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(L-R) Central Saloon co-owners Guy Curtis and Eric Manegold: "Anyone who wanders in leaves with a T-shirt."

SEATTLE, WA — Among Seattle's famous landmarks stands the Central Saloon in Pioneer Square — the city's oldest bar and the legendary "Birthplace of Grunge." This 130+ year old establishment earned its place in music history when Nirvana played its first Seattle gig here in 1988 to a small crowd that included Sub Pop Records founders, who later signed the band and coined the term "Grunge."

Current owner Guy Curtis, who purchased the saloon in 1990, has maintained the Grunge tradition for 35 years. The Central Saloon provides many small bands their first gig on a well-equipped stage with high-production quality to match.

Seeing another business opportunity, the saloon invested in a Vastex Screen Printing Premium Shop Package to create merchandise. "We now can offer printing options to our bands, neighboring businesses and customers," says Eric Manegold, co-owner.

The grunge look: In-house printed T-shirts boost revenue for Central Saloon.

From outsourced to inspired prints

The saloon had been outsourcing its own branded T-shirt merchandise for more than 30 years, but long lead times and lack of inventory led to bringing printing in-house in spring 2024. "Our talent buyer Michael Gill referred us to Vastex," says Manegold.

To help get the shop up and running, Vastex provided hands-on, on-site training, demonstrating the proper way to set up and use the equipment. Now the saloon staff can take a vector file and turn it into a T-shirt within a couple hours — a perk that never ceases to "wow" band members seeing their name on merch for the first time. "The Vastex team was super helpful in answering any technical questions," says Manegold.

"The training, downloadable illustrations and instructions and instructional videos have been invaluable," says Manegold. "From design to production, it has made it possible to always have inventory to sell."

The Central Saloon started its screen-printing shop within its historic building, focusing on Grunge-inspired graphic tees emblazoned with imagery ranging from haunted skulls to mythic tigers and the saloon's logo. "Artists who work with us help us decide what is historically hip enough to represent the Central Saloon," explains Manegold. "We want our shirts to look good, but not too good, for that Grunge look."

Guy Curtis purchased The Central Saloon in 1990 and has maintained the 'grunge' tradition for 35 years.

Top-of-the-line equipment for top-of-the-line merch

The Central Saloon’s equipment includes a V2000HD six-color/six-station manual press, EconoRed-II-30 infrared conveyor dryer and RedFlash flash cure unit. Prepress equipment includes an E-2000 LED screen exposure unit, Dri-Vault 10-screen drying cabinet and VWB-3627 stainless steel washout booth.

The LED screen exposure unit's heavy-duty vacuum and fast exposure times allow the shop to prep screens quickly and accurately. "What could have once been considered the most difficult part of the pre-print process has been honed into one of the simplest thanks to the efficiency of this exposure unit, especially when coupled with the screen drying cabinet," says Tom Steffens, the Central's print shop operator. "It saves precious time and maximizes quality while minimizing variability."

Up to 10 coated screens can dry in the VDC-2536 screen drying cabinet at a time, positioned on angled shelves for edge contact only. "Curing emulsions and drying screens help reduce time greatly, and the completely dark space gives peace of mind that unexposed screens can rest inside for long periods without being compromised," says Steffens. Like the screen exposure unit and screen drying cabinet, the shop’s stainless steel washout booth accommodates screens up to 25 in. x 36 in. (63 x 91 cm).

Shirts are printed in plastisol ink on the six-color/six-station manual press using high mesh counts ranging from 155 to 230, as recommended by the manufacturer. The press's micro-registration knobs enable "perfect registration," according to Steffens. "If there is a mistake, it's the operator, not the press."

The flash cure unit flashes plastisol ink in as little as seven seconds between colors. "Its wide flash area ensures that the entire print is flashed consistently without cold spots," says Steffens.

Printed garments are finished in the infrared conveyor dryer, whose 2 – 7 in. (5 – 18 cm) belt-to-heater height adjustment accommodates sweatshirts and hoodies as well as T-shirts. According to Steffens, "The height adjustment makes a world of difference for bulkier pieces. A few turns of the handle adjusts what's needed for the garment, in lieu of time-consuming temperature adjustments."

A year into operation, the Central Saloon couldn't be happier with their screen-printing equipment. "Following what we learned from Vastex training ensures consistency and quality, which eliminates mistakes and, most importantly, helps us produce T-shirts for sale faster," says Manegold. "If we have the best equipment, it's inexcusable to not have the highest quality T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies."

In-house screen printing allows Central Saloon staff to turn a vector file into a T-shirt in a few hours.

An unexposed screen is positioned on the E-2000 LED exposure unit.

The exposed screen cures in the drying cabinet on angled side rails for edge contact only. The drying cabinet accommodates screens up to 25 in. x 36 in. (63 x 91 cm).

Screens are cleaned in the stainless-steel washout booth and returned to service.

The V2000HD six-station, six-head press can print multiple jobs simultaneously or individual jobs in up to six colors.

Michael transfers a printed shirt from the press to the dryer.

Steel pallets with rubber tops maintain flatness.

All print heads can be rotated in unison, as can the pallets, enabling Michael to print multiple jobs—or individual jobs in up to six colors—from one standing position.

Off-contact knobs adjust six-way leveling.

The RedFlash unit flashes ink in approximately seven seconds between colors. Its width spans the entire print for uniform flashing without cold spots.

Michael loads a shirt onto the infrared conveyor dryer with adjustable heater height for bulky garments.

From four to five-figure monthly sales

It’s clear that Central Saloon's patrons see the improvement in merch quality, with T-shirt sales growing from $2,000 per month outsourcing to upwards of $10,000 per month printing in-house. The in-house ability to strategically plan merch inventory during major events in Seattle has been another game changer for the saloon, which is situated blocks away from tourist hotspots like Lumen Field, T-Mobile Park and downtown Seattle.

"We've created a new revenue stream by controlling our supply based on seasonal demand," says Manegold. "We're creating our own branding on our terms and at our pace."

Whether a sports fan, Grunge tourist or globetrotter walks into the Central Saloon for some grub or a drink, "We make sure pretty much anyone who wanders in leaves with a T-shirt," laughs Manegold. It's not unusual for a customer from Sweden to return home with a Grungey-cool souvenir that doubles as a walking ad for the historic Central Saloon.

The Central Saloon team hangs PDF printouts from the Vastex website near the equipment for quick reference.

Expanding the birthplace of grunge's print shop customers

The success of the Central Saloon's screen-printing operation aligns with a growing trend among businesses like breweries, tattoo shops and record stores looking to diversify revenue streams and take control of branding, quality control and supply by bringing printing in-house. Manegold advises: "Make sure it makes sense for your business and consider printing jobs for your existing vendors and partners to get started. There was already demand for shirts at the Central, so it made sense to add them as another revenue stream."

The Central Saloon team intends to capitalize on that demand and bolster community partnerships by increasing print jobs for bands, vendors and nearby businesses. "We recently fulfilled a 400-shirt order," says Manegold. And interest in the Central's own merch is high enough that future plans include updating their website so customers can order merch online — making it clear Seattle's oldest bar is far from stuck in the past.

Central Saloon is Seattle's oldest bar and birthplace of 'grunge' music and style.