Richard started screen printing in 1980 when he grew tired of working in the family landscape architecture business. He learned screen printing at Eder Manufacturing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he printed custom flags and T-shirts for the ad-specialty industry. After he left Eder, Richard worked as a consultant and helped found the American Institute of Screen Printing in Hickory, North Carolina.

In 1982 he was a partner, with Jeffrey Gitomer, in a start-up printing company in the textile region west of Philadelphia which developed into Shadow Graphics and United Shirts Of America. The sister companies manufactured private label shirts for companies like Jimmy Buffett’s Caribbean Soul, Head Sportswear, Lange Ski, Mistral, Puma, MTV, Pony, and many more. They specialized in producing four-color process printing. When Shadow Graphics disbanded, Richard worked for Daulton Imprints and then joined Stretch Devices, Inc. of Philadelphia; (manufacturers of the Newman Roller Frame), as a technical expert.

Richard has been a regular speaker at Imprinted Sportswear shows from 1983 to 1994. He has been a featured speaker at every SPAI (now SGIA) Convention from 1984 to 1995 and spoke at TechSymps in 1985, 1988, and 1990 and the new versions Tech’94 and ’95. He has spoken on screen printing worldwide, including in England, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and Colombia. During 1990 and 1991, Richard traveled with Stahls’ University on Tour to 65 cities giving seminars on “How to Use a Computer in the Art Room” and “Screen Printing Troubleshooting.”

Richard was voted ‘Best Industry Columnist’ by readers of The Press Magazine in 1986, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, and 1992 for the monthly column he had in Screenprinting magazine from 1986 to 1993 called “Greaves on Garments.” He has written for Impressions and the English textile magazine Images. In 1994 Richard was named Technical Editor for Printwear magazine. He also contributed work to the Art and Screen chapters of Joe Clarke’s book about process printing, “Control Without Confusion.” He started the annual 3-day ‘Textile Process Printing’ seminar for the SGIA at their headquarters in Virginia.

In January 1986, he began his “Greaves On Garments” column, which ran for nine years in Screen Printing Magazine.

In 1986 Richard was a runner-up in Impressions Magazine’s 10th year ‘Best of the Industry’ poll in the Most Influential Individual, Most Influential/Innovative Graphic Designer, and Most Consistently Innovative/Outstanding Textile Screen Printer categories. In the Impressions Magazine Quest for the Best Poll 1990 and 92 (there was no ’91 Quest), Richard was voted Best Industry Consultant and runner up to his friends at Stahls for Single Most Helpful Seminar and runner up for Best Screen Print Technical Literature for his column by the readers.

From 1987-2000, Greaves worked as an independent consultant, specializing in pre-press and shop systems. As a consultant to printers in England, France, Fiji, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and Colombia, he’s helped design business and technical systems to increase production, improve computer systems, create training programs, and enhance quality control programs for all phases of screen printing.

In 1995 Richard wrote a book, The 54 Variables of Screenprinting,” printed in the September 1995 issue of Printwear magazine. At that point, he became the technical editor of Printwear magazine and continued for five years until 2000.

Richard is the author of many technical articles for the screen printing industry. He is a popular speaker at industry trade shows and a technical guru to many. He’s spoken extensively at Printwear, Imprinted Sportswear shows, and virtually every SGIA Convention since 1984, and in 65 USA cities with the Stahls’ University tour, speaking on “How to Use a Computer in the Art Room” and “Screen Printing Troubleshooting.”

Greaves was inducted into the Academy of Screen and Digital Print Technologies (ASDPT) in 2000.

After a stint at Lawson Screen Products, Richard joined Ulano Corp, Brooklyn, NY, in 2005 as Technical Product Manager. Today, Richard is an independent consultant specializing in pre-press and shop systems. He can be reached through his website at RichardGreaves.com online.