About Lawson

Pioneers in the Screen Printing Industry Since 1949

Our History in Screen Printing

Gene Landesman, the founder of Lawson Screen & Digital Products, loved inventing. He never knew his love for inventing and building things would help revolutionize the world of screen printing, but it did. Gene just liked building things. Since its founding in 1949, Lawson has evolved, spanning seven decades, three generations and provided quality jobs to hundreds of career employees. 

As a young man, Gene worked in the family antique shop but his true passion was inventing. That’s what he meant to do and was good at it, too — a fact his friends couldn’t fail to notice.

In the 1940s, automatic screen print machines were available but prohibitively complicated and expensive. Gene had a screen printing friend who needed to automate but did not like the commercially available machines. Knowing Gene was creative and mechanical, the friend asked Gene to build him a more effective automatic screen printing machine. 

“Why not?” said Gene. And in 1949, Gene delivered his first printing press.

His invention, the Lawson Powered Squeegee, was a small, easy to use and fast flatbed printing press. Most printing presses of the time were iron monstrosities, huge and heavy and nearly impossible to repair without specialized equipment. The Lawson Powered Squeegee was simple and didn’t use any proprietary components. Anyone with a pair of pliers and a favorite hardware store could fix it — not that it needed much fixing.   

The printer was thrilled, quickly asking for a second, third and fourth automatic press. Encouraged, Gene exhibited at the first national screen printing convention put on by the Speciality Graphics Imaging Association (SGIA), now called Printing United. To no one’s surprise, Lawson machines were popular because of their affordability, efficiency, and ease of operation. 

Over 70 years later, Lawson is still a family owned and operated business. Gene’s sons David and Ben ran Lawson together from 1979 to 2018; and it continues today with David and Gene’s grandson Taylor.  Lawson’s longevity continues because of its core engineering philosophy - every piece of equipment is guaranteed to be easy to use, easy to operate and easy to maintain. 

In addition to being a pioneer in the traditional screen print market, Lawson is also a pioneer in the direct-to-garment (DTG) and direct-to-film (DTF) industry. The Lawson approach still starts with one question: What does the printer need?  

Lawson is always innovating, but we always keep it simple - easy to use, easy to maintain, and easy to operate. Our founding principles continue to this day.

Enjoy a Few Gems of Lawson History:

• The Landesmen of Lawson - Impressions Magazine, March 1981
• David and Ben Landesman are honored with the Parmele Award - SGAI's highest award
• Over 60 Years of Excellence in the Screen Printing Industry - An impressive collection of awards

Why Lawson Screen & Digital Products?

Being in business as long as we have has given us a unique perspective on the screen printing industry. We have seen this industry grow from bare bones manual printing, to the age of automation. We have worked diligently using technology to its fullest potential to push our engineers to revolutionize the industry. Our 74 years of experience and success means we know what we are doing.

In an industry as volatile as screen printing, survival and success depend on service. Our job is to satisfy the needs of every screen printer we serve, no matter how large or small. We strive to provide all our customers with dependable, affordable equipment that fits with their printing requirements, along with materials and supplies of the highest quality. Furthermore, our technical support and service staff are second to none. Our passion for service and excellence in what we do puts us at the fore front of this industry. Lawson is a company of people who care, and that's why Lawson offers "Peace of Mind" with every purchase! We believe this combination of technological capabilities and superior service creates values our customers can appreciate.

What To Expect With Lawson

You can expect a professional experience. We will fully evaluate what we can do to help you. Lawson works hard to understand your unique challenges, and do our absolute best to make your work easier, more productive, and more profitable. Our business relies on the success of your business. We take this approach very seriously.

Take the first step, get in touch with us, and let's do some business together.

The Lawson Mission Statement:

Lawson serves the imaging community by helping people print better, work smarter, and learn more

Core Values

• Serve with sincerity and integrity
• Work with purpose
• Act with a sense of urgency
• Ask questions
• Consultation in all things

Value Through Technology

In screen-printing equipment, one size definitely does not fit all. So, at Lawson, we build prepress equipment, textile and graphics presses, and textile and graphics dryers that fit well in any size shop. Our presses range from manual to fully automatic to meet the required volume demands of every printer, and we manufacture a full line of I.R., U.V., jet-air, gas, and combo dryers. In addition, we provide digital-imaging equipment and a complete range of screen and digital supplies. In short, we stay abreast of technological advances in the industry to provide our customers with the most efficient solution to their printing challenge.

Value Through Technical Support

Lawson offers technical support on Lawson manufactured equipment, ink, emulsion and supplies used in the screen printing industry. You can request equipment, ink & supply, or software support on-line via our website in the Support tab.

Value Through Location

Besides Lawson's headquarters in St. Louis, we also operate a Super Center in Atlanta, Georgia.  From these two strategic locations we can deliver equipment, tools and supplies quickly, efficiently and economically throughout the U.S. Although we welcome phone, and e-mail communications from our customers, we also can make custom/specialized site visits to help make sure you are getting the most out of your Lawson purchase.