The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Z-Graphics by Jan has you covered
Z-Graphics by Jan covers screen printing and embroidery needs
This business prides itself on having seemingly no limitations to designs it can print and the surfaces it can print on.
A Carlisle Township business prides itself on having seemingly no limitations to designs they can print and the surfaces they can print on.
Z-Graphics by Jan, located at 11343 Lagrange Road, has done numerous designs for many businesses and sports teams in the area and beyond.
“We moved in here in August of 2014,” said owner Janice Susak. “That is when I bought the business. I moved it here and expanded it. We do screen printing and embroidery on shirts. We do banners, signs, business cards. We’ve been doing a lot of masks lately as those have become mandatory for a lot of places.
“We also do hats... it’s really anything we can screen print or embroider on.”
Susak said Z-Graphics gets a lot of business from schools and local businesses.
“A lot of what we do are local landscapers, which is crazy to think about,” she said. “For a lot of these small landscapers, the best way to do advertising is on a shirt. When you look around at local landscapers, I’ve created the design for a lot of them.
“For the schools, it’s really all the different groups, sports, club sports and bands,” she added. “We really have a wide range, and folks love what we do and keep coming back.”
Susak said she bought the business because it was a great opportunity.
“My daughter, Jennifer Maiden, her kids go to (Keystone Local Schools),” she said. “She was involved with the PTA and she would pick up the custom stuff from the guy that used to own the business. She found out the guy was selling and told me about it.
“I own Scoops & More (528 W. River Road N. in Elyria), which is a seasonal shop, but I also wanted to add something that I could do year round. So, I bought it and it has been a great business.”
Susak said there is no limit to the printing and designs she can do.
“There really isn’t a limit to what I can print on,” she said. “I also go direct-to garment. The motto is ‘No job too big or small, we do them all’, and that really applies to the amount of an order and what the order is.
“I also work with clients to design logos and things to what they want,” she added. “They have a design in their head, and we work together to get what they want. I’ve also done work off of sketches folks have given me. So, I really can do any design you want.”
Susak said Z-Graphics has clients all over the map.
“I actually have a client in Seattle and some in
North Carolina; I do a couple of sports teams down there,” she said. “But, most of the business is right here in Lorain County. We do a lot of the fire, police and EMT in the area. We do a lot of government.
“We actually go west into Huron and Erie counties frequently as well,” she added. “We have also done some stuff Medina way and in Columbus. I also do the decals for cars, like the logo you see on the Elyria police cars.”
Susak said she guarantees everything they print.
“We take great pride in everything we do,” she said. “We’re not going to give you anything that we wouldn’t wear. There have been times where I’ve had to redo something six times because it doesn’t come out the way I want it to.
“When we say we are going to have something done, 99 times out of 100, we get it done by then,” she added. “Occasionally, we run into issues with getting stuff in stock or if something needs to be redone... but most of the time we meet that deadline.”
Susak said the business also helps out youngsters in the community.
“We are very geared to kids,” she said. “We do a lot of charity work and donations for the college fund for Lagrange. We do a lot of sports. I’ve sponsored some youth sports, so we really help the community when we can.”
Susak said the pandemic has hit the business hard.
“We lost half of our workforce,” she said. “We have my father, Jim King, he’s 94, and has still been coming in everyday working for us. We only have the three of us and a part-time stitcher.
“I had to lay off some because we just weren’t doing the business, and we had to close for a time,” she added. “So much of my business was sports and schools. I’m recovering slowly, but it will only take one more shutdown and I’m going to be hurting.”
Susak said she is very thankful for how the community has stepped up to support the business during this time.
“The community has really supported us,” she said. “There has not been a lot of business lately, but the community has really stepped up. I’ve gotten a lot of folks recently who said they were going to order stuff online from somewhere else, but they wanted to buy from us and support us during this tough time.
“It has helped; it’s kept us above water. I love the community we are in, and I would encourage folks to call us for all their screen printing and embroidery needs.”