Two Printers Collate; Bind Their Lives Together

Marion and Randy met each other through their printing connections—their former employers did business with each other--and now they have been married for more than five years. And not too long after getting married they decided to run a business together.

The Hollanders own and operate in Fenton at 1165 Gravois Road, a local print shop that’s been a staple in the community for more than 25 years. The couple bought the business after the original owner’s family lost interest in the printing trade.

The Hollanders are no strangers to printing. Marion “grew up” in the business and is a CPA by trade.

“My father owned a press company and my brother started a rotary engraving business,” Marion said. “I’m very familiar with the printing and label industry.”

Randy also has a background steeped in printing and began his career as a pressman at a label printing company in O’Fallon. He worked his way up the ladder until he eventually became an assistant plant manager.

Marion was looking for a new job when ProPrint was put on the market. The couple’s first plan was to buy the shop, then have Marion run it while Randy continued to work for an outside employer. Marion said this arrangement lasted for about six months before she decided that she really needed Randy’s help. He quit his job and now works full time at ProPrint handling the in-house printing.

Marion and Randy enjoy working together and point out that not every married couple can pull off running a business together as they do.

“She does her thing, I do mine,” said Randy. “When we leave the business we don’t take much home.”

One of the reasons they bought ProPrint was because Jefferson County has a reputation for loyal customers. Marion said the community has been very welcoming to them, so when they decided to relocate to a better space they only moved two miles down the road. Their new location has better access and more foot traffic. Though ProPrint’s old building could be seen by anyone driving west on Hwy. 30, it wasn’t obvious how to reach it.

Marion works hard to get to know all her regular customers personally. She feels it’s the personal touch that makes ProPrint a better business. The couple admits that someone could get printing done online at half the cost, but said that a bargain price comes at the sacrifice of quality and customer service.

“You don’t know what you’re getting online and good luck if you need a mistake fixed,” said Randy.

ProPrint has a full time graphic artist on staff who handles design work, whether a customer needs a logo tweaked or drawn up from scratch. They also keep customer artwork on file to make reprints a breeze.

ProPrint handles a huge variety of printing. They print letterhead, carbonless forms, business cards, custom wedding invitations, yard signs, blue prints, small catalogs and even t-shirts with their on-site presses. They also work with wholesalers to print promotional items like pens, mugs, hats, flashlights and any number of trinkets that a company might want to give away.