Fifty years is a long time and being in business for 50 years is quite an accomplishment. Just ask Jim Hoover, owner of Hoover Printing, which celebrates its 50th year in business and one of Costa Mesa’s first commercial printing companies. There are not many of the original business owners left and sadly the number of private shopkeepers has dwindled to just a few. Starting a new business in 1964 at the age of 26 Jim Hoover devoted himself to hard work and 18 hour long days to become established. Working with the philosophy that if you give an excellent product at reasonable prices a business should succeed, Hoover Printing has lived by that philosophy and kept abreast of the printing trade by always investing in new technology.
The printing technology of the early sixties for Hoover Printing was mostly letterpress using Linotype and handset moveable type. The Multi-Lith offset presses were added in 1964 and the business was off and running. Pasting up lines of text that a Compu-Graphic machine would process and produce was the extent of pre-press in those days. Then the pasted-up art was taken to a camera in the dark room where a plate was made by shooting the pasted-up art and developing film to use in burning a plate that would then go on the press. Eventually Hoover acquired a platemaking system that simplified that process going directly from computer to plate. We then made the move to add digital printing about eleven years ago with an HP Indigo 1000. Change may not always come easy, but it is often the best way to fulfill customer needs and maintain steady growth. We’ve never striven to be the biggest guy on the block, but a few years back we traded in our HP Indigo to the latest 3500 model. It’s always been about serving our customers. We realized we were missing out on addressing customers’ short- to medium-run needs. After evaluating different options, we chose the HP Indigo 3500 press for its short-run capabilities, exceptional quality and fast turnaround times. Also, since the HP Indigo press can output an instant proof on a variety of papers there’s less chance for a mistake or error in the final output; that’s why we excel in producing quality and precise jobs according to the requirements of our customers.
The future is always unknown in a trade which has been transformed over the last 50 years at the cost of many jobs, but Hoover Printing hopes to continue to provide a printing service into the next 50 years. We are excited about the future and what it will bring. New technology will play a part, but we feel that our commitment to partnering with you and our passion for printing will be essential elements that will continue to pave the road for success. Being in business for so long and most of our employees having been here for over 20 years allows us the benefit of experience and stability.
We’ve seen many good things happen because of print. We’d like for that to continue and we want to be a part of making good things happen for you. Our partnership with you has been a pleasure. We will always be grateful for our customer friends that have helped to make the past 50 years possible. Please feel free to call upon us for our expertise in helping you develop a marketing plan to promote your institution, business firm or personal enterprise. Good results are directly related to good communication. Let us help communicate your best image. “You only get one chance to make a good first impression!”
The past 50 years have flown by. Here’s to the next 50.