Here at Graphicsland we aim to make high quality graphic output available to the general public through innovative online design technologies, innovative order processing, and extraordinary customer support.
At Graphicsland we want to become the industry leader for online custom designed bumper stickers, the industry leader for online custom designed POP short term signage, and the industry leader for research poster printing.
Get to know some of the wonderful people that make Graphicsland the leading place for custom printing needs:
Over 35 Years of History
In The Beginning
Graphicsland was started as "Jerry Feil Productions" in 1973 by Jerry as a college student. The first projects for Jerry Feil Productions were designing audio-visual training programs for a popular audio retailer as well as producing many radio and TV commercials. In 1978, Sharon and Jerry were married and the company was incorporated as "Feil Productions Inc."
In 1982, we purchased our first office condo, located on Oak Park Ave in Tinley Park. At 1200 square feet, the condo seemed enormous. At the time, we only had one computer, an Apple II.
In the 80's, we incorporated video production to our capabilities and expanded our technical training clients. We produced over 100 programs for Commonwealth Edison, including training programs used by all employees of ComEd nuclear plants.
The 80's brought another innovation - computers. We began creating graphics and 35mm slides using computers rather than traditional typesetting and paste-up.
During the 90's
During the 90's, personal computers were much more prevalent. Our customers were creating their own graphics using Harvard Graphics and PowerPoint and 35mm slides were widely used in presentations. We developed easy ways to send files via modem to us for converting into slides. During this time we started using the name "Graphicsland" while our corporate name remained "Feil Productions, Inc."
Toward the late 90's, as 35mm slides were on the way out, we saw business start to decrease and asked, "What do we do next?" Many of the slide service bureaus added wide format printing services to supplement their business. While pondering ways to bring wide format printing to the end user, we came upon the idea for a web site where you could interactively design your own signs and banners, and have them printed inexpensively with a quick turnaround. It hadn't been done before, but we were able to create a software engine to create graphics instantly online. We launched a website called MakeSigns.com and went into business doing online signs.
More Recently
The growth of the business in the 2000's has been strong and steady. Associated markets include printing of scientific research posters for universities and hospitals. We've also developed marketing alliances with several franchise organizations, allowing their store owners to create custom promotional signs from corporate approved templates. We purchased additional office space in Tinley Park in 2001 and 2003. We purchased our own office building in 2005.
As we looked to utilize the online design software engine in other markets, bumper stickers came to mind. If there was a way to print a single bumper sticker that could survive weather conditions, there would be a new market. After a number of months of R&D, we finally figured out a proprietary way to print stickers, and launched Makestickers.com. This was right before 9/11/01. The events that have unfolded since then have caused Americans to be more vocal than ever in expressing their views. Many of them found our web sites and made their views known in the form of bumper stickers. Others have used our stickers to promote their band, school or business. A quirky little idea for an online web site has resulted in thousands of customers and the sale of millions of stickers.