From making T-shirts to designing nameplates, Art Services performs many print jobs for Weber State University. Due to its growth in business, it has recently moved to a new location on campus.
Originally located in the Promontory Tower, Art Services can now be found in the Receiving and Distribution Services building at the top of campus.
“It’s a fun place to work,” said Scott Steele, Art Services coordinator. “It’s a happy, creative place, and we try not to take ourselves too seriously.”
The new Art Services area is about four times bigger than its old location at Promontory Tower. The space has been designed especially for it, giving plenty of room for vents and a dark room.
Art Services supplies might print materials for WSU, including embroidery and signs, but Steele said that the company is trying to specialize in certain services.
“We want to find our niche in T-shirts and sweatshirts,” Steele said.
Art Services was originally called The Hobby Seller, which started out as a nonprofit organization. Its name was later changed, and it became a for-profit organization to cover general expenses and pay employee salaries.
There are four people currently working at Art Services, including one student. Students often work there during the semester.
“It gives students a feeling of accomplishment,” Steele said.
For bigger jobs, Art Services occasionally gets help from students working at the bookstore.
One new addition to Art Services is the automated shirt press. Art Services stocks shirts in black, gray, white and purple, and orders any other color an organization wants.
The shirts are loaded into the press and the design is put on using a screen with the design on it. After that, the shirts are put through a dryer. Before Art Services got an automated press, it had a manual one. Now all employees have to do is load the shirts into the press. The press has the capability to finish 500 to 600 shirts per hour.
Art Services also has a laser engraver, which is used to make nameplates and plaques for the staff at WSU. The engraver etches into the surface to create the letters and uses Adobe Illustrator to design the words and where they are going to be placed. It takes approximately two minutes to create a nameplate. The new building’s vents suck up the exhaust given off by the laser engraver.
Despite the fact that it is less expensive and more convenient to use, many organizations at WSU don’t use Art Services for T-shirts or other merchandise. Steele said that Art Services hopes the new location will encourage people to come to it rather than going to an outside source.
“(Customers) will save time and money,” Steele said.