Monthly Archives: November 2012

Screen printing our t-shirts

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Shelagh Fritz

I’m constantly learning new things about gardening and Alcatraz, even after working in the gardens for close to six years now. On a recent trip to pick up my order for more volunteer shirts, I finally met David, president of Plum, a company in Emeryville that prints our t-shirts and hoodies. David invited me to take a look behind-the-scenes to see the screen printing process.

T-shirts being screen printed on a rotary printer. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

David has owned the business for 35 years, first starting to print shirts for museums. A connection then led to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the non-profit organization that manages the bookstores throughout the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In fact, sweatshirts for Muir Woods had just come off the line. Plum also prints shirts for various humane organizations.

The screen printing is fairly simple

Plum staff holds up the Alcatraz printing screen. Each color is applied separately. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

and hasn’t changed that much since the Chinese invented the process hundreds of years ago. Garments are placed on an automatic rotary printer, with each arm having a screen. The first step in the process is to separate each color in the design to exactly abut each adjacent color so that the colors do not actually touch each other; each color segment is printed separately. This step is now done on the computer, but in the early days of the company each color was hand cut. Each color is then shot on its own screen. Setting up the screens so that this can be achieved is a critical part of the screen printing process. The attached screen forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto the garment. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing ink into the mesh openings. The garment is then taken off and is placed on a drying conveyor belt. Depending on the types of inks used, the drier is set at 325 Fahrenheit and dries the shirts in one to four minutes.

Printed t-shirts going through the dryer at 325 Fahrenheit. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

David estimates that that they can print over two thousand shirts on one machine in one day!

Elliot Michener, our inmate gardener, would surely have been impressed with the setup. Elliot was a skilled printer himself at a newspaper; or perhaps he was not that skilled afterall, as he tried his hand at counterfeiting money but obviously was caught.

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Jail Birds

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Shelagh Fritz

Loosely translated, Alcatraz means ‘strange looking seabird’ in Spanish. Even today, the island is a bird haven. This time of year, the cacophony of the Western gulls has left and the background noises of the island become heard. The cheerful chirping of songbirds is apparent, especially along the west road that takes visitors through the inmate gardens. Anna’s hummingbirds are zipping around while black Phoebes can be seen perched on branch shrubs.

Speaking with the National Park Service wildlife biologist, Victoria Seher, she updated me on the latest songbird activity: “For many years the Natural Resource office did a monthly Alcatraz Bird Census of the island during the winter months, however, it hadn’t been done for several years. This year we decided to resurrect the count, modifying the protocols a bit. The island bird walks are conducted 2 – 3 times per month from October through January. Waterbird docents from the previous season are helping with the counts, but we are accepting new volunteers as well. The counts start at 9am on the dock and follow the Agave Trail up the stairs to the Parade Ground, around the rubble piles, behind Building 64 and up the path to the cell house, down the west road, through the Laundry Building and down the north road back to the dock. The counts have been about 2.5 – 3 hours long and we travel about 1 mile. All birds are counted (even the ones we see in the water or flying overhead).”

Alcatraz Bird Count

Victoria and her keen observers counted 26 different species of birds last week, a surprise count even for themselves.

Reading through the suspect list, I mean, bird list, I couldn’t help but wonder; which one of these guys is eating my marigolds and chrysanthemums? The marigold nibbling started innocently enough – first just the orange flowers, but next it was the orange flowers, then all the leaves disappeared. The chrysanthemums also proved to be a tasty treat – all the flower buds were gone in a few days.

A chrysanthemum minus the flower buds. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

A marigold stripped of its flowers and leaves. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

The gardens are providing much more than just enjoyment and beauty for visitors, the gardens also provide food and shelter to the birds. The benefit of the gardens to the birds is, in a strange parallel, very similar to what the Federal Bureau of Prisons provided for the inmates. Regulation Number 5 stated “You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else that you get is a privilege.” The gardens stop short of providing clothing for the birds but with Victoria with her team of volunteers and interns keeping watch over the birds, they do receive medical attention if needed.

Be sure to visit the island in the next month to witness these special jail birds.