Underground Printing: Launches campus designers program

Custom printed apparel maker encourages student creativity while giving back within the campus community

Along with their trademark custom printed and retail apparel, Underground Printing is announcing the launch of an innovative new program known as the Campus Designers program (http://www.ugpcampusdesigners.com). The UGP Campus Designers program encourages students to express their creativity through unique apparel designs that speak to the zeitgeist on campus. Students can submit a finished design, or even just a clever phrase or idea. Winners of this monthly contest can choose between six free shirts with their design or a $100 gift certificate.

In addition to providing students with a chance to have a say in campus fashion, the UGP Campus Designers Program is also about giving back to the campus community. A portion of the proceeds will go toward non-profit organizations and scholarship funds on campus. “We feel this is a great way to encourage students to use their gifts to help others, ” says co-owner Ryan Gregg. “The winning students will benefit from getting some free shirts, but they’ll also be making a positive contribution to their community. The more people buy their design, the more we can contribute to a good cause, so everybody wins.” The first to profit from the program will be the Dance Marathon events at The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Indiana University and The University of Wisconsin, which are also the initial schools involved in the Campus Designers program.

The program was inspired by the countless great student designs the company saw day in and day out from all of their custom printed orders. “Over the years we’ve seen some incredibly clever designs come through our custom orders,” says co-owner Rishi Narayan. “We thought it would be a cool idea to give our customers a way to bring their t-shirt ideas to the community, even if they know nothing about art.”

As a campus outfitter, Underground Printing remains focused on staying current and relevant to campus life, so incorporating the student perspective with Campus Designers apparel seemed like a natural addition to their existing product lines. The monthly design contests will also allow the company to continually offer new and exciting products. “The fact that our roots are in custom printing gives us a distinct advantage in retail. Having our own equipment to print in-house allows us to get new products on the shelves much quicker than traditional retail stores, so we can offer fresh, new products all the time,” says Narayan. In fact, they plan to have their student-designed apparel on shelves within a a few days of selecting each of the winning designs.

About Underground Printing:

Underground Printing offers custom printed t-shirts and other apparel online and at its twelve locations to customers of all sizes. All of their apparel goods are printed and embroidered in-house at their 35,000 sq foot facility. The company currently has twelve locations in seven states across the Midwest, including four locations with retail apparel lines. The company was recently named to the Inc 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America and is currently ranked as the nation’s 39th largest printer by volume by Impressions magazine. For more information on Underground Printing, please visit http://www.undergroundshirts.com.