When Lee Ann June attended a recent conference in Manhattan, she heard “many positive comments about what we do here.”
June is a graphic artist serving customers at Office Products Inc. (OPI) and Golden Belt Printing (GBP), which are co-owned by Kenny and Terry Vink and collaborate on many projects.
At the Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association conference, June networked with athletic directors from all over the state.
“Some of the directors had already seen our sports programs and others reviewed some samples for the first time,” June said. “Seeing them first-hand has a big impact.
“These sports programs and team schedules are full-color on glossy paper. Other businesses that produce sports programs do not offer this quality and are not based in Kansas.”
June, who recently earned her associate’s degree in graphic design at Barton Community College, and Joey Bahr, OPI technology sales manager, attended the conference to showcase the programs and explain how they are produced.
“Some schools need everything – ad sales, set-up and printing. We can take care of it all. Schools then sell the programs and the ad sales pay for production. People are often surprised we handle it all right here in Great Bend.”
While the athletic-team programs are part of June’s duties, she has many others. They include creating and designing: wedding invitations and thank-you notes; business logos; stationery and letterhead; large-format printing for posters and banners; family Christmas letters; and vehicle wraps that can be designed from scratch and/or with a photo.
“Some customers come with their own ideas for projects, while others talk me through what they have in mind,” June noted. “I ask questions to get a feel for a customer’s vision regarding graphics, colors and text.
“And, of course, we still do the basics. We can make copies quickly – usually while you wait,” June said. “These machines are really fast.”
One of her favorite projects is photo restoration because “we can re-create memories from things that cannot be replaced.”
For example, June received two photos that she turned into one. The customer’s brother, who had passed away, was in one photo; a car that the brother worked on was in the other. They are now together in one photo.
In another instance, June’s photo restoration included removing the creases from an old, one-of-a-kind photo.
“We do so much here that it is hard to summarize,” June said. “It is great that OPI and Golden Belt Printing complement one another to meet the customers’ needs.”
June, a Great Bend native, worked six years at the former Lu’s Printing and owned a dance studio for nine years. She will continue her design education through OPI “because there is so much to learn. The Vink brothers always look to the future and encourage education. And I appreciate this.”
OPI is located at 1204 Main in Great Bend; 516 Broadway in Larned; and 724 N. Main in Russell. GBP is at 1125 U.S. 281 Bypass in Great Bend.
