SuperGraphics: Putting the 'Wow' in Wide-Format

Holding a Guinness World Record doesn’t guarantee an Innovator of the Year nomination, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. SuperGraphics, based in Seattle, WA, holds the world record for the largest digital graphic — which measures more than 10,000 sqft and can be found across six bay doors of the assembly building at the Boeing Factory in Everett, WA. As if a world record isn’t enough for bragging rights, it also produced the world’s first digital bus wrap.

When SuperGraphics isn’t producing projects that are “firsts” and “world’s largest,” it is dedicating itself to the environment and running a business that is proudly employee owned.

“SuperGraphics is always trying to live into the name of just being super, being cutting edge, and doing the coolest, craziest, boldest things that they can try to do,” Shelby Cole, SuperGraphic’s brand manager and marketing designer, says.

But SuperGraphics didn’t just appear overnight, it began as Magraw Inc., in 1990 — a leading wide-format printer in Washington state.

In 1997 Magraw was acquired by GM Nameplate, the company then relocated to Seattle and rebranded as XL Images.

Wanting to expand its presence nationwide, XL Graphics acquired California-based SuperGraphics in 2001 and the company then permanently rebranded as SuperGraphics.

What it Means to be Employee Owned

In 2018, employees Josh Carl, VP of MIS/installation; Rob Sullivan, VP, major account sales; and Zac Thorpe, VP, sales account executive got together to buy out SuperGraphics.

“That’s the team that we’re currently rocking and rolling with today,” Cole says. “And as our leadership, they’ve continued to grow the company and take it to an even higher direction, more innovation, more cool … Well, we say cool sh*t. That’s one of our mottos: ‘We do cool sh*t.’”

But aside from doing cool stuff, Cole also believes that being an employee-owned company represents something else entirely.

“They truly believed in the company and where else that they could take it,” she notes. “They have a lot of love for this company, and they’ve really just wanted to see it grow and continue to be more of a leader in the world. And I think that with our leadership team having such a care about bringing creative solutions and innovation to our clients, it trickles down. It really inspires the rest of our team to be excited and be a part of that creative process with our clients.”

Part of that growth came in 2023 when SuperGraphics relocated to a larger facility to keep up with its rapid expansion. Today, SuperGraphics serves several markets like retail, restaurants, athletics, events, and more. But most recently, it expanded into fine art and even merged with two local fine art printing experts from the Seattle region to plant their roots in the fine art market.

“We’ve really leveled up in the past two years our fine art game as well,” Cole says. “That’s something that not everyone knows that we bring to the table, but we have a pretty robust fine art equipment arsenal, where we can make like a bunch of different prints at scale. And we can print it on metal, Chroma Lux, acrylic, and also things like bamboo or birchwood. We really invested into fine art because that’s as detailed or ‘wow factor’ of a print that you can do.”

Not Just Wide-Format … SuperFormat

And if you’re going to really level up in wide-format you have to go big or go home. That’s why in 2019, SuperGraphics trademarked the term “SuperFormat.”

The project that earned SuperGraphics its spot in the Guinness Book of World Records | Credit: SuperGraphics

SuperFormat is a new print classification where the graphics surpass large-format and grand-format in size to be as audaciously large as you can imagine — what else can you expect from world-record holders?
These SuperFormat graphics can also be found at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, but other applications include building wraps, building banners, wall murals, stadium graphics, and outdoor event graphics — and they are all installed by SuperGraphic’s team of expert installers.

Leaders in Sustainability

Aside from doing grandiose projects, SuperGraphics also prides itself on keeping sustainability at the forefront.

Cole explains that the push to be more eco-conscious all stemmed from one event in 2018 not long after the employee buyout.

“We had the new ownership, and there was this project at the Seattle Center where it was a one-day event,” she explains. “And we produced a ton of graphics, including PVC mesh banners just for this one day. What ended up happening is because of weather conditions, they canceled the event. And then thousands of square feet of banner material just ended up in the landfill without even serving a purpose. And that was like something that really struck our management team. And they said, ‘We can do something about this. It doesn’t have to be this way.’”

After that, Cole explains the leadership team spent a year researching different sustainable print options, as well as disposition partners and other materials. And in 2019, the initiative EcoFormat was born.

“The entire goal of it is just to provide sustainable options to try to keep our graphic footprint and our clients’ graphic footprint out of the landfill, and trying to help everyone be as environmentally responsible as possible,” Cole says. “We continue to invest in different materials, and we are always searching for different options. We work with material vendors to try and get them to push for more sustainable options as well. A big thing we advocate for is PVC-free material in particular, because PVC is a material that doesn’t break down very cleanly.”

This initiative is also one of the reasons SuperGraphics was nominated as an innovator. Gary Jones, VP, Environmental, Health, and Safety Affairs at PRINTING United Alliance, notes that the company “exemplifies sustainability leadership by turning environmental responsibility into innovation.”

“Through its EcoFormat program, the company is committed to eliminating landfill waste from graphic projects, expanding sustainable material options, and providing practical recycling solutions for customers,” Jones says. “Its investment in sustainable materials, recycling infrastructure, and customer education demonstrates the type of leadership needed to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. By integrating sustainability into every stage of the project lifecycle, SuperGraphics has transformed sustainability from a promise into a measurable business practice.”

And this holds true, even for those giant wide-format projects where there are PVC-free, 100% recyclable material options available. Through this initiative, SuperGraphics has built open-loop recycling workflows centered around the production of zero landfill waste. By partnering with the Pacific Northwest recycling industry, it ensures all pre- and post-consumer waste is given a clean second use as GigaFuel.

Aside from this initiative, SuperGraphics also joined the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership in 2023.
Cole sees these sustainability efforts as SuperGraphic’s way of being deeply empathetic to what the graphics industry has the potential to do to the planet — and hopefully it can prompt other wide-format producers to think more sustainably as well.

“[This initiative] is really a push to just care more about the world and what impact that our company and our industry can put on the world, and seeing what we can do to actually reduce or even eliminate that impact as best as we can,” Cole says.