Andy MacDougall

Live-Printed Poster Raises $15,000 for Long Beach Nonprofit

Screen printers band together in the name of altruism.

Published

1 year ago

April 23, 2023

Andy MacDougall Screen Printing March-April 2023

Care Closet Director Duke Givens led a tour of Long Beach to show firsthand what the poster proceeds would go toward. [Pictured left to right: Duke Givens and sponsors Mark Bailey (SanMar), Rick Roth (Ink Kitchen), Pam Ikegami (Ink Kitchen), and Josh Ellsworth (Stahls’).

I DON’T KNOW what your tradeshow experience has been like, but make no mistake: These events are all about money. Screen printers and imaging professionals (or whatever the current description is) descend on a convention hall in a two-or three-block area of a remote city with food, drink, and other accommodation geared specifically to extracting funds from wallets. Exhibitors spend small fortunes to set up production lines that would take mere mortals weeks to install in a regular shop. We see friends, customers, and colleagues kick the tires on – and sometimes buy – new equipment and supplies before heading back to Cucamonga, Cleveland, the Comox Valley, or wherever they call home. Hangovers are gone in a few days; the credit card won’t really hurt for a few weeks.

However, this past Impressions Expo in sunny Long Beach, California, proved that a tradeshow doesn’t have to be all about making and taking money. There’s room for giving, too – in this case, to a great local nonprofit, Care Closet (careclosetlb.org), that works closely with the unhoused population in Long Beach. This is the story we tell on our latest podcast episode, which takes alliteration to the next level by adding a new word to the title: Art, Ad, Alchemy, or Altruism?

Altruism is a funny disease. You won’t find it mentioned in medical textbooks, and unlike some other nasty viruses, it’ll make you feel pretty damn good. To save you from looking it up on WebMD, a dictionary describes it as “disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.” In other words, doing good deeds for people who can use the help. Our guest, Rick “Biscuit” Roth, has a serious case of it – and turns out, he’s a carrier.

People probably know Rick, his wife, Pam, and the ongoing “Shop Talk” interview program they run at the Impressions shows under the banner of the Ink Kitchen (inkkitchen.com). Rick interviews players in the garment decorating industry. They share insights into all aspects of the trade. Through YouTube and their website and social media, this advice is free (altruism again – what a concept).

It doesn’t stop there. I first met Rick on a panel organized by our mutual friend Richard Greaves. We hit it off, and later I attended an event he organized that raised more than $50k for the New Orleans Musicians Fund. In 2020, he had the bright idea that I should join him at Impressions Expo and live print a poster for the textillions. We raised a few thousand dollars for the Surfrider Foundation and made plans to continue. We all know what happened next.

Live-Printed Poster Raises $15,000 for Long Beach Nonprofit
Rick and his popular Shop Talk interviews are a staple at Impressions Expos. Industry experts and innovators share their views on a wide range of topics, and audience members are encouraged to ask questions. My big question: Could I sustain a split fountain over an entire run? The proof is in the print.

Fast forward to Printing United Expo last fall. After catching up, Rick asked if I was interested in coming to Impressions Expo Long Beach. I didn’t exactly agree, but the next thing I knew I had purchased a ticket, we were arranging supplies, and Rick was telling me about about a man named Duke Givens and the organization that Givens founded: Care Closet. Russ Turner, Impressions Expo show director, and Helen Yu, Impressions Expo operations manager, along with Mark Bailey from SanMar and Josh Ellsworth from Stahls’, all came on board as well. Things snowballed from there.

It started out simple enough. Like we did in 2020, we’d print live and collect donations for SanMar to match, leaving something nice behind to a nonprofit in the show city. Artist Alyx Spurrier (alyxtheartist.com) was given a couple of guidelines. I wanted to try a split fountain because I knew this screen printing technique would fascinate people.

We wanted an image that was iconic to Long Beach. Rick made the call to not junk it up with sponsor logos, so if someone bought it, they had a nice-looking souvenir of the show and the city. Shortly after, a preliminary design showed up, and I have to say, Alyx nailed it with the Queen Mary image. After a couple of small tweaks and some trapping, the art part was done.

Saati, Kiwo, and GSF helped prep the screens; Impressions gave us our old spot back between the halls; and the next thing I knew, I was setting up the printing station Friday morning and wondering why in hell I chose to do a 3-color blend in front of thousands of screen printers on essentially a board with clamps in a sea of $100,000 presses with three beers taped to the end of a string as a counterweight. Hoser Screen Printing 101.

[Left] Old fool, old school. We were asked nicely to cover up our three-beer counterweight system. It got uncovered and drained after a hard day pulling a squeegee. [Right] Stahls’ used the poster image to show off its hat press, which they donated as a raffle prize to anyone who bought a print.

The day before the show, Rick, Pam, Mark, and Josh met with Duke for a firsthand look at the good work his group was doing with the unhoused population of Long Beach. They came back excited, and support grew from there. The coolest thing – and Rick brings this up in the podcast – was competing exhibitors were eager to help.

The poster sold out on Sunday. Everyone who bought one had their name entered in a drawing for a Stahls’ hat press. (The winner, Dave Quigley, who said he had never won anything in his life, already has a hat press, so Stahls’ generously gave him $1850 in credit.) My booth helper, Jared Javier from LA Apparel, did an ace job selling and talking up the Care Closet. He was so taken with the poster printing (he’s in a band, he gets it), he agreed to take the equipment home and join us next year. At last count, we and the poster purchasers and the supporting companies had raised more than $15k for the Care Closet and donated a truckload of clothing collected at the show to be distributed to those in need.

As for our encounter with Rick and this altruism he infected us with, I’m happy to report everyone survived, with no lingering effects other than a warm fuzzy feeling and the hope that it never goes away.