Impressions - March 2022 - 37

BIG PRINTING T -SHIR T CO . A T A GLANCE
COMPANY NAME: Big Printing T-Shirt Co.
ADDRESS: 2110 Adams Ave., San Leandro, CA 94577
FOUNDED: 1999
DECORATING METHODS OFFERED: Screen printing, embroidery, heat transfers,
digital printing
COMPANY WEBSITE: bigprintingonline.com
INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, TIKTOK: @bigprinting
Big Printing runs 32 total embroidery heads
in its 12,000-square-foot facility in San
Leandro, California.
trade shows and picking the brains of industry
veterans, they methodically mastered
the dynamics of playing on a larger field.
" A lot of inspiration came from attending
shows like MAGIC in Vegas, and the men's
apparel and garment shows in California
every year, " Kesney Muhammad says. " We
sat down and did a lot of brainstorming.
One of the beautiful things about the
garment-decoration industry is that we provide
a service to everybody across the board.
A person has a concept or idea, whether it
is a Fortune 500 company or a small company
who just needs T-shirts that have to
be decorated with a logo or some fashion
that separates it from another. So we initially
went in and got our feet wet doing bigger
and bigger projects. "
In time, Big Printing became a wellknown
player in the urban streetwear scene,
creating looks for the likes of Philthy Rich's
FOD line; Beeda Weeda's Mackin' & Mobbin'
line; Mistah F.A.B.'s Dope Era line; the
BeastMode line by beloved Oakland native
and former NFL star Marshawn Lynch; and
many more, including teams, schools and
artists around the country.
The Opportunity of a Lifetime
It was a huge mistake. In the throes of a
worldwide pandemic that disrupted the
way everyone did everything - and at
the apex of national protests surrounding
George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis - a
Fortune 500 company made a politically
incorrect statement so insensitive that backlash
was fierce. Trying to make amends for
its misconduct, the company, which shall
remain nameless, needed to calm the waters
of discontent.
The plan was to order 300,000 Black
Lives Matter-inspired shirts for company
employees from a Black-owned printing
company. But the order was as ominous
for the print shop taking the job as it was
socially important for the company placing
it. We're talking about a large volume of shirts
with a 14-day turnaround period - in the
middle of a time period during which many
apparel decorators had closed their doors.
" There were only two choices, " Kesney
Muhammad recalls. " [We could] take the job
or not take the job. At the time, the country
was in the middle of COVID and there was
so much social unrest. The job was a little
bit controversial. We initially said, 'No, no,
no, we just can't.' We were in the process
of making some of these kinds of shirts
ourselves. Would our customers think we
were sellouts? It could ruin our reputation.
Everything was just off the hook. "
On the other hand, the job really was
an opportunity of a lifetime. Completing
it - absurd deadline and all - could help
launch Big Printing into another economic
stratosphere. The opportunity also would be
a step in the right direction for economic
inclusion. After all, a job of this magnitude
from a Fortune 500 player, which would
elicit the help of other minority-owned
businesses, could represent a huge opportunity
for all involved.
" We would have our foot in the door
and be ready for what was next, " Kesney
Muhammad says.
Because of the tight turnaround for such a
large order, all sides settled on a 100,000-shirt
order with 300,000 impressions. Big Printing's
other orders would be subcontracted
to other minority printers, including Blue
Chip Tees, Krucial Printing, Awesome Screen
Printing and Star Printing Co., all based in
California.
'Power of the P.O.'
At the real heart of this story is the help
Big Printing received from the industry
relationships the Muhammads have built.
The initial lead for the Fortune 500 job
came from Ted Pidcock, owner of Needham,
Massachusetts-based screen-printing
and embroidery shop Chillybears, who the
Muhammads met in February 2020. Pidcock
contacted them after a colleague, Adam
Cohen of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based
Atlas Embroidery & Screen Printing, inquired
about minority printers that could
handle the job.
" It is the 'Power of the P.O.,' " Dawaud
Muhammad says. " That is what the lesson
from all of this is. One job. That one order
helped take us to a completely different level.
And more than that, how one job could
affect so much change. It begs the questions,
'How diverse is your supply chain?' 'Are you
working with Black-owned companies and
minority-owned companies?' We wanted
to show the effects of what happens when
you do. "
The job enabled Big Printing to increase
its staff by 25% and doubled the company's
size. Today, it operates from a 12,000-squarefoot
building that houses four automatics
(two ROQ presses, one M&R eight-color
press and an ASPE Rapid Tagger); a Brother
GTX direct-to-garment (DTG) printer;
a Brother GT-381 DTG printer; and 32
embroidery heads (24 Barudan heads and
eight Tajima embroidery heads). In any given
month, it prints more than 100 clothing lines.
" One order, " Dawaud Muhammad says.
" One opportunity that was a back-andforth
between us, until we decided it was
the right thing to do. " 
Michael J. Pallerino is an award-winning writer who has
written for a number of national consumer and trade
publications. For more information or to comment on
this article, email Michael at mpallerino@gmail.com.
MARCH 2022
P.37
http://www.bigprintingonline.com
Impressions - March 2022

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