Graphic Arts Studio, Inc.

What Graphic Arts Studio, Inc. does

Graphic Arts Studio, Inc. is a privately-held, full-service commercial printing company headquartered in Barrington, Illinois, with an additional production facility in Cary, Illinois. The company operates a 33+ year-old sheet-fed printing business serving the Chicagoland market for B2B customers, organized around three core product lines: Business Printing (brochures, business cards, catalogs, direct mail, annual reports, packaging, and specialty items including lenticulars and thermochromatic prints), Grand Format Printing (banners, trade show displays, posters, and window/floor/wall graphics), and Printing Services (prepress, bindery, foil stamping, embossing, laminating, die cutting, mailing, and fulfillment).

The production stack is anchored by an HP Indigo 12000 HD digital press (the first factory-installed HD unit in the Chicago marketplace), Heidelberg Speedmaster offset presses, an EFI Vutek grand format printer, and a Kompac Kwik Finish 32 coater, with prepress built on Artpro and Esko PDF-compatible workflows. The company is also a Midwest licensed provider of Stick'n Glide™ glue-less display technology. Customer-facing workflow tools include a Document Library, an Online Proofing System, and a PDF Preflight desktop application that supports a 24-hour online ordering and reordering portal, supplemented by an in-house local delivery fleet serving Chicago and Barrington.

The business model is project-based B2B printing sold via direct sales (phone, website estimate forms, customer portal) with quote-based, non-publicly-disclosed pricing. Revenue is generated as one-time transaction fees per project, primarily from local Chicago/Barrington businesses with some larger commercial accounts (e.g., Ulta Beauty, recognized as the 2007 Visual Vendor of the Year). The company is independently owned with no disclosed parent, no venture or institutional funding, and operates exclusively within the United States.

Name

Graphic Arts Studio, Inc.

Legal name

Graphic Arts Studio, Inc.

Website

https://gasink.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Graphic Arts Studio, Inc. is a privately-held, full-service commercial printer in Barrington, Illinois serving B2B clients in the Chicagoland area with offset, digital, and grand format printing plus finishing, mailing, and fulfillment services via a sales-led direct model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Printing Services

NAICS

Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) (323111), Printing and Related Support Activities (3231), Printing (32311)

SIC

Commercial Printing (2750), Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Format & Specialty Printing (Signage, Posters, Displays) (MPAJALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Finishing & Post-Press Services (Cutting, Folding, Collating, Laminating, Foil, Emboss) (MPAJALAF), Prepress & Composition Services (Typesetting, Layout, Color Management, Proofing) (MPAJALAA)

Keywords

• Commercial printing services
• Digital printing
• Offset printing
• Grand format printing
• Print finishing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Barrington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Custom Printing Services: Project-based custom printing services including business printing (brochures, business cards, catalogs, direct mail), grand format printing (banners, trade show displays, posters), and specialty services (foil stamping, embossing, laminating, die cutting). One-time project revenue from B2B customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Graphic Arts Studio is a full-service commercial printing company that produces business printing (business cards, brochures, catalogs, direct mail, annual reports, packaging, and specialty items), grand format printing (banners, trade show displays, posters, and window/floor/wall graphics), and value-added finishing services (foil stamping, embossing, laminating, die cutting, bindery, mailing, and fulfillment). It serves primarily B2B customers in the Chicago and Barrington, Illinois area, with an in-house prepress-to-fulfillment workflow supported by HP Indigo 12000 HD digital presses, Heidelberg Speedmaster offset presses, and EFI Vutek grand format equipment.

Product overview

Graphic Arts Studio is a full-service commercial printing company serving the Chicagoland area for over 33 years. The company operates three core product lines: Business Printing (traditional offset and digital print for documents, marketing materials, and specialty items), Grand Format Printing (large-format signage and displays), and Printing Services (finishing, bindery, and fulfillment). The Business Printing line includes individual products such as brochures, catalogs, direct mail, business cards, packaging, and specialty items like Stick'n Glide™ and thermochromatic prints. Grand Format Printing covers banners, trade show displays, posters, and window/floor/wall graphics. Supporting digital tools include PDF Preflight (file preparation), Document Library (online ordering/reordering), and an online proofing system. The company operates HP Indigo 12000 HD and Kompac Kwik Finish 32 equipment as production technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stick'n Glide™: Midwest licensed provider of Stick'n Glide™ technology - a color-fast, sturdy and tear-resistant display that can stick without glue on any level surface.

Products and services

• Business Printing Traditional sheet-fed offset and digital printing services covering business documents, marketing materials, and commercial print products including business cards, brochures, catalogs, direct mail, envelopes, stationery, packaging, and specialty items like lenticulars and thermochromatic prints, offered to business customers in the Chicagoland area.
• Grand Format Printing Large-format printing services for signage and displays including banners, trade show displays, posters, window graphics, floor graphics, yard signs, wall graphics, and point-of-purchase/point-of-sale materials, served to business and event customers.
• Printing Services (Finishing, Bindery, and Fulfillment) Value-added print finishing and production services including 1-12 color sheet-fed printing, electronic pre-press, color retouching, computer-to-plate technology, bindery services, aqueous coating, foil stamping, die cutting, embossing, laminating, mailing and fulfillment, and international shipping, available to commercial print customers.
• Stick'n Glide™ Licensed Midwest provider of Stick'n Glide™ technology — a color-fast, sturdy, and tear-resistant display solution that sticks without glue on any level surface, available with writing layer or holder for drink coasters or folders and suitable for outdoor applications, sold to business customers needing differentiated point-of-sale or promotional displays.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stick'n Glide™coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerGraphic Arts Studio is a Midwest licensed provider of Stick'n Glide™ technology - an innovative display solution that sticks without glue on any level surface, suitable for table stands, counter displays, drink coasters, folders, and outdoor applications.
• HPcoreTechnology or IntegrationHP Indigo 12000 HD Digital Press - first factory installed HD in the Chicago marketplace. 7-color digital offset press with wide media range capabilities including 97% of PANTONE colors.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cimpress (Vistaprint): Large multi-brand commercial printing platform (Vistaprint, etc.) serving SMB and enterprise marketing print needs. Comparable to Graphic Arts Studio as a commercial printer serving B2B marketing collateral, but operates at vastly greater scale, primarily through centralized/online mass customization rather than local delivery.
• Taylor Corporation: One of the largest privately-held commercial printing companies in the U.S., providing marketing print, signage, apparel, and fulfillment to enterprise customers. Comparable in product scope (commercial print, finishing, fulfillment) but operates at national scale versus Graphic Arts Studio's regional model.
• LSC Communications (acquired by Atlas Holdings / affiliates): Large traditional commercial printer historically serving publishers, catalogs, and direct mail. Overlaps with Graphic Arts Studio's catalog, direct mail, and commercial print capabilities, but at a fundamentally different scale and with a different end-market mix.
• FedEx Office: Nationwide retail printing and document services network offering business printing, banners, and signs. Comparable to Graphic Arts Studio on basic business printing and signage categories, but as a mass-market incumbent rather than a quality-focused regional craft printer.
• Staples Business Printing: National office/retail chain offering commercial printing, signs, and marketing materials online and in-store. Overlaps with Graphic Arts Studio's brochures, business cards, banners, and signage categories, but competes primarily on price and convenience rather than craftsmanship.

Direct peers

• 4over: Trade-only commercial printer offering offset, digital, and large-format printing to resellers and businesses. Directly comparable to Graphic Arts Studio's business printing, finishing, and grand format product mix, with overlapping SKU breadth across brochures, cards, banners, and signage.
• MOO: Premium commercial printer specializing in business cards, marketing collateral, and specialty print products for businesses and creatives. Comparable in positioning as a design-conscious, quality-focused commercial printer serving brand-sensitive B2B customers, though primarily online-direct.
• AlphaGraphics: Franchise network of locally-owned commercial print centers offering business printing, signs, and marketing services. Directly comparable model to Graphic Arts Studio — locally owned, full-service B2B print shop — but distributed across many U.S. markets rather than concentrated in one.
• Sir Speedy / PIP / Signal Graphics (FASTSIGNS family): Franchise commercial printing and sign network serving local business customers with business printing, marketing materials, and signs. Closely comparable to Graphic Arts Studio's B2B commercial print + grand format offering to local Chicagoland businesses, but via a franchise model with national reach.

Regional players

• Catapult Print (Catapult): Mid-sized commercial print and mailing provider serving the Midwest U.S. with offset, digital, large-format, and direct mail services. Comparable in service mix and regional orientation to Graphic Arts Studio, with a similar mid-market B2B focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/graphicasink
• Facebookfacebook.com/graphic-arts-studio-inc-236971256344394
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/graphic-arts-studio-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Graphic Arts Studio, Inc.