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FlyingColours

Ties of loyalty between founding family members,

staff and clients propelSimpson Screen Print

& Lithography to record success

Story by Victoria GaitskellPhotos by Clive Chan

Joe Ferguson, Carla Johanns, Martin Johanns andJohn Bald of Simpson Screen & Lithography

APRIL 2013 • PRINTACTION • 1716 • PRINTACTION • APRIL 2013

ust as Charles Dickens’ novel A Taleof Two Cities begins, “It was the bestof times, it was the worst of times,”the past year has brought drasticcontrasts of unprecedented successand profound tragedy to SimpsonScreen Print & Lithography Ltd.

I travelled to visit the company twiceat its unique 70,000-square-foot oper-

ation – running screen, litho, inkjet and tonerproduction – in Bloomingdale, Ontario, just outsideof Waterloo. I wanted to see for myself how their remarkable resiliency has enabled them to emergestronger and more determined than ever to succeedafter the past incredibly challenging 15 months.

Building a family businessIn his youth, company founder and President MartinJohanns chose to immigrate all by himself from hisnative Holland to Canada. His inspiration was thatduring World War II Canada had hosted the Dutchroyal family in exile and Canadian forces had led theliberation of Holland, events that made an enormousimpression on him. “My strength came from beingan immigrant,” he says. “I couldn’t have achieved allI have done in Holland, where things were too regi-

mented, there was too much paperwork, and maybetoo many suggestions from family as to what I neededto do in life.” Coincidentally, in Delft, Martin’s school-master and mathematics teacher was the uncle of another successful Canadian printing-companyfounder: Dick Kouwenhoven of Hemlock Printers inVancouver, British Columbia.

While Martin studied at the University of Toronto,he rented quarters in a farmhouse with a friend fromthe Dutch army. Their landlady’s sister, Maddie,ended up becoming Martin’s wife, an enduring lovematch between creative minds that also proved fortunate for the family business. For 200 years, Maddie’s family ran a letterpress printing companyin Amsterdam, and her eye for good business prospectshelped Martin vet the various opportunities and acquisitions on which he has built his success.

Martin’s most important early mentor in businesswas Robert D. Schadt, who hired Martin to work in the advertising department of Husky InjectionMolding Systems in Canada, a job that gained Martinvaluable experience in visual marketing, promotions,film production, and plant layouts. “When talking toclients, [Schadt] could envision the productionprocesses and give quotes for injection molding righton the spot,” Martin recalls. His other earliest jobs included working for a Rotterdam printing operationin high school, running the Canadian in-plant printshop for the Steinberg grocery-store chain, and salesfor several Canadian printing companies.

In 1968, with partner Jim Gough, Martin purchased Staines Printing in Waterloo, a litho company founded in 1936, and renamed it JohannsGough Graphics. “It was easier for us to becomebusiness owners by buying an existing business thanstarting from the ground up,” he explains. WhenGough retired in 1972, Martin renamed the businessJohanns Graphics. After over two decades of opera-tion, ending with a stormy period when the shop became unionized and then decertified, Martin soldthe company in 1987. After taking what Martincharacterizes as a major financial bath in the stock market that fall, he bought his next venture,Simpson Screen Printing, a small, successful screen-printing company founded in 1963.

Whereas at Johanns, Martin had devoted himselfexclusively to sales, at Simpson he changed his focusto pampering existing customers by returning esti-mates within hours and delivering jobs well aheadof schedule. He still maintains these priorities,pointing to a recent commendation from one of hisagency clients that praises the unusual accuracy andrapid turnaround of Simpson’s quotes compared toother printers (a time difference of hours versus twoor three days in some cases). Martin also credits significant contributions to the company’s growthto some exceptional employees who came with thecompany when he bought it, including accountmanagers Tom Shute and Vic Rempel. All thingscombined, “business boomed, margins were excep-tional for the type of work we were doing, andwithin a few years I was back financially to where Ihad been before,” he recalls.

Although the economy entered a recession in the

late 1980s and early 1990s, the continued prosperityof his business required Martin to expand it in 1996from the small Breslau schoolhouse where it wasoriginally located into the present 70,000-square-foot building in Bloomingdale, near the southwest-ern Ontario cities of Kitchener,Waterloo, and Guelph, and an hour’sdrive from the Greater Toronto Area.The place had been previously used byan engineering group to house farmequipment. It not only offered enoughroom for Martin to relocate SimpsonScreen Printing, but also enabled himto buy back Johanns Graphics (whichby then had been renamed XJG andhad gone bankrupt twice under thenew ownership), rename it JohannsLithography, and move it under thesame roof.

Recognizing how tricky it could beto join two businesses together, Martinand Maddie designed and built arestaurant between them, a stratagemwhich helped unite the litho and screencultures and staff. Although today therestaurant no longer has a full-timechef, its kitchen and dining-room remain as testa-ment to Maddie’s gift for interior design, along withother inside renovations that have given the companyan unusually attractive interior, filled with interestingcolours, textures, original artwork, antique printingequipment, and amenities including a tropical fishtank and a small skylit arboretum.

Over the years, alongside the business, Martin andMaddie built a close-knit family of four children (indescending birth order): Erika (a public health nursein Collingwood), David (a composer, sound engineer,and jazz musician in Toronto), Martyn (pronouncedMar-TAIN, rhymes with rain) and Carla. Althoughall their children worked in the family business at various stages, the two youngest, Martyn and Carla,stayed most closely involved over the long term.

Mueller’s first contact with Simp-son was a one-summer internship,when he tried his hand at a little bit ofeverything while studying at RyersonUniversity’s Graphic Communications Managementprogram in Toronto. After graduation, he worked inBritish Columbia for six years as an application spe-cialist for CreoScitex. His job entailed helping majorcustomers in North America and Europe integrate thenewly created PlateMaster system and related softwareproducts. After he moved back to Ontario for familyreasons, he returned to Simpson, initially to developtheir prepress department.

Mueller says screen printing enables Simpson toprint directly on various substrates – mostly styrenes,Coroplasts, and corrugated materials, from thin peel-

Screen, litho, and inkjet under one roofMartin explains that screen printing originated in ancient China, and used to be called silkscreen printingbecause the screens were made of silk. After World WarII, the screens were made of polyester and nylon, whichcould create as fine a mesh as 200 lines per inch, re-sulting in a dramatic improvement in process quality.

Sam Mueller, Simpson’s General Manager, contin-ues: “A lot of people think of screen printers as T-shirtprinters, but our focus in screen printing is on oversizedoutdoor products, all with UV inks that are good fortwo to three years in outdoor conditions, exposed to allthe elements. We also do in-store point-of-purchasedisplays, large-format signage, banners and decals.”

off sticker backings to plastics up to a quarter-inch orhalf-inch thick. (For thicker end products, the less desirable alternative would be to print on thinner materials, then mount or laminate them.) The com-pany’s current equipment includes five screen presses(Sias, Svecia, and M&R), a Komori Lithrone S40 H-UV/UV 6-colour plus tower coated sheetfed press(their latest acquisition), an HP Indigo 5500, three UVdigital flatbed presses (Colorspan and HP), plus finishing equipment. “On the digital flatbeds we canprint up to two-and-a-half-inch-thick substrates forspecialty products such as doors or MDF pegboardsfor in-store displays,” says Mueller.

Improvements in inkjet technology in the last fiveyears have enhanced Simpson’s offerings with shorterruns and quicker turnaround times for high-resolutionimages. Some of its products also combine multipleprocesses; for example, they first print scratch-and-wintickets in litho, then apply a scratch-off metallic latexcoating by screen printing on top. Similarly, they mightuse an inkjet press to apply spot colours on a screen-printed job.

New technologies have also helped them achievegreater accuracy and consistency in colour and ink ap-plication between the different processes. “Typically inscreen printing, a lot of products have low resolutionsof 35 to 55 lines per inch. By contrast, we typicallyprint in 85 line on our largest jobs and for smaller visuals we tend to print at 125 to 150 line. These highresolutions allow us to achieve closer matches withlitho resolutions,” explains Mueller.

He says the company has gradually switched entirelyto UV inks for both screen and litho, enabling them touse a wider variety of substrates on which they couldn’tget good adhesion with conventional inks. The movehas also simplified colour management. “Store signage,sell sheets, flyers, labeling – the colour must be consis-tent for all these products in all three mediums –screen, lithography, and inkjet,” insists Mueller. “Wethrive on making sure we can achieve these matches asexactly as possible. What also differentiates our com-

pany is that everything is availableunder one roof.”

Simpson’s comprehensive special-ized services for the retail field havesecured an impressive list of clients in the food and beverage, grocery,liquor, beer, general manufacturing,and insurance industries.

The careful craft of screen printingEvery year Simpson wins awards forquality and innovation from the Spe-cialty Graphic Imaging Association(SGIA, based in Fairfax, Virginia).They executed limited-edition printsfor such distinguished Canadianartists as the late Ken Danby and takea decidedly artistic approach to alltheir screen production.

Mueller elaborates: “We’ve done alot of internal research, development, andtesting on which screen angles and mesheswork best with different resolutions. Withscreen printing, it’s not any one specific prod-

uct or press that determines the high quality of ourwork. Rather, it’s our expertise at making careful adjustments on things like registration, squeegeepressure, and the durometer [meaning thickness andhardness] of the squeegee. We also play around withinks and emulsions, including out-of-the-ordinaryspecialty inks to create glitter and metallic finishes.”

Martin explains: “While lithography has fewer than10 variables that need to be controlled, screen printinghas over 100 variables, from mesh count, mesh selec-tion, and mesh tension to angle rotations, ink flow,

Continued on page 26

J

The daytime staff at Simpsonin front of the company’s latestacquisition, a six-colour KomoriLithrone S40 H-UV press.

Sam Mueller, GeneralManager at SimpsonScreen Print, firstjoined the companyas a summer intern.

26 • PRINTACTION • APRIL 2013

FINISHING EQUIPMENT

number of coats, lift-off pressure, and soon. That is why you find so many operatorswith art backgrounds in our field. It be-comes a craft.”

“We’re not just producing ink on paper,”add Mueller. “We work creatively with thatink on every job.”

Mueller says the company has manylongtime employees who are experts at thistype of fine-tuning. “They brought a lot ofknowledge with them and have alsolearned a lot on the job, because we’ve chal-lenged them with various products otherprinters have turned down because theydidn’t think they could achieve the look orthe level of quality the client required. Andwhen their expertise is applied to regularjobs, it makes them pop that much more.”

By the time Martin’s son Martyn hadfinished university, he was already ex-celling at printing sales. The company’sscreen artistry took a quantum leap for-ward after Martyn spent a six-month ap-prenticeship at the Graficaza studios ofMichel Caza in Paris, a world-class screen-printing operation that, besides commer-cial clients, has collaborated with suchfamous artists as Pablo Picasso, SalvadorDali, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, JoanMiró, and Andy Warhol.

“Martyn returned from Paris with apassion and very quickly moved our busi-ness into 4-colour screen printing with 200line,” says Martin. “When solving prob-lems, Martyn was able to think outside thebox. He got us into the major retailers by

never saying ‘No, we can’t do it.’ Instead hewould always say. ‘We’ll figure it out.’ In2011, when PrintAction covered Simpson’sinstallation of the HP Indigo 5500, bothMartyn and the business were thriving.

A deeply tragic lossUnexpected tragedy struck on 9 January2012 when Martyn passed away at age 44.

“He was always ambitious and person-able,” reminisces Mueller, who workedclosely with Martyn for 10 years. Their offices were side by side with a window inbetween. “He excelled at building relation-ships with clients, he had a wicked sense ofhumour, loved to play pranks, had a strongzest for life, and he clearly loved his three

children. He was always able to laugh athimself, too, and tell everyone and jokeabout it if he made a mistake

“We miss his spontaneity and practicaljokes. When he was around, spur-of-the-moment events were always happening.One time, when [Martin] was away, Mar-tyn painted his dad’s office pink to surprisehim. Or Martyn would send an internchasing around the building in a futilesearch for a pail of halftone dots.”

Despite his shock and grief, Mueller wasthe person who called all the company’sclients during the first week after Martyn’sdeath to inform them of the tragedy, that hewould continue to keep in close touch withthem, and the company would continueproducing their work to the same exactingstandards as always. Many of the company’sclients and suppliers were among the manymourners at Martyn’s funeral.

“One of the hardest things was just tokeep going and make sure we continued toget the work out the door. We didn’t skip abeat as far as that goes,” recounts Mueller.“I’m really proud of our staff for showingthey wanted to give that much extra andcontinue Martyn’s legacy, his love for print,and his love for people.”

For the first six months, Mueller becamevery active in supporting the sales team, buthe has returned to managing operationsfull time since they have gradually broughtin other reinforcements. Eight weeks afterthe tragedy, Carla moved back with herfamily from St. Catharines, Ontario (whereafter developing trade shows, sales, and aCleveland office for the family business, shehad spent the past 10 years raising her chil-

dren and obtained a Masters degree in Ed-ucation). Relocating to Waterloo has en-abled her to manage her own and herfamily’s personal and professional needsmore effectively, including a focus on revi-talizing the local brand and new businessdevelopment.

Rebuilding for the future“The way I battled through all the intenseemotions was to become an aggressive ad-vocate for a strong collective vision for oursales department and our company, in-creased brand awareness in our local mar-ket, and generally much change andinnovation in a short amount of time,”Carla recalls. One of her first tasks was tojoin her father at meetings with variouscompanies who offered to buy them out.

Although Martin was absolutely devas-tated by Martyn’s loss, he never surren-dered: “When my son died, I had to takecare of his family, my family, the Simpsonfamilies who depend on this business, andthe continuity of our relations with clients.

“I also bought a new Komori press be-cause I felt I owed it to Martyn to move ourlitho quality to the next level. Besides stay-ing true to his vision, I needed to stay busyand involved to deal with the loss of my sonand best friend.”

Carla confirms: “My father and I areboth extremely competitive, and our jointconclusion was that we needed to step thebusiness up a notch.

“We wanted to be there not only for ourimmediate family but also for our family ofemployees. Martin and I wanted them to

GaitskellContinued from page 17

Continued on page 28

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know that we were investing in the longhaul and the next generation – not just theJohanns grandchildren but also all the kidsand grandkids of the families working hereand our valued clients, whose support hashelped build our business – to ensure therewill be future opportunities for all of us.My father has created far too much of aphenomenal foundation here to see it buildanywhere but up.”

In fact, Martin confirms that despite ad-verse events, including a struggling globalprint economy, the past year has easily beenthe company’s most successful year finan-cially, with $10 million in sales.

“Somehow we’ve managed to pullthrough the last year, and now I’m feel ex-cited about the business again and aboutmoving forward,” says Mueller.

“I’ve learned more in the last year thanin the previous 40,” says Carla, “and one ofthe most profound lessons for me is howdeeply I admire my father’s business acu-men, and how much I loved working withMartyn. It’s exciting to witness my dadback at the helm putting a whole new im-print on the business.”

She says they plan to add additional12,000 to 22,000 square feet to their facili-ties for expansion of their fulfillment andkitting services. (For instance, one of theirrecent lawn-and-garden kitting project for1,500 stores in a major chain was com-prised of styrene headers, displays, banners,posters, shelf talkers, and channel strips.)

Martin still doesn’t find the thought ofretirement appealing. “I’m glad I’m still ona journey that is exciting. It’s good for meto be the president in an atmosphere of ex-citement along with younger people.

“I’m especially glad that my daughterhas come back into the business, becauseCarla can see what needs to be done andstands up to me. Also until now I neverfully appreciated that she has unbelievablepeople skills. She can walk into majorcompanies and come out with large or-ders. I am rethinking the succession andtrying to bring her along as part of ourmanagement team.”

Nowadays Martin only comes into thebusiness when he feels he is needed (whichsometimes can be six days a week!). Hespends as much time as possible at his farmin Elora (enjoying his grandchildren), or hiscottage on Lake Nipissing (where in a goodblow he takes out his trimaran sailboat), orplanning a classic log home on the IrvineRiver in Salem, Ontario (where at somepoint in the distant future he may retire.)

He gave me a serigraph of a landscapeMartyn painted in 2002 on which the arti-sans at Simpson collaborated to produce alimited-edition print to honour Martyn’smemory. (The word “serigraph” differenti-ates a screen print produced as an artisticwork versus one produced for industrialuse.) Entitled “Northern Retreat”, it showsa tranquil eastern view of Lake Nipissing.

“Life is like canoeing down a fast river.You can pick your landing spots but youcan’t control them,” concluded Martin.“I’m still trekking the waters, and I haven’tdecided on a final destination yet.”

GaitskellContinued from page 26

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