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Prentis Printing Solutions, Inc. News

Web Site: http://www.prentisprinting.com/
35 Pratt St., P.O. Box 126, Meriden, CT 06450 - 0126
Tel: (203) 634-1266 Fax: (203) 630-3530

For traditional and high tech digital printing, high speed and color copying, blue printing and trade show graphics. We are your Total Reprographic Center!

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Tucked away in a small storefront at 35 Pratt St., ...

November 14, 2005

Glynn, who was recently promoted to production manager of the 35 year-old print and reprographic center, is learning the ropes of the trade from a pro, he said.

John L. Prentis Co. has survived dramatic changes in the print industry that whittled down the number of print and copy centers in the city to less than half a dozen. The reason, according to Burchsted, is being flexible and knowing if there's a market for any investment. "It's a constant reinvestment," Burchsted said. "We were just blueprinters, now that's been regulated to one-third of our gross sales and has expanded into graphics and digital imaging."

New investments include a color printer, color copier and a scanner which can produce small-run color brochures and flyers. But the shop has plenty of other toys. Within its 3,600 square feet, there are machines that can print, copy, collate, bind, laminate, mount, frame and cut any job from a small ad book for the local Kiwanis Club to an eight-color, six-foot by eight-foot poster for St. Raphael's to present at an international trade show.

John L. Prentis Co. began as an architect and engineer's service center that copied blueprints and survey documents in New London. John Prentis was president and Burchsted was general manager. Several years later, the company had the opportunity to open another service bureau on West Main Street. Burchsted ran the shop, but kept the Prentis name because by that time, it had a developed a reputation among professionals. Prentis ran the New London location.

Five years later, the Meriden shop moved again to the Legere Building at the corner of Colony and Church streets and spent the next 10 years there. When the building at 35 Pratt St. went on the market, Burchsted bought it to allow the company to control its own destiny and offer better parking.

About 10 years ago, Prentis retired, allowing Burchsted to purchase his ownership shares and become president. Burchsted and Prentis always liked the city for its location and he is active in efforts to revitalize its downtown.

"I've always had a positive attitude about the city," Burchsted said. "Anything that can spruce up the city is worth looking at."

In the past two decades, the print industry underwent a tremendous change, from analog technology and equipment to digital and computer production. And the change had a different impact on each business. Burchsted said one of the reasons the company did so well was it looked ahead to digital technology, but didn't spend a fortune investing in new equipment. The company also never used an outside sales force and much of its business is word of mouth. And he keeps a minimum number of full-time employees, which gives him the flexibility to add or decrease part-timers as the business warrants.

"We don't want to be that big," Burchsted said. "We want to be able to serve the same folks. We're at a size that's easy to control." Glynn said he couldn't ask for a better business model. Coming from a background in computer assisted drafting with a bachelor's degree in engineering from Uconn, Glynn began working at the shop 10 years ago, when he started dating Burchsted's daughter, Shelley.

"It's worked for this long," Glynn said." It's a good business model, I see it expanding further into digital."

The business is also successful, because it's variety of equipment and technology and relationships with other printers allows them to produce quality work on time. Larger jobs can be outsourced and vice versa for the other printers.

John L. Prentis has also found a niche market in the expo and trade show industry, where vendors, health care providers, academics, etc. can get rollup posters of nearly any size, printed, laminated and mounted. A two-foot by six foot, poster to print and laminate and topcoat on foam runs about $204. Need a cardboard cutout of Vice President Dick Cheney? They can print it and make it stand up.

Customers vary from many local architects, Carabetta Enterprises Inc., Canberra Industries Inc., Middlefield First Selectman and architect Jon Brayshaw Walter Hylwa, trade show vendors, and the Meriden Community Chorus. "We're kind of a well-kept secret," Burchsted said.

Burchsted has set a seven-year transition plan before turning the reins over to Glynn. In the meantime, they may end up investing in more machinery to keep up with increases in short-run - 200-to 2,000 piece - projects.

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