LUCINDA, Pa (EYT) — After acquiring the customer base from the recently closed Miller’s Sporting Goods business, Tyler Ochs is ready to take his screen printing operation to a new level.

Lucinda native Tyler Ochs graduated from North Clarion High School and then furthered his education at Pittsburgh Technical Institute (now Pittsburgh Technical College), graduating summa cum laude with an associate’s degree in multimedia technologies.

His creative talent and background in multimedia art, combined with a desire to help out friends, is what started him on the path to creating his own business: Black Dog Ink.

Ochs said that he initially planned to do a bit of screen printing as a hobby.

“I knew that with my extensive background in the print and design industry, I would have a head start in understanding how screen printing worked. The hard part was doing learning the business end of things,” Ochs told exploreClarion.com.

“It all started with the intention of just screen printing a few dozen shirts for friends. When I was looking at the materials and equipment needed to produce a quality shirt I soon realized this was no small investment. That is when I decided to go about things the right way and start a small business.”

Black Dog Ink began operations in 2010.

According to Ochs, the name of the business actually came from a friend, with a very “colorful” black dog whose antics were often a topic of some humor.

Ochs said that in the beginning, his business gained traction primarily through word of mouth.

“We got several hundred business cards made and started passing them out where ever we went. Almost instantly, friends told family, the family told coworkers, coworkers told managers/owners, and Black Dog Ink Screen Printing quickly became the go-to for custom screen printing in Clarion County.”

Over the years, Ochs’ business continued to grow; however, that growth took a sudden jump after Ochs stepped up following the closure of Miller’s Sporting Goods.

Taking over Miller’s customer base all started earlier this year when Ochs learned that Millers had plans to shut down their t-shirt business.

This encouraged him to take action.

“I stopped in at their building and quickly came to an agreement to take over their customers,” Ochs said. “I made a deal with Miller’s Sporting Goods in May of this year to continue to serve their customers after they retire.”

Ochs said that acquiring Millers’ customer base has made his business incredibly busy.

“As always, from about April to August the screen printing industry is very busy with all of the fundraisers and events that are happening. But, as usual, a customer can expect turn around times of about two weeks.”

More information on the services offered by Black Dog Ink can be found on its website www.blackdogink.biz, or on Facebook here.

Individuals can also call 814-229-1544 anytime; nights, weekends, whenever is convenient.