It began with an order. A big order.

In February 2021, an advocate at Amazon Web Services reached out to Aim High Ink and began the process of the largest order Aim High Ink has ever seen. A six-item, 350 bundle order including a bag, water bottle, pen, mask, sweatshirt, and a shirt was created and the ordering began. In total, 2,100 items were needed. Aim High Ink was a one-person team at the time so the lead screen-printer trained Aim High’s Executive Director and his assistant how to print so the work could begin! Water bottles and pens were outsourced, as Aim High Ink does not have the means to print those, and all other items were ordered from a wholesale provider and arrived within days. Aim High Ink does not use any machinery, so all garments are screened by hand making each one unique.

Once the garments were printed and the other items arrived, the packing began! After all 350 boxes were packed, we delivered them to Amazon’s Portland Office where they were shipped out to the recipients.

Our Printing Process

Step one in screen printing is to create a transparency using a vectored image of the logo. Depending on the logo intricacies and colors, multiple transparencies are needed for each layer of ink. Additional screens are also created depending on the size needed. Once the transparency is printed, a screen is created in the darkroom by using a light-sensitive emulsion that allows the image to be “burned” into the screen using UV light. For this order, six screens were needed: 2 for the masks, 2 for the shirts and sweatshirts, and 2 for the bags. After the screens are ready and secured to the printing wheel, plastisol ink is applied to the screen. Plastisol ink is wet until cured at 280 degrees so the printer must be very careful not to touch any ink before it can be partially cured under the flash dryer. Garments are secured to a palette using an adhesive to keep them in place and ensure the ink layers line up. To apply the ink, a squeegee is used to flood the screen (drag the ink over the image) and then push the ink through the screened image and onto the garment. This is done 1-3 times depending on the color and image. Between each screen, the garment is placed under a flash dryer to cure the ink. Once completed, the garment is removed from the palette and placed on the conveyor heater set at 300 degrees to finish the curing process.