Reprographics 101

What with all of the acquisitions ARC (and others) have completed over the past 15 years, some of the oldest reprographics companies in the U.S. no longer operate as independent companies.

If my memory serves me correctly, I can think of one, as an example, that was founded prior to 1900, that was acquired by ARC and no longer operates under its own name; this one being Leet-Melbrook (Washington DC market area.)

And, I’m pretty sure that City Blueprint, Cleveland, Ohio, was founded prior to 1900, but City Blue went out of business several years ago.

There are two independent reprographers that come immediately to mind as “founded prior to 1900”:

B.L. Makepeace, Inc (Makepeace Repro) Boston,MA

“In Business Since 1895”

NRI (National Reprographics, Inc.) (based in New York City)

“In 1898, National Blue Print Company was located in a small loft on 17th Street, in Union Square, and offered only one service, blueprinting.”

And, this one was founded before 1920:

Gardens Repro (Baltimore, MD)

“Gardens Reprographics is the oldest locally owned and managed Reprographics Company in the Baltimore area. Since 1919 we have provided our customers with the highest level of quality and service for more than 85 years.”

If you know of a reprographics company that was founded prior to WWII – and is still operating as an independent company – please let me know the name of the company, where it operates and the date that it was founded. Thank you.

“Forecasts & Trends”

“August Construction Climbs 8%”

Here are the first two paragraphs of the article that’s on McGraw Hill’s web-site:

New York, N.Y. – September 21, 2011 – At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $424.7 billion, new construction starts in August advanced 8%, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. The gain followed a 10% decline in July, and continued the fluctuating pattern that’s been present in recent months. The pickup for total construction in August was the result of greater activity for each of construction’s three main sectors – nonresidential building, residential building, and nonbuilding construction. For the first eight months of 2011, total construction on an unadjusted basis was reported at $274.8 billion, down 6% from the same period a year ago.

The August statistics lifted the Dodge Index to 90 (2000=100), up from July’s 83. “During the first five months of this year, total construction had trended downward, but over the next three months an up-and-down pattern has emerged,” stated Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. “This suggests that construction starts are beginning to stabilize after the earlier loss of momentum. At the same time, total construction remains on track to register a moderate decline for 2011 as a whole, after leveling off in 2010. While August showed some improvement for institutional building and public works, each of these sectors will be subject to funding cutbacks at the federal and state levels of government. Single family housing continues to see homebuyer demand restrained by the sluggish economic environment and more restrictive lending standards. And, what appears to be the early signs of recovery for commercial building may well end up being deferred by rising investor concern about employment growth and the near term prospects for the U.S. economy.”

Here’s the Internet address for the complete article:

http://construction.com/ResourceCenter/forecast/2011/Sep.asp

Yesterday, one of my frequent-blog-visitors pointed me to the announcement that Chester Carlton, the inventor of xerography, is going to be inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame. I did not know that there was a Paper Industry International Hall of Fame! Nonetheless, the selection of Mr. Carlson is a fitting one. Reprographers, think of all of the xerographic copies you’ve run on your equipment (both large-format and small-format) in the years since the first “Xerox” machine was introduced. In the aggregate, gazillions. (Gazillion is many trillions.)

At our first reprographics company, we had a Xerox 914. I wish I still had that box!

Here’s the announcement. But, before you read it, consider this; perhaps the Reprographics Industry should have a hall of fame?

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Oct 05, 2011 –

Chester Carlson, the man who changed the way the world shares information, will be inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame, on Oct. 6, in Appleton, Wis. Carlson, the inventor of xerography, will be honored for his process of plain paper copying that revolutionized communications.

The hall of fame recognizes individuals who, through their inventions, initiative and efforts, have helped the world’s paper industry flourish.

Carlson patented the copying concept in 1937, and in 1944 teamed with the Battelle Institute in Ohio to develop the technology. In 1947 he formed a licensing agreement with the Haloid Corporation (which later became Xerox Corporation). The world’s first plain paper copier, the Xerox 914, was launched in 1959.

In 1955, four years before the introduction of the Xerox 914, 20 million copies were made worldwide; in 1964, five years after the Xerox 914 was introduced, 9.5 billion copies were made worldwide, almost all xerographic. That number grew to 550 billion copies in 1984, and today trillions of copies are made around the world each year.

Carlson was born in 1906 in Seattle, Wash., and died in 1968 in New York City. He received a bachelor’s degree in physics from California Institute of Technology in 1930 and a Bachelor of Law degree from New York Law School in 1939. While in law school, Carlson was plagued with copying longhand from law books at the New York Public Library because he could not afford to buy them. That experience inspired him to build a copying machine.

Carlson offered his idea to more than two dozen major corporations, all of which expressed what he called “an enthusiastic lack of interest.” However Carlson’s perseverance eventually led to the launch of the 914 copier, dubbed by Fortune magazine as one of “the most successful product ever marketed in America.”

And, Magic Johnson is involved in this project.

I said in a post on Reprographics 101 on July 5^th …..

“Real Estate Development Activity in Boston, MA – finally, looks to be on the rise!”

“Boston’s real estate development economy appears to be on the verge of breaking out on the “right side” of things. This, of course, is good news to anyone and everyone associated with the A/E/C community, including reprographers!”

And, yesterday, another positive sign of this was evidenced by an article that appeared, yesterday, in the Boston Globe:

Investors to relaunch NorthPoint project

October 06, 2011 | By Casey Ross, Boston Globe Staff Writer

A new team of investors is set to resume construction of the massive NorthPoint development, a $2 billion mini-city between Cambridge and Boston that will bring thousands of new homes, a shopping complex, and offices to a former rail yard.

The 44-acre project, stalled since 2007 because of legal and financial issues, is one of the biggest in the state and promises to transform a huge swath of vacant industrial land into a new neighborhood along the MBTA’s Green Line, whose planned extension through Somerville will start at the property’s edge.

The first phase, which could begin next summer, is expected to create 250 jobs, with thousands more to come as building activity picks up over the next several years.

The new development team includes a California investment fund backed by former Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin “Magic’’ Johnson, who appeared at an event on the property yesterday to formally relaunch NorthPoint with the mayors of Cambridge and Somerville.

“This great, mixed-use project is going to create a lot of jobs and a lot of opportunity,’’ said Johnson, who spoke about his firm’s investment in the region just down the road from the site of the old Boston Garden, where he had legendary playoff battles with Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics .

“Red Auerbach would be rolling in his grave,’’ Johnson quipped, drawing laughter from more than 200 public figures and business executives at the event.

Johnson’s partners include former Boston Redevelopment Authority director Thomas N. O’Brien.

The first phase will consist of 350 apartments, as the developers seek tenants to occupy 2 million square feet of office and retail space.

Within the next decade, NorthPoint – located across from the CambridgeSide Galleria on land in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville – will consist of 22 buildings and public parks on what is now a gritty canyon.

While it could attract the pharmaceutical and technology companies that have fueled explosive growth in nearby Kendall Square, the project also faces a struggle to regain momentum following a construction stoppage that has lasted more than four years.

Work stalled in 2007 because of a bitter lawsuit between its former owners. The logjam finally broke last year, when Johnson’s company, Canyon/Johnson Urban Funds, acquired the property in a partnership with O’Brien’s firm, HYM Investment Group of Boston, and Atlas Capital Group of New York. Canyon/Johnson acquires and redevelops large properties across the United States and has worked on projects in Houston, Los Angeles, and New York.

• Subject: Announcement from International Reprographic Association – this was posted, this morning, by Steve Bova in the IRGA LinkedIn Group discussion:

“Are you attending SGIA in New Orleans? If so, we’d like to see you at the IRgA’s Ntworking Rception, from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m., October 19 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA. There will be a nominal fee of $35 for reprographers to attend. We hope to see you there! You can register at ww.irga.com“

“If you are a vendor and have questions about sponsoring the event, please contact a member of the (IRgA) board of directors.”