PK GRAPHICS — CLUBBING THE COMPETITION

October 2006 BY ERIK CAGLE
Senior Editor

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SUFFERING SEEMS to be one of the leading prerequisites to becoming a successful artist. In many ways, the same could be said for business success.

Miguel Paredes should know, as he is both an artist and a businessman. And his company, PK Graphics, has blossomed into a $20 million performer in just eight years with an annual growth rate of 25 percent. But now that the suffering has receded on the business end, Paredes has encountered a new problem—getting sufficient rest.

“My goal is to sleep,” Paredes, president and CEO, quips.

That’s no surprise, given his exhaustive undertakings. Paredes is a media empire unto himself. His Miami Beach printing establishment is just one facet of the overall picture of Florida-based holdings:

• There is PK Graphics Broward, a satellite office in Ft. Lauderdale.

• This summer, Paredes unveiled a pair of PK Graphics Express boutique storefronts in South Beach and Miami.

• A production facility is located in Pompano Beach.

• Earlier this year, he debuted Paredes Publishing, which offers high-quality giclée reproductions.

PK Graphics has grown considerably, from having four employees just seven years ago to 144 workers today. Originally a brokerage, PK now boasts a pair of six-color Heidelberg Speedmaster CD presses with UV printing capabilities that produce items such as tickets, business cards, flyers and posters.

Working the Club Circuit

A good chunk of Paredes’ clientele fall in the entertainment sector, predominantly the club circuit. He estimates PK Graphics services approximately 75,000 nightclubs nationwide. PK’s geographical base is perfect, as South Beach is the Mecca of the club scene. The market represents roughly 50 percent of Paredes’ business; his boundless energy pulsates like that of his clients’ party-all-night businesses.

The other 50 percent of PK’s business is highly fragmented, including work for brokerages. The company provides brochures and catalogs for the real estate space, as well as general commercial items for ‘mom and pop’ retail businesses.

A transplanted New Yorker, Paredes moved to the Sunshine State and immersed himself in the South Beach culture. He opened a studio there and went into the restaurant business with his father.

Around 1990, Paredes decided to learn commercial art, so he assembled a group of artists to design a line of t-shirts with original characters. While the t-shirt business fell apart, Paredes found himself freelancing his artistic services.

“(One company) wanted to create stickers...something new, urban and hot,” Paredes says. “I worked for them for almost a year and started to realize that I was a very good graphic designer. I was self-taught, and continued training myself on all of the Adobe programs and some of the 3-D programs.”

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