Impressions - September 2016 - 36

think.
make.
do.

Shop talk
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Shop

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Water-Based
Wonder
this arkansas screen-printing shop thrives
by offering unique apparel to a specialized niche.
By Michael Quirk, associate editor

In the heart of the Ozarks and nestled against the fringe of
the Boston Mountains lies Fayetteville, Arkansas. The northwestern portion of the state is known for being the birthplace
of retail mammoth Wal-Mart, but Fayetteville is home to The
University of Arkansas and bustling Dickson Street, the center
of downtown's entertainment and restaurant district.
Two blocks from Dickson Street and a stone's throw from the
university's campus is B-Unlimited Inc. Founded in 1994 after
branching off from Little Rock-based Ink Enterprises, the graphic
design and print studio prides itself on "having highly creative
custom art and a personalized online purchasing experience,"
according to the company.
The location being just minutes away from a large student
body has allowed for B-Unlimited to target a substantial niche:
fraternities and sororities. Jonathan Holder, the firm's general
manager and designer, says this customer demographic takes pride

in expressing their creativity through
unique apparel.
"[Our biggest niche is] 18- to 22-yearold sorority girls and fraternity guys that
are excited about a social group they're
in and they like to see their ideas come to
life," he says. "When they get their shirts
or see the proofs online, their minds are
kind of blown."
While its largest contingency of Greek
organizations come from the University of
Arkansas, B-Unlimited serves more than
two dozen universities.The schools go as
far west as the University of Oregon, north
to the University of Iowa and east to the
University of South Carolina.
The Water-Based Learning Curve

B-Unlimited's clientele
consists mostly of 18to 22-year-old college
students, including
Greek organizations.

P.36

i m p r e s s i o n s m a g . c o m SEPTEMBER 2016

B-Unlimited houses a production floor
that features various M&R screen-printing
presses, including two Sportsman presses,
as well as a Sprint 2000 dryer and a 33-foot
dryer. The equipment is housed within
a 5,000-square-foot facility, about 3,000
of which is dedicated to screen printing.
A point of differentiation for the company is that it specializes in water-based
printing.When management decided to
offer this printing method exclusively, Nathan Foster, the shop's production manager,
was working for a different company to
which B-Unlimited contracted out its
printing jobs.
"The challenge was [for me] to come
over and learn how to perfect water-based
[printing]," Foster says."Whenever I came
over, it was an opportunity for us to work

Of B-Unlimited's
5,000-square-foot
facility, 3,000 square
feet is devoted to
screen printing.

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Impressions - September 2016

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