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Todd Meissner, President of Color Ink, Inc., began his journey in the printing industry as the second employee of the company shortly after its inception in 1984. This period coincided with the introduction of the Macintosh computer, a development that would become instrumental in transforming both the printing industry and broader cultural practices. Over the years, Todd has witnessed and adapted to the profound changes brought by technological advancements, ensuring Color Ink remained at the forefront of innovation.
As the digital age progressed, Todd recognized the challenges facing traditional print media. By 2010, he foresaw the need to diversify Color Ink’s offerings to sustain and grow the business amidst the decline of commercial printing. He identified several key areas for expansion, including consumer packaging, web-based portals, graphic design, structural design, retail signage, retail displays, and consumer products. This strategic pivot allowed Color Ink to tap into new markets and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.
In 2012, Todd spearheaded the launch of FunDeco, a new venture focused on developing, marketing, producing, and distributing a unique line of consumer products. The goal was to sell these products through major retailers and college bookstores nationwide. The success of FunDeco was swift, leading to the opening of a dedicated retail store in February 2014. This store not only introduced FunDeco products to a broader audience but also served as a showcase for the brand, demonstrating Todd’s ability to innovate and adapt to market demands.
Color Ink is an experiential communications company delivering high-impact solutions through robust print and finishing equipment in a state-of-the-art facility. They specialize in creating attention-grabbing experiences, from packaging and visual displays to retail signage and influencer kits, transforming ideas into impressive realities. With a focus on innovative technology, eco-friendly materials, and expert design, Color Ink excels in converting concepts into 3D displays that are both structurally sound and easy to assemble.
Chris Santomassimo: And I’m excited to talk to Todd Meissner today, a friend of ours who is the president of Colorink. So welcome to the podcast.
Todd Meissner: Thanks for having me, Chris. It’s a pleasure joining you.
Chris Santomassimo: So Color Ink, by the way, is, as you can guess, it’s printing and packaging business, and it’s based in Sussex, Wisconsin. And Todd and I had the pleasure of getting together not that long ago at one of the packaging summits to get introduced. And I thought, Todd, your business is not only successful, but pretty interesting. And I’d love to have you talk a little bit about it, talk about strengths, and introduce people that don’t know color ink to what you do.
Todd Meissner: Yeah, sounds good. So we’re a 40 year old family run business. My father started the company back in 1984, and for about ten years prior to the start of the company, we were a design studio, really servicing a lot of the industrial companies based here in the Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin area. Back in those days, there was a lot of printing going on. And so around 1985, my father decided to install a printing press. Add that to the mix, and I came on board shortly after that happened, and we were able to just grow the company by leaps and bounds, just because printing was just so ripe for the picking in our marketplace. So for many years, that’s what we did. We serviced kind of the local market, printing, advertising materials, direct mail, sales literature, a lot of technical manuals just in the local market. And from there, we’ve grown to a nationwide customer base, servicing customers in New York and California, Chicago, and still all the while, you know, serving our local market as well. But much of what we do now is completely different than back in the day. You know, it’s no secret that commercial printing is kind of really diminished in its size and scope. And so I consider ourselves more of a visual marketing company now, focusing on in store retail, consumer packaging, loyalty marketing, you know, omnichannel marketing, you know, those kinds of things. And so it’s been an exciting ride. And in the last five years, I’ve had the benefit of having my son Austin join us. And so now he’s third generation in the company, and his role is to really handle all the operational aspects of it, you know, the staffing, the scheduling and all that part of it. And I’m more on the, you know, the p and l side, the vision side strategy, and that’s kind of how we operate. We’ve got about 100 employees at the single location here in Sussex.
Chris Santomassimo: That’s amazing. I love these stories about the second, third and fourth generation in some cases, that are taking the business that their ancestors formed and really taking it to different and higher levels, really growing it organically grown by acquisition, etcetera. Congratulations on being able to do that and bring in the next generation successfully.
Todd Meissner: Yeah, thanks. I mean, honestly, printing has been known for being a very sexy and appealing industry to be in. And I think for the most part, as an industry, we don’t do a good job of marketing ourselves to the next generation and to the younger people coming up in business. But I think we’ve done a good job of transforming our company to be kind of leading edge of technology, kind of a white glove operation. And you walk in here and it’s a clean operation. It’s a lot of digital print processes and finishing processes. We incorporate a lot of technology into what we do. So I guess you could say this isn’t your father’s printing business, that’s for sure.
Chris Santomassimo: No doubt. Yeah, I’ve said it a hundred times on the podcast, Todd, that technology and the confluence of technology and putting ink on paper, when you put it all together, it’s a pretty interesting combination, even for young people that are thinking about what their career path should look like and whether print is part of it.
Todd Meissner: Yeah, and I think that’s important. It’s kind of a double edged sword, because on the one hand, I think with all of the technology that’s emerged and the shortcuts that we’ve taken from going from concept to printed piece, a lot of the craft of the whole process has been taken out.
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