Congresswoman Young Kim Visits Image Options

In early October, U.S. Representative Young Kim (R-CA-40) of California visited Image Options, a print service provider based in Lake Forest, California, part of the Congresswoman’s district. She had the opportunity to tour the impressive facilities, speak with various staff members, and get a broad view of just how diverse — and essential— print truly is.

Brian Hite, principal and co-founder of the company, spearheaded the tour, along with his business partner and co-founder Tim Bennett, and the CEO of the company, Barry Polan. They gave Kim a tour that encompassed everything they do, from wide-format print, to retail and tradeshow displays, to corporate projects — including their fully-equipped wood and metal shops.

Kim was surprised and impressed at the sheer size and scale of the operation — and was further impressed when Hite pointed out that “there's 30,000 employees in the print industry in California, and the payroll for those 30,000 employees is $1.6 billion a year. When you're talking about, you know, constituency size, industry sizes, this industry is kind of hidden.” He further pointed out that collectively, in California alone, the industry generates as much as $6 billion in revenue — far larger than most people realize.

Bennett also explained that part of the role of printers isn’t just to take a finished idea and make it reality, but to help them refine the ideas in the first place. He noted that they regularly bring customers in for the same type of tour Kim was getting, noting, “we love our clients to come in. They’re very creative, but sometimes they have no idea how things are made. Sometimes an idea comes in on the back of a napkin, and sometimes it comes in ready to go — and there is a lot in between those two solutions.”

That point was driven home as the team showed off the wide range of equipment and processes — not just the printing and fabricating, but also fulfillment, electronics, textiles, even the machinery to produce their own shipping cartons and boxes. Around every corner there was something new being created, using different technologies, and Kim was able to grasp, by the end, that “print” isn’t just a desktop machine, or a copier, or even a newspaper press — she was able to see that “print” actually touches nearly every part of our daily lives.

Kim noted that she had briefly talked to her colleague, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR-5), who had the pleasure of touring another print shop, Premier Press in Portland, Oregon, earlier this year, but that it really didn’t hit home what “print” was until she was able to see it for herself. She noted, “Once we make these visits and see it for ourselves, we walk away with a better understanding [of print], and then it’s easier to talk to my colleagues about this industry.” She was so impressed, in fact, that she is now planning to look into joining the 118^th Congressional Printing Caucus to get more involved in helping advocate for the industry’s needs.

In talking to the staff, she elaborated, noting, “The way most people understand printing is just printing out of your computer onto paper, but this is far more sophisticated, but lesser known by members of Congress the scope of work you do. I’m walking away with a better understanding — a deeper understanding — and a little bit better knowledge about this industry.”

Kim was also impressed by the wide range of technologies on display, noting that one of her roles as a member of the House Financial Services Committee is to stay on top of what businesses need on that front as well. She noted, “I want to thank the leadership at Image Options for your innovation, and using the emerging technologies, and that's applied in anything that you do here and in today's world. Obviously, we have to understand that technology is what gets our businesses to grow, and be more successful and more competitive, domestically and abroad. And that's part of my job as a policymaker [as well.]”

At the end of the tour, Kim presented the leadership of Image Options with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition to acknowledge “all the work that you do, especially the leadership role you have taken in the printing industry, and in helping us understand this is so much more than just printing,” she said.

After the tour was over, Hite noted, “Congresswoman Kim kindly offered to explore ways to further assist California businesses like ours in competing more effectively with those in other states. Her commitment to enhancing recognition of the print industry on a national level is greatly appreciated.”

In the end, everyone came away from the tour feeling like they had learned something — about the print industry, about what Image Options specifically does, and about how Congress and policy makers can influence businesses and help improve the ability to compete, grow, and thrive. If Rep. Kim does decide to join the Printing Caucus, she will be warmly welcomed, and invited to tour other types of print operations in her district to learn more about an even broader subset of the industry — such as direct mail, or packaging — so she can continue to learn more about what makes print so vibrant and essential.