About Us
SINCE 1996
In 1994, owner Brad Robbins learned to screenprint while working at Mountain Tees in Breckenridge, Colorado. He and his future wife, Rachel Lepine, designed and printed shirts that they then sold at Grateful Dead concerts. In 1996, Brad and Rachel moved to western Massachusetts and started Mantis Graphics.
Learning as he went, Brad taught himself the trade and developed a loyal customer base. The business moved a few times over the years, but spent 17 years at One Adams Street
in the heart of Easthampton, MA. In 2022, the business
expanded to a new location, an 8,000 square foot building
at 557 Easthampton Road in Northampton, Massachusetts.
SUSTAINABILITY and CONSERVATION
Mantis Graphics is one of the greenest screenprinting shops you will visit. From the start, Brad knew that the standard chemicals of the trade were bad news for the health of the environment and of anyone who works or visits the building.
At Mantis, we use PVC-free plastisol inks and soy based screen cleaners. Our discarded emulsion is quadruple-filtered and put in the trash instead of down the drain. We have 61 solar panels on the roof that offset the energy used by our equipment. In addition, we reuse the boxes and plastic garment bags that our products arrive in, and recycle the ones we are unable to use. We use chemical free cleaning supplies, recycle our ink cartridges, and even recycle our coffee pods. We are against using pesticides on our landscaping that will damage the environment.
Upon purchase of the eight acre property at 557 Easthampton Road in Northampton, we donated six acres to the City of Northampton for conservation. Those acres are to become part of the 100 acre Pine Grove Conservation Area used by the community for hiking and enjoying nature.
