On our next edition of employee spotlight we focus on Jeff Weisenberg. Jeff has the honor of being the very first employee of Jakprints. He’s put in 12 years of hard work to help build the foundation of what we have today. Jeff is currently the head of apparel production where it’s his duty to make sure the apparel production employees have everything they need in order to make the best possible product. Jeff isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and try new things. Where other print shops will turn away challenging projects, Jeff has no problem taking them head on. His positive attitude and open mind is what keeps our apparel department above the rest.

Favorites

Color: Pantone 186c

Food: Hot dog carts in Paris, cant touch ‘em!

Movie: Every single Stars Wars movie (even the new ones, I don’t care)

Band/Musician: Fugazi – Repeater

Book/Author: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values

What do you like to do on your free time? Take running motorcycles and make them un-ridable. Skateboard…….poorly. Spending quite evenings with my #1 lady, Porkchop.

What would you do if you had a million dollars? Buy an RV and spend quite a bit of time traveling the country, w/Porkchop of course.

If you could travel to one place in the world where and why? I will never get sick of Southern California, best weather/food/scenery around.

Why do you choose to work at Jakprints? I had a feeling Jacob and Dameon were on to something good and I wanted to be part of it. Thank God I was right!

What are some interesting projects you’ve been a part of: So many different things over the years.  Really, just the progression of the company. Being able to speak with other print shops that come through and seeing them be “wowed” by our company.

What are your favorite aspects of what you do at Jakprints: I very much enjoy working around the people that I do. That’s something we probably take for granted sometimes but it really is what make this place special. Having owners that spare no expense with equipment and materials. There was a time when we couldn’t afford paper towels and I will never forget where we came from.

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The Green Dream Eco-Friendly Showcase was created in 2007 by the Beachwood High School Marketing Education/Junior Achievement class. Twenty students set out to create a public venue where businesses and organizations could show how easy it was to “Go Green”. In its first year, The Green Dream attracted over 70 businesses and 2,200 attendees. Now recognized as Ohio’s largest eco-friendly showcase, it continues to grow and inspire people throughout the world.

Jakprints was the official print sponsor of this years event and was on site for all the festivities. As most of you know we are a very eco friendly company so we were very excited to be a part of the The Green Dream. We feel it’s important to help educate other companies how easy and beneficial it is to go green. Below are photos from the event.

The Jakprints table.

Folks checking out the other places a part of this years event

One of the tables set up at the event.

Jeni’s Ice Cream provided free samples.

More from the Jakprints table

Mobiles made from recycled plastics hung beautifully form the ceiling

For more information on The Green Dream please visit http://www.thegreendream.org/

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We stopped out at the Geauga Humane Society Rescue Village this week to talk about some upcoming projects.  They are an amazing group of people whose mission is to find homes for sick, injured, abused, and abandoned domestic animals that have no other alternatives.  They also foster compassion for all living things through their educational programs, reduce pet overpopulation with their spay/neuter programs, and prevent animal cruelty by enforcing animal protection laws.

In 1980 the Geauga Humane Society moved into a 800 square foot facility which would be their home until 2001.  With big dreams, leadership, and the generosity of thousands of people they were able to move into this 10,500 square foot state of the art facility that is located on a 14 acre plot of land in Russel Township.

Our tour guide, Katrina, had so many wonderful things to say about the volunteers.  They have always played a major role in not only helping out with daily duties but going above and beyond to make sure the dogs, cats, and other critters are happy and comfortable during their stay at Rescue Village.  Wether it’s cleaning a cage or taking a walk with one of the doggie residents the volunteers are there to lend a hand with a smile on their faces.

This full service shelter is set up to keep the residents mentally and physically healthy while at the same time making it an easy experience for potential pet owners who want to come down and get to know the animals that are up for adoption.

When we made our way through the kitty rooms they were all peacefully relaxing in their respective cages.  They even had two levels so that their bed and food could be separate from their littler boxes!  Just another example of the extra steps that the staff at Rescue Village take for the well being of the residents.

All of the doggies were really happy to see us.  It was hard not to take a couple back to the shop with us!  Their area has an air filtering system.  The Rescue Village staff believe that just because there is a room with multiple dogs that it doesn’t have to smell like it.

They do get other animals in like hamsters and gerbils…

As well as horses…

And even goats like Billy and Sierra!  You can stay up to date by checking their website, which is updated real-time, to see which animals are available for adoption.  If you would like a more personal experience you can always stop down to Rescue Village and see all the animals that are looking for good homes!  They also have events throughout the year such as the Doggone Purrfect Night and Woofstock which takes place at the Holden Arboretum.

We’re happy to be able to offer our services to a group of people that are so dedicated to a great cause.  Take a look at their site for more info and “Like” the Rescue Village Facebook page to keep up with all of the action!

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Next on the Jakprints Employee Spotlight we talk with Tim Shoda. Tim has been working here for 7 years and runs our Full Color Prepress department. It’s Tim’s job to oversee a department of 9 people who prepare all of the artwork for printing on the offset, digital, wide format and sticker presses. He also sets up and maintains all parts of our digital file work-flow, making sure that all of the software “connects” properly. Tim has a great eye for detail and will do anything he can to ensure your print project will achieve it’s maximum potential.

Favorites

Color: Orange

Food: Pulled Pork

Movie: The Godfather, Ghost in the Shell, Fast and the Furious

Band/Musician: I listen to a lot of classic rock, but don’t really have a favorite band.

Book/Author: I like to read older sci-fi, Larry Niven, Robert Heinlein, Robert Silverberg

What do you like to do on your free time? Play video games, work on my house

What would you do if you had a million dollars? Pay off some debt, then invest the rest so I could retire early.

Why do you choose to work at Jakprints? I enjoy working in our fast paced and ever evolving business. Things in the printing world are constantly changing and Jakprints provides me the opportunity to learn and grow as new technology becomes available.

Have you held any other positions at Jakprints? Over the years I have moved around quite a bit. I started at Jakprints as a cutter operator in full color finishing.  From there I transitioned to prepress, focusing primarily on imposition.  When we purchased our first digital press and wide format printer I left prepress to run that department, handling all of the production of our banners and digital print work. I have since moved back into the full color prepress department as manager.

What are some interesting projects you’ve been a part of? One of the most interesting and rewarding projects I have been able to work on has been “The Molting” comic books that we print for Terrance Zdunich (http://terrancezdunich.com/). I personally color correct and prepare each issue.  Its awesome to see a new book come through every couple of months.

What are your favorite aspects of what you do at Jakprints? I love working with new technology. We are constantly updating and upgrading our workflow and equipment and it provides a great opportunity to learn something new everyday.

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The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival is an annual music festival held in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is a weekend-long concert of heavy metal and hardcore bands in conjunction with a merchandising and promotional area for record labels and other vendors. It has taken place in the Palladium in Worcester since its debut in 1999.

This years event will happen March 14th-16th. Some of the bands playing the fest include: Terror, Between The Buried and Me, Skeleton Witch, Darkest Hour, The Carrier, Biohazard, Hatebreed, Shai Hulud, Trapped Under Ice, Winds Of Plague, Bury Your Dead, Cephaliac Carnage, Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, Stick To Your Guns, This Is Hell and the triumphant return of Boston’s Blood For Blood.

Jakprints is a sponsor of this years installment of the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. We will be on site for the three day long event passing out promotional materials, talking to people and answering questions about the products and services we can provide for bands and the music industry. We’re really pumped to have our name on such a solid event and to be in Worcester to check out some of the best acts the Metal and Hardcore scenes have to offer.

Rock on!

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Shelf Life Clothing Co., based right here in good old Cleveland, Ohio, is the brain child of designer Brian Kirby. His shirt designs are inspired by a wide range of pop-culture imagery as well as classic Japanese, Hong Kong and Bollywood cinema, 1960s spy movies, vintage rock album artwork, WWII aviation art, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurotrash cinema and professional sports. Shelf Life Clothing Co. makes a point to pay tribute to often forgotten B-movie classics while also lampooning common place ideas. Shelf Life’s shirts have been seen on many media outlets such as ESPN, CNN/Sports Illustrated.com, E! Network’s series “Married To Rock“, Season 8 of “American Idol” as well as on the backs of Hong Kong movie producer Mike Leeder, action choreographer John Kreng, and producer Bey Logan.

Here’s a few words from Brian Kirby about why he chose Jakprints to produce his apparel:

I started using Jakprints six or seven years ago for business cards and tri-fold brochures, and when one of my websites became an Internet hit, I started experimenting with different tee designs to sell through the site. I’ve tried other printing companies and silkscreening on my own, but the quality of the silkscreened images from Jakprints is the best I’ve found, and allows me to be more creative by using finer halftone images and other design elements that I couldn’t achieve elsewhere. Working with everyone there has been great; they’ve helped me not only with printing, but also with finding the right quality and color tees that give my brand and designs a signature look and feel. I’m lucky to have Jakprints nearby in Cleveland, and I absolutely love how resourceful their whole operation is–they even shred unused remnant tees to make dog beds to donate to animal shelters. I’m happy with the end result for my brand and thankful for the creative freedom that all of Jakprints’ printing options provide.
These are examples of the apparel Jakprints has had the pleasure of printing for Shelf Life Clothing Co. that display a wide range of Jakprints’ printing techniques. Everything from natural discharge to soft vibrant, center chest and full front graphic placement, two color prints to many color prints, Shelf Life has it all. Also, all of Shelf Life’s designs are ran on 100 percent ring-spun soft cotton or organic cotton shirts.

We truly feel these are some of the coolest designs we’ve ever produced.

Recently Shelf Life Clothing has experimented with All Over Shirt Printing and returned excellent results. Brian’s design style and use of vibrant colors mixes perfectly with the process of printing these shirts.

All of the shirts shown here can be purchased at http://shelflifeclothing.com

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