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| So you have an idea. Maybe you're envisioning a full color poster advertising your band's upcoming performances. Perhaps you're thinking of creating some new forms to help you run your business. Or maybe you're putting together a sales presentation for a potential client you're hoping to land. How do you make that idea a reality? If you want it done right, you can talk to the team at AlphaGraphics on Irving Park and Ashland. All you need to bring are your ideas, and they'll do everything in their power to take them from concept to completion. |
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| Printing is somewhat of a mysterious business. Most of us don't have a clue what goes on behind the closed doors of a print shop. We read brochures, menus and all sorts of communication materials all the time, but we can't imagine how they were produced. AlphaGraphics takes the mystery out of the process. Because of its retail orientation, you can walk in anytime during their regular hours and talk to someone about what it will take to complete your project. Unlike many printers, AlphaGraphics can economically produce materials in relatively small quantities—say, perhaps, 50 copies of a booklet for a business presentation. That's just one of the ways that it specifically caters to the small business market. |
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| Friendliness, a "whatever it takes to get the job done" attitude, plus a deep knowledge of the printing business have helped make the AlphaGraphics at Irving Park and Ashland such a success. And it all runs in the family, too—this is a family business operated by the father-son team of Frank and Jason Hasner. Frank spent about 25 years in the printing field before opening the printshop. In the mid-1980s while working for the Chicago Tribune, Frank worked on a project with RR Donnelley and became aware of a venture called AlphaGraphics. "The mission then, as it is now, was to bring state of the art graphic communications technology to the small business marketplace," explains Frank. "I found it a fascinating concept." After leaving the Tribune, Frank went on to work at several other commercial printers in the midwest. He also helped start up a new business for a major corporation. "When I came upon the opportunity to open an AlphaGraphics" recalls Frank, "I remembered that I really had the most fun starting that new business from the ground up." |
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 Where Frank seemed destined to run his own printshop, Jason says he "fell into it." He came from a job in software development, at a company responsible for creating computer-based learning programs. His technology background and his project management experience make him an active multitasker at the shop. "That's when I come in," says Jason. "I'm the one who's always involved in the problem solving process." Frank's daughter, who is a private consultant, occasionally lends a hand to the business by helping with outside sales and PR efforts.
Frank opened the doors of his AlphaGraphics franchise in June of 2000. He assembled a lean but highly specialized team to keep projects running smoothly. In addition to Frank and Jason, there's a full time designer, a pressman and a bindery person. Everyone lends a hand in assisting customers when it's busy, moving fluidly from job to job. "We know how to manage your print projects," explains Frank. "We really are your print consultants." The pressman, Junior, has worked with Frank and Jason since their printshop opened. He started as a delivery person at another company, then worked his way up to the bindery and eventually to general manager at another AlphaGraphics. When he realized that he missed working on press, Junior moved to the Irving Park and Ashland location to take the job of pressman again. Unlike many career pressmen, Junior is equally comfortable working behind the counter in a customer service role as he is running the press. "For the people who work here," explains Jason, "This is their career. They take it really seriously." |
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| If you can think it up, AlphaGraphics can most likely produce it for you. "Because we're disciplined," says Frank, "we can handle all kinds of products and projects quite well. It's hard to stump us." Some examples of typical projects include training manuals, architectural portfolios, price lists, sell sheets, booklets, event materials for conferences, notepads, PowerPoint presentations, folders, tabs, labels, brochures, business stationery and postcards. Typical customers include architects, real estate agents, restaurant owners and shop owners, among many other professions. If the project needs to be mailed or distributed when it's done, they'll handle that too. If they can't do it in-house, they'll get it done for you through one of their partners. You can bring in something that you've already designed, and they will be happy to produce it. You can also tell them what you're looking for, and their designer will take care of everything for you. "We're your partner at work, an extension of your office," says Frank. "You can come to us for a full range of services from concept to completion and distribution." Some of the services they offer include design, offset printing, color/black and white digital printing, as well as full bindery services including booklet making, folding, cutting, inserting, drilling and notepad production. The printshop even offers mailing and fulfillment services. "We're a one-stop shop," describes Frank. "Being a one-stop shop gives our customers peace of mind because they only have to work with one service provider to get a complete project done." |
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| The 26 other AlphaGraphics locations in the Chicago area form a support network offering different capabilities, equipment and strengths. If you're looking for a service that's not available at Irving and Ashland, Frank or Jason will find another AlphaGraphics that can complete your job on time, as promised, when promised. Since it was founded in 1970, AlphaGraphics has grown to include 300 locations in 11 countries and is part of the Pindar family of communications companies. "Each store is independently owned and operated—there are no large corporate conglomerate stores," explains Frank. "This gives you access to people committed to serving your needs." |
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 You may wonder why AlphaGraphics is a member of the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce when it's located a neighborhood away in North Center. "It's my personal philosophy that businesses ought to give back to the community," explains Frank. "And there's no better way to get your business' name out there than by joining a chamber like Lincoln Square's. It's provided very fertile business ground for us." Frank is involved with a number of local chambers of commerce, and is active in all of them. "We're not involved in any group that we're not active in," he says.
Not only does the AlphaGraphics at Irving Park and Ashland offer great services, it has made a commitment to quality that's virtually unheard of in its industry. AlphaGraphics is the only short-run printer and the only franchise company that's ISO 9002 Certified. That means they must adhere to a set of quality standards that apply to business processes and the products they produce. "It's a dependable, disciplined approach to printing," explains Frank. Don't worry about whether your document is in the correct format, either. AlphaGraphics features all the latest PC and Macintosh software and systems to get the job done. "We may have the latest technology here," says Frank, "but the key really is people. Technology is nothing more than an enabler that allows well trained, experienced people to serve our customers well." |
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| So the next time you have a bright idea, stop in to the AlphaGraphics at Irving Park and Ashland. The staff of print consultants will be happy to help you make your idea a reality. "What I love is when someone comes in with a project and they don't know how they'll get it done," says Frank. "Then a week later, they walk out of here with a big smile on their face and their problem solved." |
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| Read more profiles in the Member of the Month Archives |
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