2 focused on the LGBTQ+ community and can be watched here.