On The Cutting Edge

One door closes, another one opens.

In 1997, Randy Cutting quit what he was doing because according to him, the Chinese ran him out of the wood business.

He then started a new endeavor called Graphic Service Company, and it has been growing ever since.

Cutting got into the Fort Smith screen-printing business because there was a demand for it. Although he didn't have experience in the printing side, he was a businessman.

Cutting saw a niche in the T-shirt business and, specifically, in T-shirts for high schools so he started pounding out Lions and Tigers and Bears — oh my! — and most every mascot in the River Valley and beyond.

"There are so many facets to it," he said. "I think the key for us is we have a great designer. As far as I know we have more volume in T-shirts in this area than anybody else."

Cutting's press is in the Guinness Book of World Records. Before he purchased it, the world record of 1,800 T-shirts in an hour was set on it. That convinced him to buy it.

In May, the business added another history-making press: the Agtha flat-bed printer made in Germany was purchased. The state-of-the-art Agtha can print color right on to the outer core plast and on aluminum.

"Nobody around here has one like it," Cutting said. "I had to go to St. Louis just to see one. It is the future of printing. With this you can put a picture on something and can make changes because it is all digital."

The addition of the printer means Cutting can produce more unique signs, which can be attractive to the schools.

Adding the printer was a no-brainer because screen-printing is the type of business where you have to keep up with the latest technology.

"We couldn't afford not to get it," he said. "For having zero experience when I went into this, I'm real glad. I've learned a lot about printing."