by Sheila G. Kelley, development coordinator
Tucked around the corner off old Highway 81 sits Hesston Prestige Printing, a Harvey County business owned and operated by Norman and Denise Critchfield since 1992.
Printing business technology has evolved over the past 30 years, which has made it necessary for the business to move from its original site in Hesston across from the now-closed grocery store, then to a site on main street and finally to its current location.
The building they are in now was originally built to house a dollar-type store then served as offices for Southern Star Gas Pipeline. With a little remodeling, the building was able to fit all the equipment as well as having room for offices and a retail store front.
“When we started in 1992, we had one black and white copier and two printing presses,” co-owner Denise Critchfield explained. “Then the machines just kept getting bigger and bigger, giving us many options that we didn’t used to have.”
Many of the functions previously done by hand were taken over by the new, bigger machines. The machine now can copy, fold, staple and three-hole punch to make a booklet. It can also score, perforate and cut business cards. These new technologies save time and costs to customers.
The largest and most used machine is the flatbed printer. Large sheets of printable materials are held in place by vacuum suction as they are rolled through the machine while printing is applied.
“Literally, we can print directly on a 5’ X 10’ sheet of metal or substrate,” Denise said.
With the flatbed, staff are able to print almost any design requested, as long as the material is completely flat.
Once the project is printed through the flatbed, it then goes to a Colex cutter. The Colex offers a full line of cutting and finishing of wide format media: shapes, rounded corners, 3D, routing and on all sorts of media such as Sintra (PVC board), acrylic, coroplast (corrugated plastic), Di-bond (an aluminum composite material), foam board and more.
They have a machine that can scan and copy blueprints. They also laminate products, so they last longer, especially those made for outdoor usage.
“Our largest seller is signs,” Norman said. “We do about 60 % signs and 40 % other printing with about 75 % of sales coming from out-of-town customers.”
Over the past few years, personalized Christmas cards have become quite popular. Most are 5” X 7” and feature family or favorite photos with a short greeting.
Most of the layout and graphic design work is done at the Hesston site. They also own Copies and More in Newton. Between the two businesses, they employ one part-time and two full-time employees.
Customers aren’t made to purchase boxes of envelopes or reams of paper like big box stores sell, although they are certainly able to do so. However, they can also purchase these items individually. They also offer a large variety of office supplies.
Printing services include letterhead, envelopes, business cards, signs, banners, posters, stickers, coasters, ceiling tiles and most any type of custom work requested.
More information can be found on their website along with a photo gallery of their recent digital printing projects.
Thank you Critchfields and Hesston Prestige Printing for being one of our founding members of Small Business United!
WHAT IS SMALL BUSINESS UNITED?
Small Business United is a group of Harvey County small businesses who have joined together to make a huge impact! Often we see small businesses who would love to get involved and help the Harvey County community, but don’t have the resources to make a large gift. By becoming Small Business United members, these businesses contribute to improve lives and strengthen our community. To become a SBU member, click here and select “Small Business United” on the donation page.