PRESS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



The Printing Factory Celebrates 30 Years of Printing, Partnerships, and Perseverance 

MUNDELEIN, Ill. - August 7, 2026 

Thirty years ago, John Petrovskis and business partner, Brad Kington, took a leap of faith and purchased a small commercial printing company in Mundelein. On August 26, 2026, The Printing Factory will celebrate three decades of serving businesses, schools, organizations, and communities throughout Lake County and beyond.

What began as a small printing operation has evolved alongside an industry transformed by technology. Over the past 30 years, The Printing Factory has moved from the era of film, darkrooms, and traditional offset production to digital printing, wide-format graphics, direct mail, die-cut stickers, and a broader range of marketing and finishing services.

For Petrovskis, the anniversary represents more than a business milestone. It represents the ability to adapt, remain independent, and earn the trust of customers who have stayed with the company for decades.

“We’re not the most expensive, and we’re not the cheapest, but we’re going to get the job done professionally; it’s going to look nice, and we won’t let a job out of the shop unless it looks right,” said Petrovskis, who has more than 45 years of experience in the printing industry.

That commitment is reflected in the company's team. Several employees have worked with The Printing Factory for more than a decade, while others bring decades of experience from previous printing companies. The company's approach is intentionally collaborative, with employees crossing traditional job functions to keep projects moving and checking one another's work to ensure quality.

“It’s not my company, but I look at it like it’s my company,” said employee Bob Schranz, describing the personal ownership he brings to every project.

That culture has helped the company navigate economic downturns, rapid technological change, the COVID-19 pandemic and an evolving commercial printing industry. The Printing Factory has also expanded through acquisitions, bringing new customers, employees and capabilities into the business.

The company's work has ranged from everyday business printing to highly specialized projects. Among the memorable assignments are invitations and programs produced through Hannah Handmade for organizations including the Kennedy Center and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The team has also produced elaborate specialty invitations, trade show materials, franchise staples, programs and time-sensitive projects requiring around-the-clock production.

Petrovskis credits the company's longevity to conservative growth, careful investment in equipment, customer service and a willingness to solve problems rather than turn them away.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, The Printing Factory is offering customers a $20 Dunkin’ Gift Card with orders of $100 or more placed until September 14, 2026, subject to promotion terms.

After 30 years, Petrovskis says the company's focus remains straightforward: take care of customers, take pride in the work, and keep moving forward.

“Small, but capable,” is how he describes The Printing Factory. “We can pretty much do anything.”

About The Printing Factory
The Printing Factory is an independent commercial printing company serving businesses, organizations, schools and communities in Lake County, Illinois, and throughout the nation. The company provides offset and digital printing, large-format graphics, signage, direct mail, finishing, binding, stickers & decals, promotional products, kitting, fulfillment and related marketing services.

Media Contact:
John Petrovskis
The Printing Factory
847-949-5400
John@TPFprinting.com
www.TPFprinting.com 

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Source material: Company interviews and historical notes that were supplied for the 30th anniversary press kit located: https://tpfprinting.com/content/Press. 

 

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THE PRINTING FACTORY

30th Anniversary Press Kit

1996 - 2026

Celebrating 30 Years of Helping Businesses Grow

 

 

MEDIA BACKGROUND & COMPANY AT A GLANCE

The Story in One Sentence

For 30 years, The Printing Factory has combined experienced people, evolving technology, and hands-on customer service to help businesses and organizations turn ideas into finished print and marketing materials.

The News

The Printing Factory is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026, marking three decades since John Petrovskis and Brad Kington acquired the company on August 26, 1996.

The milestone is significant not simply because the company has reached 30 years in business, but because it has done so as an independent small business while navigating major changes in the printing industry, including the transition from film-based prepress and traditional offset production to digital workflows and modern production technologies.

The company's story also reflects a broader story of small-business resilience: adapting to changing customer expectations, investing carefully, surviving economic cycles and building long-term relationships with customers and employees.

Key Facts for Journalists

  • 30 years in business under current ownership in 2026

  • Acquired by: John Petrovskis and Brad Kington

  • Acquisition date: August 26, 1996

  • Original location under current ownership: Mundelein, Illinois

  • Current location: Mundelein, Illinois

  • Owner: John Petrovskis

  • Brad Kington retired: November 11, 20011 

  • Printing industry experience: More than 45 years for Petrovskis

  • Business model: Independent commercial printer

  • Primary market: Lake County, Illinois, and surrounding communities

  • Services: Commercial printing, digital and offset printing, large-format graphics, signage, direct mail, finishing, binding, promotional products, kitting and fulfillment

  • Growth strategy: Organic growth combined with selected acquisitions

  • 30th anniversary promotion: $20 Dunkin’ Gift Card with qualifying orders of $100 or more during August 2026

Memberships & Associations

  • GLGA Great Lakes Graphics Association

  • MPSOA - National Print & Sign Owners Associations

  • GLMV Chamber of Commerce

  • Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce

  • Grayslake Chamber of Commerce

The Big Story

A small Lake County business that has survived and continued evolving through three decades of technological and economic change.

THE 30-YEAR STORY

From a Leap of Faith to a Long-Term Business

In 1996, John Petrovskis and Brad Kington found themselves at a crossroads.

Both had been working independently as sales producers within the printing industry, bringing business to Steve Olson Printing. When a change in the company's direction meant their arrangement would end, the two began considering what came next.

Their first thought was to build a printing company from scratch: find a location, purchase equipment, and establish a new operation.

Then a friend and paper industry contact, Bob Nielsen, told them about The Printing Factory, where the owners were preparing to leave the business and relocate to Asheville, North Carolina, to pursue another venture.

The opportunity gave Petrovskis and Kington an alternative to starting from zero.

They purchased The Printing Factory on August 26, 1996.

The company already had customers and an operating business, but the new owners quickly began investing in equipment and expanding production capabilities. Within roughly a year, the business had outgrown its location and moved into a larger facility in Mundelein.

The early years were characterized by growth driven largely by referrals and word of mouth. Long-term relationships with customers, including businesses, schools, and organizations, became an important foundation for the company's future.

Among the longtime customer relationships that helped launch The Printing Factory in its early days are Zebra Technologies, Stevenson High School, and Banner Day Camp, with some customer relationships extending back decades.

The Business Philosophy

Petrovskis describes one of the most important decisions behind the company's longevity as conservative investment.

Rather than continually chasing the newest equipment, the company focused on making measured investments that could produce a return without overextending the business.

That philosophy has allowed The Printing Factory to evolve while remaining financially disciplined.

“We always took conservative steps, small steps to get return on investment,” Petrovskis explained.

 

THE PRINTING FACTORY TIMELINE

A Working Historical Timeline

Note: The timeline below is based on company interviews and historical notes. Several pre-1996 dates and some later acquisition dates should be verified against business records before the press kit is finalized for public distribution.

Early History

Circa 1980s
The business that would eventually become The Printing Factory operated as an American Speedy franchise in Vernon Hills.

Early 1990s
The operation transitioned away from the franchise model and became an independent business operating under The Printing Factory name and moved to Mundelein, IL. 

1996

August 26, 1996
John Petrovskis and Brad Kington acquired The Printing Factory in Vernon Hills.

1996–1997

The new owners invested in equipment, including a two-color press, and expanded production capabilities.

1997

The company moved to 407 Washington Boulevard in Mundelein after outgrowing its Vernon Hills location.

2000

Expanded and into additional space. 

November 11, 2011

Brad Kington retired from The Printing Factory. 

2014

The Printing Factory acquired Stark Printing, bringing additional customers and an employee into the organization.

Fran Stephens joined The Printing Factory following the Stark Printing acquisition and expanded her responsibilities from primarily prepress into digital production and broader production support.

2015

The Printing Factory acquired Contemporary Graphics where WJ Weiser became an important account along with the other accounts that are serviced. 

2021

The company moved from its Washington Boulevard location to its current Mundelein-area facility.

2023 

The Printing Factory acquired Hainesville Printing, expanding the clientele in the Grayslake and Hainesville area giving a seamless transition to its clients and community. 

The Printing Factory acquired Holly Press and allowed its customers to continue receiving the dependable service. 

2024-2025

The company continued expanding its capabilities and footprint, including additional space and acquisitions that brought new customers, employees, and industry experience into the organization.

April 2025

Darius joined The Printing Factory after previously working at Steve Olson Printing and brought extensive prepress and digital production experience, while also expanding into additional production capabilities.

2026

The Printing Factory celebrates 30 years under the ownership of John Petrovskis and Brad Kington, with Petrovskis now the company's sole owner.

 

JOHN PETROVSKIS: FROM PRINTING APPRENTICE TO OWNER

Leadership Biography

John Petrovskis has spent more than 45 years in the printing industry, beginning his career shortly after high school.

His entry into printing was not the result of a carefully planned career path. A friend working at a printing company in Forest Park told him about an opening involving deliveries, package preparation and bindery work.

Petrovskis took the opportunity.

He started at the bottom of the production process, but his responsibilities quickly expanded. He learned bindery, began operating presses and progressed to larger equipment and more complex production responsibilities.

His early career included work with Forest Printing, management responsibilities with Images 3, independent printing work, and the creation of Lance Press in Bensenville. He later merged with Printed Impressions in Northbrook before moving into a sales role with Steve Olson Printing.

His experience gave him exposure to nearly every side of the printing business from production and equipment to sales, estimating, customer relationships, and business management.

In 1996, Petrovskis and Brad Kington made the decision to acquire The Printing Factory.

A Career Built on Adaptability

Petrovskis began his career in an era when commercial printing relied heavily on:

  • Film negatives

  • Darkrooms

  • Manual prepress

  • Traditional plate production

  • Offset presses

  • Physical proofs

  • Longer production cycles

Today, the industry operates through digital files, computer-to-plate workflows, digital presses, high-production inkjet systems and increasingly sophisticated finishing and wide-format technologies.

Petrovskis has experienced that entire transformation firsthand.

He says one of the biggest changes has been speed. Jobs that once took a week or two can now often be produced in hours or a few days, depending on complexity.

His Leadership Philosophy

Petrovskis emphasizes:

  • Customer service

  • Accessibility

  • Problem-solving

  • Conservative growth

  • Return on investment

  • Quality control

  • Employee teamwork

  • Long-term customer relationships

His philosophy is simple: If a customer has a problem, the team should work through it rather than simply say no.

That can mean solving an artwork issue, meeting a deadline, finding a cost-saving approach, or coordinating multiple production processes.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PRINT

A Team Built on Experience

One of the most distinctive characteristics of The Printing Factory is the longevity and depth of experience within its team.

The company's employees have worked across multiple generations of printing technology and have brought experience from other Lake County-area printing companies into The Printing Factory.

Paul Klindt - Three Decades of Continuity

Paul Klindt's history with the business reaches back to the company's earliest years under the current ownership.

Before joining The Printing Factory, he worked at Steve Olson Printing, beginning in delivery and moving into bindery and prepress.

Over his career, he has witnessed the industry's transformation from film and plate production to modern digital workflows.

For Klindt, the company's 30-year milestone is evidence of resilience and the ability to adapt.

His approach to the work is straightforward: don't back away from a problem, but figure out how to solve it.

One of the projects he remembers most is work produced through Hannah Handmade for organizations including the Kennedy Center and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Knowing the work could become part of an institutional archive raised the standard even higher.

“Just keep it clean and neat,” is the philosophy behind that approach: zero-defect work, careful handling and attention to the finished product.

Bob Schranz - “Like It’s My Company”

Bob Schranz has more than a decade of experience with The Printing Factory, with a period away from the company during the COVID downturn before returning as business improved.

His background includes printing, mortgage work, and estimating.

One of his contributions has been developing and managing estimating and cost-analysis processes.

His philosophy captures the ownership mentality that company leadership sees throughout the organization:

“It’s not my company, but I look at it like it’s my company.”

Schranz describes the team as friendly, easygoing, and focused on getting the work done correctly. He believes customers return because the company combines quality with reliability: when The Printing Factory commits to a deadline, the team works to meet it.

Fran Stephens - An Expanded Role Through Acquisition

Fran Stephens joined The Printing Factory in 2014 following the acquisition of Stark Printing, where she had worked for nearly 20 years.

Her experience originally centered on prepress. At The Printing Factory, her responsibilities expanded into digital production and broader production work.

Her story illustrates an important aspect of the company's approach to acquisitions: bringing people and their experience into the organization while giving them opportunities to expand their roles.

Stephens is known for her attention to detail and willingness to catch errors before they become expensive production problems.

Her philosophy is that printing is not instantaneous. Good work takes time, communication, and careful review.

Darius - A New Generation of Cross-Functional Experience

Darius joined The Printing Factory in April 2025 after years in the printing industry, including extensive prepress and digital production experience.

At The Printing Factory, he has been able to broaden his responsibilities, working across digital production, envelopes, and wide-format work.

He describes the variety as one of the things he appreciates most.

Instead of performing the same task every day, he can move where the team needs him.

The Common Thread

Across the employee interviews, several themes emerged repeatedly:

Ownership. Employees care about the outcome, not just their assigned task.

Communication. Employees talk to one another and raise concerns when something does not look right.

Flexibility. People cross traditional job roles when needed.

Experience. The team brings decades of printing knowledge.

Resilience. Problems are approached as puzzles to solve rather than reasons to stop.

Quality. Employees ask themselves how they would want the finished product to arrive if they were the customer.

This culture of shared responsibility is one of the company's strongest differentiators.



MEMORABLE PROJECTS & CUSTOMER STORIES

When Printing Becomes Part of the Story

Over three decades, The Printing Factory has produced thousands of projects.

Some are everyday business essentials. Others become memorable because of their complexity, timing or significance.

Kennedy Center & National Portrait Gallery Projects

Through work with Hannah Handmade, The Printing Factory produced invitations, programs and specialty printed materials associated with prestigious cultural organizations, including the Kennedy Center and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

The projects required careful attention to detail because the finished materials could potentially become part of an institutional archive.

The team coordinated printing with specialty processes such as embossing and foil stamping, then carefully handled and assembled the finished pieces.

The Chicago Auto Show Invitation

One memorable project involved a Chicago Auto Show invitation featuring a sophisticated black design, aqueous coating, and foil stamping.

The project demonstrated the kind of specialty production that allows a local commercial printer to participate in high-profile events.

The 50-Inch-Long Specialty Invitation

Another project involved an unusually large, multi-panel invitation for a New York socialite's birthday celebration.

The finished invitation was more than 50 inches long and required multiple panels, specialty printing, foil stamping, and careful assembly.

The invitation was intended to be distributed by hand to select guests at the Met Gala.

Because the finished piece exceeded the company's in-house equipment capabilities, production was coordinated with another printer and then completed through specialty finishing and assembly.

The 90-Page Conference Book

One of the company's most intense projects involved producing approximately 900 copies of a 90-page, full-color, perfect-bound book for a conference.

The project was already behind schedule when production problems occurred.

The team worked through the weekend, coordinating with equipment service personnel and keeping production moving.

It was the kind of job that demonstrated an important reality of commercial printing: the customer often does not see the people and processes behind the finished product.

The Lesson Behind the Projects

The projects vary dramatically, but the common thread is the same:

The Printing Factory becomes an extension of the customer's team.

The company may be producing a business card, a book, an invitation, a sign, or a complex marketing package.

The expectation remains the same:

Get it right.

WHY CUSTOMERS STAY

Reliability Is More Than Meeting a Deadline

The Printing Factory's customer relationships are often measured in years and decades.

Some customers have remained with the company since its earliest years under the current ownership. Others have followed employees from previous printing companies.

The result is a business built not only on transactions but on relationships.

What Customers Value

Based on employee and owner interviews, the strongest reasons customers continue working with The Printing Factory include:

Reliability
 Customers know that the team takes deadlines seriously.

Quality
Employees review projects carefully and are willing to stop and fix problems.

Accessibility
Customers can talk to people who understand the project rather than navigating a complicated corporate structure.

Experience
The team brings decades of combined knowledge across printing, prepress, production, finishing and estimating.

Flexibility
Employees can move across roles when necessary, helping keep projects on track.

Problem-solving
The company is willing to work through challenges involving artwork, production, timing or cost.

Personal relationships
Over time, business relationships can become partnerships—and sometimes friendships.

The Customer as Part of the Team

Employees repeatedly described a mindset that goes beyond completing a job ticket.

They consider how the customer will receive and use the finished product.

That might mean counting and packaging materials carefully, identifying an error in a customer's copy, suggesting a better production approach, or making sure the finished pieces are organized for the next step.

The goal is not simply to print something.

The goal is to deliver something the customer can confidently use.

The Human Side of Printing

Modern technology has dramatically accelerated production, but The Printing Factory's employees emphasize that printing remains a human process.

A project may pass through estimating, prepress, digital production or offset printing, finishing, packaging and delivery.

Every handoff represents an opportunity to catch a problem—or create one.

The company's culture is built around employees having one another's backs.

As John Petrovskis describes it, the best results happen when everyone understands their role in the chain and takes responsibility for the final outcome.

EVOLUTION, ANNIVERSARY PROMOTION & MEDIA RESOURCES

Three Decades of Printing Technology

When John Petrovskis entered the printing industry, production depended heavily on physical processes.

A typical project could involve:

  1. Preparing artwork

  2. Creating film

  3. Developing film

  4. Stripping film

  5. Creating plates

  6. Mounting plates

  7. Running an offset press

  8. Finishing and binding

  9. Packaging and delivery

Today, much of the workflow begins with digital files and moves directly into digital or computer-to-plate production.

The technology has become faster and more efficient, but The Printing Factory believes the fundamentals have not changed.

Attention to detail still matters.

Communication still matters.

Understanding paper and materials still matters.

Quality control still matters.

And perhaps most importantly:

People still matter.

 

30th Anniversary Customer Celebration

To mark 30 years in business, The Printing Factory is offering a special promotion:

Receive a $20 Dunkin’ Gift Card with an order of $100 or more placed until September 14, 2026.

Offer valid on qualifying orders placed August 1, 2026 to September 14, 2026. Limit one gift card per customer. Additional terms and conditions apply. Dunkin’ is not a sponsor of this

promotion and is not affiliated with or otherwise involved in the administration of this promotion. Visit https://TPFprinting.com/content/AnniversaryGift for more details.

The promotion is intended as a thank-you to the customers and business partners who have supported The Printing Factory throughout its 30-year history.

Suggested Story Angles for Media

1. The Small Business That Survived 30 Years of Change

How one independent Lake County printer navigated technology, economic cycles and COVID.

2. From Darkrooms to Digital

A look at how the printing industry changed through the eyes of someone who experienced the transformation firsthand.

3. The People Behind the Print

A story about employee longevity, institutional knowledge, and a team that has spent decades in the printing industry.

4. When Competitors Become Colleagues

How acquisitions allowed experienced employees and customer relationships from other printing companies to continue under one roof.

5. The Jobs You Never See

Behind-the-scenes stories of complex print projects, last-minute deadlines, and specialty production.

6. The Local Printer Behind National Projects

How a small Lake County company has contributed to projects connected to major organizations and events.



MEDIA CONTACT


John Petrovskis
The Printing Factory
847-949-5400
John@TPFprinting.com
www.TPFprinting.com