Today we’d like to introduce you to Nigel Sanders.
Nigel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always been into the arts and the creative process, I’d done some different kinds of printing growing up, but I ended up going to college to be an illustrator: painting, drawing, editorial pictures, that sort of thing. One could print as an illustrator, but they are different areas of expertise. After college I ended up getting a job printing lithographs for a gallery and just fell in love with the wider world of printing. From there I moved on to screen printing, eventually teaching and mentoring printers before opening up my own shop in 2014.
Has it been a smooth road?
Every business has its challenges, especially anyone who starts their business from scratch. It hasn’t been all doom and gloom, but I’m pretty much still a one-man operation at this point. In this day and age, that means not only all the actual, ya know, work that has to be done, which for screen printing especially, is time and attention demanding, but also all the social media, advertising, admin, bills, customer service, quality control, cleaning, etc. It’s a lot to do. Scheduling and organization have become hugely important. Luckily I have a lovely wife who helps me out when she is able to, and while my son isn’t old enough able to hold a squeegee yet, he makes a good mascot.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Printersaurus Rex story. Tell us more about the business.
I run and own Printersaurus Rex, which is a full service screen printing shop, meaning we can help with everything from designing imagery for printing, to sourcing material and garments to print on, to processing that imagery to make it ready to print, to the printing itself, to finishing and packaging. Since we have no minimums, I am frequently asked to sample prints for clients to use as sales pitch material. And my love of printing itself and the creative process has led to working with clients on all kinds of specialty inks and processes, and I’m really proud of the work we’ve done printing for clients with experimental or extraordinary projects. Figuring out how to make something work is always really gratifying. We also offer live printing services for events and parties, where we bring a mobile press to a party and print on site. People get to see the magic happen in person. We also offer pad printing of household objects, like pens, sunglasses, and drinking glasses etc.
All that being said I am happy printing anything from school shirts and local businesses with one-color designs to the most off-the-wall 4 color process photograph with an under-base and also shimmer highlight. I’ve worked with film and TV studios, MMA fighters, international clothing conglomerates, as well as local artists and artisans. My background in illustration has really helped me specialize in design for clients and knowing my way around what makes a compelling image, as well as specializing in having a really solid eye for color and mixing it to exactly what a client is looking for. There aren’t many shops or printers out there that understand and respect the artistic possibilities of printing while at the same time are capable of producing and delivering larger orders of less complicated artwork.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I’m cautiously optimistic. Garment printing has evolved from manual to automatic to digital printing, and this last step has the potential to really just drop the bottom out of the industry, and that’s without even going into the effects of overseas production. But with the rise of Kickstarter rewards and online marketplaces, there’s a lot of opportunities that weren’t there 5-10 years ago. Not just opportunities of having more outlets to sell items, but also opportunities to help people realize their vision and offer some advice or expertise. Branding and merchandising is such a big part of our world now, and there will always be a need to help make that happen. And while more and more people will be capable of producing at home, those with experience and expertise will be more valuable than ever to help guide and create.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.PrintersaurusRex.com
- Phone: 818-275-2560
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/printersaurusrex
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/printersaurusrex
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