Living in a suburb of Sacramento, California-the state capital-Michelle worked for the State of California for many years as a Web designer. Although she had no prior art training, she mastered Adobe suite graphics programs through tutorials for her job. Still, she always wanted to own a business. It was an easy decision to open a graphics intensive advertising specialty printing shop in her home. She did some garment screen-printing, pad printing and vinyl graphics using a vinyl cutting plotter.   
Her natural knack for business and wide circle of friends helped grow the business. As screen printing of garments emerged as her main business, she became concerned about its many limitations, such as its limited number of colors, the requirement for special artwork preparation and its slow turnaround time. She wanted to offer her clients what she referred to as a "more dynamic graphics" capability. Also, since she is environmentally conscious, she was concerned about the plastisol inks, cleanup and wastewater associated with screen printing.
Soon she learned that the direct-to-garment printing technology would address all of these issues.  After some research, Michelle purchased an AnaJet Digital Apparel Printer. She, her husband Jerry and their teenage son all took the training course. It was a good decision. Michelle's business grew very quickly, and she needed the help of her family to run the new printer. She can now print true, full colors as well as the photography that many of her customers wanted.

She also spent some time to develop a simple Web site, www.carlsongraphix.com. To date she has not purchased any advertisements, nor has she done any Internet marketing. However, she has plenty of customers. The best break came right after she installed the digital printer.  The unsolicited email we received from Michelle says it all:

The day we left the factory training with our machine, we received a call that we had been awarded a job printing 200 black shirts for... the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for an event honoring Caltrans workers who had lost their lives while making our highways and bridges safer. The artwork was far too complex for the screen-printing process, so we did the job using our AnaJet Apparel Printer. As the event approached, we got jittery, hoping that Caltrans would like the shirts and that our "care" tags were adequate. This was, after all, our very first job using our AnaJet. Our company name was mentioned on all major news media as sponsors (great plug!) and was also included in the official printed program. There was only one problem. The shirts were so popular, that the staff who were supposed to receive shirts for the event couldn't get through the line of people who wanted their own shirts! Our shirts were TOO popular! We could not have had such success without this wonderful technology and your top-notch training and support throughout the process. We have already received four calls in the first day since the event. Attendees are requesting their own shirts & designs for other special events, as well as for fundraisers, schools and teams.
            Michelle Carlson, Carlson Graphix

The news coverage and publicity Michelle received continues to generate a lot of business. She also gets many new customers through positive word-of-mouth. Many local screen printers who do not want to do short runs or multi-screen jobs refer customers to her. According to Michelle, her business has tripled in the months since she received her AnaJet printer. Since many more customers wanted to visit her "store" to look at the samples than her "home business" permit would allow, she needed more space.  Recently, she moved into a commercial space at a "printing complex" which also includes a commercial printer and a sign maker. There, Carlson Graphix is now attracting many drop-in customers. Her reputation has been spreading. As this book goes to print, Michelle informs us that she has received an order of 1,150 event shirts from Bermuda Music Festival. She intends to do the entire production on AnaJet printer.
Her screen printing machine and other equipment remain on the sidelines for now.  Michelle and Jerry have discussed him officially joining her business someday, once it is built on a much larger scale around many direct-to-garment printers.  Meanwhile, Jerry helps when he has time as the "Master of Color" at Carlson Graphix. She feels lucky to have the full support of her family.