Elephants Gerald Productions was started by John Ramm in 1972. Initially the company was involved in screen printing with sidelines in building salvage and antique sales throughout the seventies. As the screen printing business grew, it became increasingly difficult to handle the sidelines, so the decision was made to try to make it with screen printing alone. Well, here it is 33 years later, and we're still at it! Sheesh!

The first question everybody asks is about the name. It was an unintentional pun at a party in 1970, and when John realized what he had said, he decided it would be a great name for a business. People probably wouldn't get it until they said it aloud, but then they wouldn't be able to forget it. It's worked out that way for the most part. We still have a few souls for whom the light hasn't gone on, who call us "Elephants Fitzgerald".

In the1980s we bid on printing some stuff for Dizzy Gillespie (his production and merchandising company was called "Dizzy's Wide World", and Dizzy actually mentioned to Ella that there was a T-shirt shop named for her in Seattle. Happily, she got a kick out of it!

John has been continuously involved in screen printing in one way or another since graduating from high school in 1962. He has witnessed the phenomenal growth of the industry from having to use "underwear" grade T-shirts, to the present state of a wide fashion line in a myriad of colors. The development of solvent-free inks, as well as the realization of hundreds of innovations in equipment and techniques has brought screen-printing much further than anyone could have imagined in the sixties.

In the 1990s, John and long time friend and wizard Jim Sundqvist developed, patented, and manufactured a six-color manual T-shirt press, known as the Checker-6™ to fill the need for a really precise, easy-to-use press. Being built mostly of aircraft aluminum, the manufacturing costs became prohibitive. The line has been put on hold until a re-design in steel can be completed.

Meanwhile, we continue to do what we do best: low volume, high quality screen printing on quality garments. After printing each garment by hand on our Checker-6™ press, we run the garment through a heat tunnel to cure the ink (like everybody else), but then take the additional step of applying heat and pressure to smooth the surface of the design, while forming a better bond between the ink and fabric. This results in a print with improved washing characteristics. If you avoid high temperatures in the washer and dryer, and remember to wash your garments inside out, they should give you many months of service before showing signs of wear.

Please bear in mind that we are still hand printing everything we sell on our website, and will process your order as quickly as possible. When the shirt you order is in stock, it will go out right away, however we do get behind from time to time, and ask for your patience. We know you'll think the product is worth the wait when you get it. When time versus quality, quality will always be our first priority. Thanks!