Our Story

In 1978, Scott Laursen started screen printing t-shirts, signs, and stickers for local bike shops and community organizations as a hobby. Tired of working as a Volkswagen mechanic, smelling like carburetor cleaner or transmission fluid in the 100° summertime heat of Chico, printing t-shirts in his kitchen was a welcome change.

In 1980, his hobby had grown so much that he decided to make it an official business, obtaining a resale certificate and business license as Preservation Press. The business grew steadily and in 1986 he moved out of his kitchen and into his first commercial location. It continued to grow as he hired staff and invested in equipment that was not homemade.

They purchased a larger building to house their two new automatic presses and started their own line of products, Look and Touch Nature Designs and Nature Facts Bandanas. In 1996, they became a Smokey Bear licensee and added Smokey Bear products to their offerings. A couple years later they purchased their third automatic press and leased a building across the alley to put it in.

Scott became the solo owner of the Printed Image in 2000 after buying out his partner. By 2012, it was clear that we had outgrown our buildings. The lack of elbow room and the inefficiency of carting shirts, screens, and ink back and forth between the two buildings was beyond frustrating so we started looking for a new location. We wanted to remain reasonably close to the center of town, but there was really nothing available that met our needs.

We finally looked at a two-acre site that had been the location of Bi-Rite Steel, a supply and fabrication company. There were some very old large existing buildings on the property. We met with multiple contractors, and they all advised that although the buildings could be remodeled and work, for the same cost we could tear them down and build exactly as we wanted in a new building.