Eleven years ago, Bernie and Simone Wilker felt the need for change. Bernie was fed up with commuting from Paramus, NJ, to the Bronx every day for his engineering job. The couple decided they wanted a business they could work in together that would be closer to their home.

Simone, who has an MBA, had worked with the AlphaGraphics in Paramus when she needed to buy printing at her previous job, so when they heard it was for sale, they looked into it. Neither of them knew anything about printing, but the business model was appealing to both of them. And the AlphaGraphics franchise reps assured them that they would teach them the printing part of the business, so they decided to take the plunge.

Cutting Edge

Today, the company's business mix is typical for an AlphaGraphics franchise. It offers digital and offset printing, mailing and fulfillment, and wide-format graphics. Simone says they are also doing a good bit of CD and DVD duplication, and even had an order to produce flash drives for one client. "AlphaGraphics bills itself as your 'Partner in Visual Communications,' but I don't think that really covers it," she observes. "We have to be able to do anything our clients require in order to help them communicate with their clients."

She is also quick to point out that when there is a problem that is digital in nature, they turn to a resource many printers may tend to overlook—young employees. "The managers and designers who are young are more amenable to change. And they understand digital communications in a way that is completely different from how you or I might look at it," she says.

That's helpful in a market where many of those changes are driven by customers who are becoming ever more digitally savvy. For instance, the shop had to be an early adopter of Adobe's Creative Suite 3 and MicroSoft Windows Vista because customers made the transition to those applications very quickly.

Keeping up with technology can be a challenge, but Simone says it's just part of the game. Because all AlphaGraphics franchisees are required to maintain an ISO certificate, the franchisor requires them to add certain equipment or services when they reach a specific level of development. "That's how we got into mailing services and wide-format printing," Simone says.

"The whole point of the ISO is to have a very smooth operation and to make sure that you've got a quality product," she explains. Part of the process dictates that every problem be documented along with the ultimate resolution. In order to do that, a meeting must be held to address the situation. Simone believes it is easier to maintain the ISO standards in a small shop than it would be in a larger company. "It's easy to say, 'Okay, guys, we're having an ISO meeting right now.'"

Another aspect of ISO certification that she finds useful is that it provides a framework in which she can call a meeting to discuss procedural problems without placing blame one any particular staff member. There's no finger pointing, just problem solving.