By Dave Jenne
Yesterday (July 15) was print day for the 2026 Pine Hill Partnership t-shirts, and I took a little field trip to All Star Ink in Rutland to see it happen. In case you’ve never seen what goes into printing t-shirts, I thought it might be interesting to show you.
The one part that I can’t show you is the hours and hours at the sketch pad — and then computer — getting this art prepared. I didn’t keep track of the total number of hours, but I think I’m better off not knowing. I have always loved this lookout and have been thinking about how to feature it for as long as I’ve been visiting the park. After Larry Walter, Shelley and Nate trimmed and opened up the view last fall, it seemed like a great time to celebrate this awesome view of the City of Rutland.
The other part you can’t see is getting the final artwork converted to halftone separations that could work on a t-shirt with a limited number of inks. For that I have to thank Craig Shorey at All Star Ink. I’ve been designing the shirts for the Partnership for about 12 years now and I thought I knew what I was doing. Oh, how wrong I was! Craig has the patience of Job and a mastery of separating art into ink colors that few possess. He’s a very talented graphic artist himself and has created some awesome logos and illustrations for Rutland-area schools, businesses, and non-profits for many years. You should definitely check out his website.
Silkscreening, in case you don’t know, is based on stenciling ink through super-fine mesh screens — originally made with finely woven silk. Screens are now made with polyester and other synthetic materials, and digital technology is used to create the stencils, but the idea is basically the same as it was in the 18th century.
Screen printing isn’t just used for garments. It’s also common for posters (think the WPA and Andy Warhol), signs, decals, clock and watch faces, balloons, and even laying down conductors and resistors in multi-layer circuits using thin ceramic layers as the substrate.
You can do simple one- or two-color silk screening at home if you’re making a few shirts for friends or family. But if you’re printing halftone-separated art using six or seven inks that need to be registered within about 1/80th of an inch — in quantities in the hundreds — you need to graduate to some pretty sophisticated machinery. This is where CJ Max, the shop’s owner, and his team at All Star Ink come in.
I’ll let the video and photos tell the rest of the story. Basically, the shirts start at one station on the press and then rotate to positions under each of seven screens, where automatic squeegees force ink through the mesh and onto the shirt.
From blank shirt to fully printed in about a minute to a minute and a half!
Caring for your Pine Hill T-Shirt
- Wash inside-out. This protects the printed design from direct friction against other clothes and the washer drum.
- Use cold water. Hot water can cause ink to crack or fade faster over time.
- Skip the bleach. Even color-safe bleach can dull or discolor the ink.
- Go easy on detergent — and skip the fabric softener. Fabric softener leaves a residue that can make prints feel stiff or peel over time.
- Air dry when you can. Heat is the biggest enemy of screen-printed ink. If you use a dryer, use low heat and take the shirt out promptly.
- Don’t iron directly on the print. If you need to iron, turn the shirt inside out, or place a thin cloth over the design first.
- Wash with like colors. Keeps the shirt looking sharp longer and avoids dye transfer onto the print.
- Let it cool before folding or storing. Ink is softest right after drying — give it a few minutes before you fold or stack the shirt.
Treat it right, and your Pine Hill shirt will be trail-worthy for years to come.
And, in case you are interested in a shirt for yourself, sign up as a Pine Hill Trail Blazer or Rock Star and we’ll get one (or two) to you right away!
