Remembering Dad… Antioch Printing’s first president

What a great day of celebrating dad’s life! Last Friday was very special. Those last few days in hospice care were special for our family. We laughed, cried, told stories, laughed more and cried often. We sat in dad’s room and although it seemed he was not aware of us, every now and then he would open his eyes and we could see he was with us. He could hear everything! When I shared stories of the great grandchildren with him, he had a tear come trickling down his right cheek. He loved those kids. My mind knows he is in a better place and will never have to fight Parkinson’s disease again, but my heart misses him so much already.

I remember when I was working for the YMCA and he would call me at night and ask me to come help him figure out how to run the presses. I’m sure I would frustrate him as I would throw paper across the room because I couldn’t get it to feed. That first few months  in business I came by every night and printed. We learned fast and became good at putting ink on paper and everywhere else… hands and face! That first two weeks in business, his only press operator took off to Colorado in the delivery car. We didn’t hear from him for 2 or 3 weeks. We had no idea when or if he was coming back. He did return, gave us the car keys and took off. Dad, being dad, never pressed charges for stealing the car and some money out of the cash drawer. As my sister has often said, “Dad trusted everyone!”

Dad taught me that I could do anything as long as I put hard work and a determined mindset to it. He taught me to tackle problems by first defining the problem, researching it and then take action. As printing continues to change with new technology, I will continue to remember what dad taught me as a young man. His legacy will live on… I will make sure of that!

Printing Specials

We are planning to promote some specials for the fall months. Look for possible “Free” business cards for signing up as a Facebook Fan of Antioch Printing. Look for direct mail package deals for small business to enter into variable data marketing and QR codes. Look for specials from our designers. September’s direct mail piece is promoting 1 hour of free design time. Send me your email address and we will get you on our mailing list. jimi@antiochprinting.com

Printing Recycling

Every Wednesday a truck from Midwest Recycling comes to Antioch Printing to pick up our recycled paper. We have been doing it for over 10 years now. When we print, it is usually on an oversize sheet with “color bars” on it so we can monitor color. When we cut the finish piece down, we have the extra “scrap” from the gutters, bleeds and outside edges that is recycled. I love our staff. They make every effort to make sure every paper scrap is recycled. We have mail houses that save our boxes and return them to us to use again. One of our very good customers sends back boxes and chipboard to be used again. We also recycle our metal plates. I hope this helps educate what Antioch Printing does to contribute to the recycling process.

Synergy Services, Jay Leno… another printing donation

We just finished printing for Synergy Services. It is a donation of invitations for a fund raiser that has Jay Leno as the guest host. It is called “Stand Up for Synergy” Every year this fund raiser is a big event in the Kansas City Northland area. I’ll post a link later. Synergy Services has been serving the Northland area since 1971. Here is their mission statement.”The mission of Synergy Services, Inc. is to eliminate family violence, abuse, and neglect by providing quality services for persons of all ages. We seek to empower the individual, strengthen the family, and develop our community through crisis intervention, shelter, counseling, advocacy, and education.”

Greater Kansas City Humane Society Printing

We just finished printing the invitations to the “Art Unleashed” fund raiser. It was a donation to help their cause. Monte Cushmon, of Cushmon Design did the design and JB Letterpress helped with the finishing. The printing was done on a velvet stock with a cool aqueous coating. Shaughnessy Paper helped out with the stock. Check out the link…http://www.hsgkc.org/artunleashed.html

Keep on fishing!

Why can’t I get fishing off my mind? I keep seeing my grandson, Antonio’s, eyes light up when he catches a fish. I’d love to be 10 again… at least for one fishing trip! I was fishing with my grandpa when I was 10 or so and remember using his frog lure. It was a life like frog approx. 3″ that would sit on top of the water. It was one of his favorites. He would always bring his old wooden boat  slowly right by the lily pads across the lake from his cottage.  His perfect cast would always land on top or right beside one of those lily pads. This particular evening he let me use the frog lure! I was so excited. I couldn’t wait for his tour past the lily pads. We slowly floated close to the spot. I lifted my rod with the special “coffee grinder” reel and sent the wooden frog sailing off to the lily pads. I had watched him closely, so I knew just where to cast the lure. “Splash” … it landed. I slowly reeled the old lure in with a little jerk of the rod every 12″ or so. I saw a swirl and was sure a big bass was about to attack my frog. I jerked the rod upward  to set the hook. I had something… it was big! I reeled it in fast as my grandpa kept yelling for me to “keep the line tight!”… “don’t reel too fast”…”let him play with it” …. “not too much”… “bring him closer to the boat”. My heart was racing. My first big bass. My grandpa would be so proud! As grandpa brought it into the boat, he started laughing at what I had done. In my excitement I had snagged the big bass across the back of his top fin! That giant bass was not even interested in the magic balsa frog. I had literally snagged the bass with the two treble hooks from the dangling frog’s legs! Well it didn’t matter to me. It had been caught and landed in the boat! Later that day we put it in the live well on my grandpa’s dock. I still remember going down to the dock every 15 minutes to check on the monster bass. I don’t remember how much it weighed. I am pretty sure the size and weight have gotten bigger as time has gone by. So, I’m thinking it must have been 6 to 8 pounds! That is one thing I have to remember to teach Antonio…. how to tell those stories of the “ones that got away” or… “it must have been at least 6 pounds” or “I lost count on how many we caught… must have been 18 to 24!”. Fishing. Can’t beat the memories! I hope Antonio has some good stories to share with his kids!

Keep on Trucking!

When I was a lot younger, the Grateful Dead had a song titled “Keep on Trucking”.  I have a friend that was stopped by the local police when we were 19 and they asked him what the “Keep on Trucking” bumper sticker meant on the back of his car. No laws were being broken… no reason for the pull over. My friend just replied “You know… just keep on keeping on… you know just ‘Keep on Trucking’! They told him to drive safely and let him go on his way.

In these changing times with economic issues hitting everyone in different ways, I am reminded of that story. Define what we do best, keep doing it, let people know about it and keep your ears and eyes open for new technology that will benefit our customer’s business.  In other words have faith and “Keep on Trucking!”

Summer Fun

As I got up this morning, I was greeted by a cool morning breeze. It reminded me of getting up early in Wisconsin to go fishing with my dad and grandpa. The excitement and anticipation was always the best part.  It also helped if we caught fish! I hope I can give that same feeling to my grandson. It is one of the best memories I have of summer. I sometimes get caught up in the rush of deadlines at work and forget that we can make memories for our children and grandchildren. My granddaughter and I were laughing last week about things she did last summer. The memories are not just for us… put for our kids and their kids. Think about it…. what a great responsibility but yet such a great opportunity and honor. Make a memory this summer!

Adobe CS5

I have spent a lot of time watching videos on Adobe TV. The new Creative Suite 5 is going to be sensational. It consists of InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash Pro and Acrobat. InDesign is what we use the most. It is amazing to see what the future of design will be in the very near future. I encourage anyone interested in design to go to Adobetv.com and search CS5. With the design team we have at Antioch Printing, the new CS5 will bring expanded capabilities to design marketing. Can’t wait to get Jeromy & Joel into training for this new software.

Printing in the 21st Century

As I continue to learn about marketing for Antioch Printing, I can see I have a lot to learn. SEO to Social Networking and website development is all a part of marketing. As a small print shop located in Kansas City, I have solely relied on the old methods of marketing. Word of mouth, excellent quality printing and good old fashion customer service was all I thought we needed. Now as the world changes, I can see the need for different types of marketing. Still relying on the former, I am stepping out to teach this “old dog” some new tricks. Ok, here I go…. the first jump!