An Interview with Riley Hopkins

A few weeks ago, Riley Hopkins came to the Ryonet Headquarters to help us send off the first Riley Hopkins 300 Press. He was kind enough to sit down and talk to me about how he got his start in screen printing and what he thinks of the new Riley 300.

Riley Hopkins’s Start in Screen Printing

Riley’s background is in art and race cars. He used to screen print shirts in promotion for the various different cars he was racing, however, his move to San Francisco is what really propelled him into the screen printing industry. Riley took a job at an ad agency as an art director. He also got to drive the ad agency’s race car. Riley quit the ad agency and got the chance to do a display for a ski show in Las Vegas. The money from the show gave him enough leeway to take time to really figure out what he wanted to do.

During this “break time,” Riley built his first screen printing press for a kite company next door to the garage that he worked on his race cars in. Others heard about the press and wanted their own. Riley’s business took off from there.

Riley and Ryonet

In 2005 Riley and Ryonet started their partnership. Ryonet originally acquired the Riley Hopkins WIN manual screen printing series. The WIN series helped grow Ryonet’s success. Back then Riley Presses were blue and green. Today they have transitioned to green and black. Ryonet now has the Riley Junior, the Riley 300, and the Riley 500.

What He thinks of the Riley 300

Riley mentioned that he thinks the new Riley 300 is a pretty neat press. He described it as having Godzilla like registration, meaning that the registration won’t move. He also mentioned that the registration paired with the design changes for the printheads has made for a really nice package. Riley was also impressed with the stable platform and the user-friendliness of the press.

More About the Riley Hopkins 300

The Riley Hopkins 300 series comes with a lot of great new features. The press is equipped with lever knobs that more accurately holds registration. They also reduce stress on the wrist. 2-Point Roller Gates increase the lockdown holding power of the printhead while it is in the down position. This eases movements in-and-out of the gate. The press’s CNC constructed base comes with an adjustable height mechanism. The 3″ increase of height adjustment allows for accommodation of the screen printer. The Riley 300 series even comes with a lifetime warranty for band members. These are just a few of the features that the Riley 300 series poses. To learn more about the press check out Introducing the Riley 300 – A Screen Printing Press for the Modern Printer.

Riley’s Visit to Headquarters 

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