UGP traces its origins to 2001, when childhood friends Rishi Narayan and Ryan Gregg established a screen-printing business whilst studying at the University of Michigan. Initially operating under the name A-1 Screen Printing, the venture began with a basic setup connected to Narayan’s university life.2

In 2003, the company was renamed Underground Printing, abbreviated as UGP, and relocated to a dedicated production facility in Chelsea, Michigan. Growth was driven largely by a focus on college communities and a commitment to providing convenient, customised service to student organisations and campus groups.2

Over subsequent years, UGP expanded both manufacturing capacity and retail presence. It moved from a 3,000-square-foot facility to a 12,000-square-foot site in 2005, and subsequently to a 33,000-square-foot production facility in 2007. The company also opened retail stores near major university campuses.2

UGP featured on Inc. Magazine’s Fastest-Growing Companies list in 2008. Expansion continued through the 2010s and 2020s with additional offices, stores and production capacity. In 2022, UGP relocated its headquarters to a substantially larger facility in the Ypsilanti area, measuring approximately 172,000 square feet.2

UGP operates primarily as a custom apparel manufacturer and service provider rather than a conventional fashion label. Its business model integrates production, design, ordering, fulfilment, retail and online-store services.12

Key services include:

• Screen printing
• Embroidery
• Digital printing
• Heat-transfer printing
• Custom T-shirts and sweatshirts
• Custom hoodies
• Hats and headwear
• Jackets and outerwear
• Polos and uniforms
• Online group-ordering stores
• Merchandise fulfilment and shipping
• Collegiate-licensed apparel12

The company also provides solutions for organisations requiring consolidated ordering. Its online-store systems enable groups to create storefronts, collect individual orders and have products shipped directly to customers or members.1

A defining aspect of UGP’s business is college and university apparel. Reflecting its origins at the University of Michigan, the company maintains strong ties to American campus culture.

UGP states it is licensed to produce collegiate merchandise for over 200 colleges and universities, managing licensing requirements such as applications, approvals and fees.2

Collegiate merchandise includes T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, long-sleeve shirts, hats and other items featuring university names, logos, colours and related designs. Product examples include merchandise associated with institutions such as Michigan, Iowa, Purdue, Western Michigan and Illinois.3

Although fundamentally a custom-printing company, UGP also functions as a consumer-facing apparel brand.

Retail offerings include UGP-branded T-shirts, hoodies, long-sleeve shirts and other garments. The company’s online store has sold products bearing its distinctive UGP script and pinwheel logos.1

The pinwheel logo has a specific origin: UGP states it represents a bird’s-eye view of an automatic screen-printing press, linking the brand’s visual identity directly to its manufacturing heritage.2

Core identity pillars

UGP’s identity is anchored in five key areas:

1. College culture: Emerging from the University of Michigan environment, the company has historically focused on student organisations and collegiate clients.
2. Customisation: Rather than relying solely on fixed seasonal collections, the core business enables customers and organisations to create bespoke apparel.
3. Accessible casualwear: Products generally occupy the T-shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie, hat and casual-apparel space rather than high-fashion luxury.
4. Manufacturing: UGP emphasises in-house production capabilities, including screen printing, embroidery, fulfilment and apparel-decoration technologies.
5. Convenience: The company combines physical stores and production facilities with online ordering and fulfilment systems.12

UGP’s product range spans several categories:

Apparel

• T-shirts
• Long-sleeve shirts
• Sweatshirts
• Hoodies
• Polos
• Jackets
• Performance apparel

Headwear

• Baseball caps
• Snapbacks
• Beanies
• Other customisable headwear

Collegiate merchandise

• University T-shirts
• School hoodies
• Licensed team merchandise
• Greek-life apparel
• Student-organisation merchandise

Promotional merchandise

UGP also supplies branded apparel and promotional products for businesses and organisations, extending its reach beyond traditional campus merchandise.12

A key distinction between UGP and typical apparel retailers is its emphasis on in-house apparel decoration and manufacturing infrastructure.

Production capabilities encompass screen printing, embroidery, digital printing and heat transfer. These services cater to both small and large orders, with the company stating it has fulfilled very high-volume orders for major events.12

UGP has invested in online ordering systems allowing organisations to create customised stores and manage group apparel orders without manually collating sizes, colours and payments.1

UGP originated in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and maintains headquarters and production operations in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area. The company has expanded beyond Michigan with stores and offices across multiple US locations. Official careers information describes the company as having 26+ stores nationwide, whilst the main website currently lists 30 store locations and counting.12

UGP defines its organisational culture through six core values:

1. Show Up
2. Work Hard
3. Be Respectful and Honest
4. Strive for Excellence
5. Do What You Say
6. Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion2

These values reflect the company’s positioning regarding customer service, reliability, manufacturing quality and workplace culture.

Confusion sometimes arises regarding whether UGP and Underground Printing are separate entities.

They are effectively two names for the same business. The company clarifies that Underground Printing is its full legal name, whilst UGP is the abbreviation used for the company and retail operations. The retail website operates as Shop UGP.1

In the context of custom apparel, the relationship is:

UGP → Underground Printing → Shop UGP

rather than three unrelated companies.

UGP occupies a distinct position in the apparel market, bridging several categories:

• Custom-printing company
• Collegiate apparel provider
• Promotional-products supplier
• Online group-ordering platform
• Retail apparel brand

Its competitive identity focuses less on being a traditional fashion house and more on combining apparel manufacturing, customisation, collegiate culture and fulfilment.

UGP is notable as a company that emerged from American college T-shirt and screen-printing culture. Its history demonstrates how a small campus-oriented business can expand into a national custom-apparel operation whilst retaining college merchandise as a central identity component.1

The company’s evolution also reflects broader changes in custom apparel: what began as physical screen printing has expanded to include online design tools, web stores, fulfilment systems, embroidery, digital printing and large-scale licensed merchandise.

The company’s primary website is Underground Printing (undergroundshirts.com), whilst retail operations are conducted through Shop UGP (ugpshop.com).12

1. Frequently Asked Questions – Underground Printing
2. T-Shirt & Apparel Printing | Underground Printing – UGP
3. UGP Product Data API — Channel3