January marks 30 years since my dad, Dave Philipps, founded Graphic Resource Systems. The industry was very different back in 1996—wide format printers were in their infancy, and vinyl cutters were still maturing and adding features.
As the industry has changed, so has GRS and our offerings. We moved from selling mostly Anagraph vinyl cutters in our early years to water-based wide format printers from Encad. From there, we added solvent printers from Mimaki and Seiko. Things really took off in 2005–2006 when we began selling the Mutoh ValueJet line and brought repair services in-house full time.
Today, GRS has expanded our equipment offerings to include wide format printers (Eco-Solvent, Latex, Dye Sub, UV, and DTF inks), vinyl cutters, lamination tables, laminators, flatbed cutters, substrate trimmers, and heat presses. We will continue to grow and evolve with the industry to ensure we offer the best products and services to our customers.
Nothing in business is guaranteed, and it doesn’t always come easy. Over the past 30 years, we have weathered many storms—including the 2008 housing and financial crisis and, more recently, the 2020 COVID pandemic. Through it all, we have always looked for ways to add value and expand our offerings for our customers. In doing so, we’ve had the opportunity to work with and get to know a lot of great people, both customers and vendors. I wanted to take this moment to express my appreciation to everyone who has helped us reach this milestone.
To our amazing customers, thank you for the trust you have placed in us. Many of you have been customers of GRS for over 20 years. Thank you for allowing GRS to be part of your success. Seeing what you produce with the equipment and supplies we sell has been truly amazing.
To our vendors, thank you for all the support, training, and knowledge you have shared with us over the years. Without it, we would not have been able to become the trusted resource we strive to be for our mutual customers.
Finally, I would like to thank our current and past employees. Without your dedication and hard work for both GRS and our customers, none of this would be possible.
From both Dave and me, thank you for helping build GRS into what it is today. We can’t wait to see what the next 30 years have in store.
Chris Philipps
