Nearly one-third of all offset printing establishments have fewer than 20 employees. Forecasts are predicting that we’ll see a loss of even more printing companies over the next decade. Like small businesses of all kinds, printers have always faced challenges. So what has it that has made it possible for some small printers to overcome adversity and keep going?
Nearly one-third of all offset printing establishments have fewer than 20 employees. Forecasts are predicting that we’ll see a loss of even more printing companies over the next decade. Like small businesses of all kinds, printers have always faced challenges. So what has it that has made it possible for some small printers to overcome adversity and keep going? Let’s take a look.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia, and Wrong Way Corrigan left New York heading for California and landed in Ireland. The Great Depression was winding down, World War II was winding up, and unemployment was over 19%.
The year? 1938.
That was the year George and Mary Cotronis opened a small print shop in downtown Seattle, across street from Ivar’s fish-and-chips stand at Pier 54. Located in the heart of the “Printer’s District” – an area about 8 blocks square on the waterfront –
Academy Press printed mostly business cards and envelopes on a Heidelberg windmill and a small one-color press for the growing number of city-center businesses.
[caption id="attachment_6002" align="alignleft" width="139" caption="Terry Karis and sons"]
[/caption]
Seeking his fortune in the US, George’s teen-aged cousin
Sotiros Kanakaris (shortened to
Terry Karis), came to Seattle just over 10 years later and moved in to learn the printing trade. By 1975, George and his wife were ready to retire and, having no children, wanted to sell the business. A friend lent Terry $10,000 to make a down payment to buy it; he and his sons own Academy Press today.
Seattle again faced tough times, but that didn’t slow Terry down. In 1975, the city was still reeling from massive layoffs by Boeing, layoffs that reduced the company’s workforce from a high of more than 100,000 to around 20,000. Unemployment was back up to 17% in Puget Sound.
Taking over a 4-man shop running a windmill and a small 1-color press, Terry took orders, ran the press, and then delivered the finished goods to his customers. Those customers included Starbucks, which was then just a small café in Pike Place Market, right down the street from Academy.
As the downtown core continued to grow, rents started to skyrocket. The cost of the small space suddenly tripled and, in 1982, Academy moved 4 miles north to a location overlooking Salmon Bay and Fishermen’s Terminal. It was the perfect location for a man who loves the sea – and seafood!
In the new location, Terry added 2-color presses, then a 4-color press. And building up the business little by little, he finally bought a 5-color Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 in 2002. The big press filled the print plant to bursting and in late 2007, after deciding to add a second 5-color press, the hunt was on for a new location that would accommodate it.
Less than a mile away, closer to the water, and double in size, the ideal location turned up. The second large press was installed in the new location and some of the smaller presses were sold.
It took a lot of courage to take the plunge to buy new equipment and move into new space just as the economy was hitting its lowest point in years. More than half of all commercial printers saw their income drop by a quarter or more in 2008. Now, on what looks like the backside of the worse economic period since the business was opened in more than 70 years ago, Academy Press is poised to move ahead.
“It takes a lot of hard work to build a business. When I bought the business,” says Terry, “there were 4 people, we are now 17. This is a third generation business and my sons have kids. I hope one of them will be interested in it. I put all my money in the business for my grandchildren.”
Academy Press is not just a printing business; it represents the heart of the Greek community in Puget Sound. Terry Karis was born in the Greek city of Tripoli. He laughingly describes himself as the Mayor of Seattle’s Greek community, which is made up of 4000 to 5000 people served by three Greek Orthodox churches.
Donating print to the churches and providing printing and business advice to young men starting restaurants in the area keeps Karis closely connected. In a twist of irony, after Academy Press donated printing to a local Nordic Museum, “People thought I must be Norwegian!”
His latest initiative is to help raise money for a Greek chair at the University of Washington to bring professors from Greece to teach. It’s important to Terry to help kids keep their sense of history.
On the Academy Press business cards is an image of the Academy of Fine Arts in Athens Greece. It was the connection between Athens and Seattle made it possible for Georgis Thanatopolis and his family to move to the United States 16 years ago.
Georgis worked in a print shop in Athens and asked Terry if he could help him come to America. Not one to make rash decisions, Terry phoned a brother who still lived there and asked him to take a look at the shop. “He called me back and said it’s the biggest print shop in Athens, and Georgis has a good reputation as a good worker. I hired him and he’s become my best pressman!”
What is Terry’s recipe for running a good business? Hire good people. Take care of them. Give them good benefits. Reward good work. And if they can’t do good work, let them move on.
And the future, what does it look like? “In 10 years I’ll be 85. We have lots of room to grow in this new building; Academy Press can double. We provide quality service and deliver good work. It’s like a restaurant; you have to give good service. The business has been good to me; I hope it will be good to my boys.”
Nick and Tony, Terry’s sons, are looking forward and evaluating the business to set new directions. Will a digital press be added? Another offset press? Will services like mailing be brought in house? There’s plenty of room; time will tell.
