ARC Celebrates Centennial
By Brian Watamura Director of ARC Document Solutions
If a business reaches its 100th anniversary, it can toast a storied past and its propensity to evolve. That’s certainly the case for Honolulu’s ARC Document Solutions. We began in 1914 as The Blue Print Company and as the only reprographics company in Hawaii.
Surveyor and future Honolulu Mayor George Wright started the business in 1914. Three years later, he partnered with his brother Stanley Wright, also a surveyor, and Frederick Harvey, a civil engineer. The business then became a subsidiary of the trio’s survey and civil engineering firm – also the only one in Hawaii at that time.
When ARC stepped in, it moved the center to its current location and introduced new technologies. The timing enabled the shop to show double-digit sales growth through the recession.
At our centennial event, ARC printed faux passports that guided guests to stations, where they received demos of ARC products and services: Planwell Collaborate, Managed Print Services, Color Graphics, Hyperlining, iShipdocs, BIM Services, Planwell Enterprise and Reprographics. The tour showed how we have modernized over the years. The event was highlighted by a visit from Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who delivered an inspiring message and helped us celebrate the occasion.
ARC’s move into commercial color graphics in 2009 was the pivotal moment in our recent past.
When open house guests got their passports stamped at the Color Graphic station at our centennial, they got a look at the HP Designjet L25500, the latex plotter that is the Honolulu center’s workhorse.
That equipment allowed us to break into the commercial graphics arena. The large-format plotter prints at 60 inches wide and its latex ink is an eco-friendly solution. The latex means no need for additional building ventilation, and it’s water-soluble and safe for the environment.
Our color services have attracted clients such as the UFC-B.J. Penn Gym, Jack in the Box, Jamba Juice and many local surf shops.
We’ve reached that customer base by expanding the services we offered and bringing in that color department, which most of our retail customers use for window graphics, door graphics and other signage.
