Impressive Imaging eyeing future growth

Inside the Maricopa Business Center off Honeycutt Road, Impressive Imaging is a little copy shop that specializes in big banners, big prints, big orders, but they also welcome smaller jobs.

May 1 marked the shop’s three-year anniversary. In 2008, owner Robert Kistler found there were no other copy centers in Maricopa that could serve the printing needs of local businesses. If you needed a hundred professional spiral bound reports, complete with color graphs, sales charts and glossy photos, you had to travel to either Casa Grande or Ahwatukee to get it done. 

“Since we started, we’ve serviced most of the schools and churches in the area, worked with a lot of home businesses and provided plenty of marketing brochures, coupons, postcards and fliers for local businesses,” said Kistler. “However, we actually have customers from all over using us, from Casa Grande and Phoenix all the way up to Las Vegas.”

The operation is currently a two-man crew. Along with Kistler, Rob Lemay works with customers on their specific requests and designs.

“Walk in with your own prints or sketches of your own design, e-mail it or just come in with an idea. We have many design tools, and we even make a few samples before going full scale,” said Lemay. “I think one of the benefits of using us is that we help the businesses and the community on an individual basis to create the best product.”

Despite the strains of the economy, Impressive Imaging has managed to stay relatively busy.

“There’s no question that all businesses have had to be more resourceful to draw customers. We are a small shop; we understand the customers’ needs in terms of marketing and know that we have to remain competitively priced to maintain our own growth,” Kistler said.
 
Thinking forward, Kistler is looking at expanding operations and is considering different ways to better serve the community. “As we’re growing, we’d also like to have more space and look into hiring more employees. Visibility is also something we’d like to improve upon as not everyone is aware of the Business Center.”

With improved visibility Kistler is hoping that more “everyday” people will be drawn in to the shop. “People sometimes walk in and have ideas they want to present as gifts or to mark special occasions. We have parents who make calendars with their kids for the grandparents, or have us blow up photos and make posters. We definitely enjoy that personal aspect to what we are doing and would like to have more of it.”

Kistler is also thinking about adding a computer for the customers. This would allow customers to have more flexibility, independence and privacy with their documents.

“What I like is that these guys really take the time to make sure everything is right,” said customer Ali Hajaig, owner of Seven Cups Coffee. “They have a lot of patience when they are working with you and the ideas you have. They care just as much as you do about the finished look because they’re a part of the community, not just some big company with anonymous faces.”