2025 Fast-Track Firm: FolgerGraphics Drives Growth with Quality and Customer Service

The “Fast-Track” company profiles provide insight on why some companies on the Printing Impressions annual list of the largest printing companies in the U.S. and Canada have performed so well. We spoke with them to find out how they view their companies and the printing industry in general moving forward.

The businesses recognized as this year’s fast-track firms attribute their successes to a variety of factors, including new technology, innovative strategies, and strategic investments.

Read below why Printing Impressions recognized FolgerGraphics as a Fast-Track Firm.

FolgerGraphics | Hayward, California

Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $9.24 million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $7.87 million
Percentage Change: 17%

From left, Matthew Revak, production and technical services manager; Rob Wehner, operations manager; Kirk Folger, CEO; Lawrence Nair, bindery and mailing manager; and Tom Jansen, general manager. | Credit: FolgerGraphics

The primary secret of Hayward, California’s FolgerGraphics’ success is “having a team of employees that cares about quality, as well as providing good service to customers,” says company CEO Kirk Folger.

While he admits that some of the growth came from the closure of another printer in the area, which in turn allowed FolgerGraphics to pick up some of those customers, it wouldn’t be able to keep them long-term if the company wasn’t backing up great quality printed products with outstanding service — no matter how large or small the customer or the job.

Traditionally, the company has focused on general printing and mailing services, as well as printing election-related materials like voter guides, though that business is cyclical. However, Folger notes that most of that work comes from another printer in the area, and FolgerGraphics helps out when that business ramps up for big elections.

“That’s a heavy sudden load of work to do, and they can’t handle it all themselves,” he says. “So we help them out, and we’ll see what comes next time around.”

As for the “bread and butter” business it focuses on, print publications are still an application that is “thriving,” Folger notes, although the consolidation in that space means it is one they are keeping an eye on. In the meantime, he is looking to diversify the company’s offerings even further, looking to add things like wide-format printing or promotional products to the lineup. That said, Folger is looking for partners he can send that work to — at least for now — allowing him to capture a greater percentage of his customers’ business without needing to invest in new equipment right away.

“We want to make them aware that ‘Hey, in case you’re thinking about getting some squeeze balls, or T-shirts, or whatever, we can help you with those too,’” he says. “I want them to let me know what they’re looking for, and I can give them a quote.”

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t looking to invest at all. Rather, once he tests the waters, he is open to investing in the equipment that makes sense, and bringing that service in-house. One of the applications he’s currently exploring is membership cards.

“If we find we can do that in-house, the machine is only about $100,000, and if we’re making [at least that amount] it’s a possibility,” he says. “We’ll take it one step at a time.”

That philosophy — of testing the waters to see what applications his customers really want and then investing in the equipment where there is a strong business case to be made — has worked well for them.

“That’s how we’ve grown to where we are now,” Folger says. “We started with a two-color press, and then we found a small four-color press, and then a bigger four-color press, and then [multiple presses] that are five- or six-color. You just take baby steps and grow your operation where you think it will do the most good.”

Today, it is running two web presses, although one is older and Folger is considering replacing and upgrading it to be on par with the second, offering more flexibility and redundancy.

“It’s not a done deal yet,” he notes, “but we’re exploring it and we just might take that on.”

In the end, the company, Folger says, is “pretty good at what we do” on web sheetfed applications — whether that’s mail or something else entirely. And with its network of partner shops it has cultivated, it has created a strong business that can address a wide range of printing needs for its community and customers.