NA Graphics

NA Graphics has a very good reputation, never bought from them but I’ve never heard bad things about them.

Don’t know why the hit and miss at NA. I have ordered and had super results and on a most recent order I received the majority of the items and a small item was missing. I double checked the box, checked the invoice and was charged for it, emailed about the item and tried calling and no results. I have been to there facility and was impressed. They just don’t have good customer service and follow through. Kind of always thought that Fritz needed another answer man other than himself - you know to share the responsibility.

I have ordered once from NA graphics and was extremely impressed with the customer service. Everything I ordered arrived promptly and completely. I would not hesitate to order again, and plan to soon.

I also have only ordered once from NA Graphics, but the order came through as expected. Hopefully, those folks having problems will be able to get them sorted out as quickly as possible and those problem orders will remain a minority of the total.
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Michael Hurley
Titivilus Press
Memphis, TN

I have kind of written it off as a loss at this point. What annoys me is this is money from students fees so the students are the ones who end up losing.

There are other dealers out there so they get our business.

You can try American printing supply
http://www.americanprintingequipment.com/

I tried ordering from American Printing Equipment & Supply a couple of years ago and never received the order at all. They ultimately refunded my money (after months of “It’s on back-order”), but I never did get what I ordered.

I think this is just going to be a problem for letterpress supplies. We are a tiny, hobby market and the retailers know it. Either they’re like Fritz, who is a supporter of the hobby but has a day job as well (I seem to remember he runs a restaurant and does contracting work) and so can’t focus on the letterpress retail side as much as we’d perhaps like, or they’re like American Printing Equipment and primarily sell to the offset litho world with letterpress being a tiny and not-very-profitable slice of their income.

Depending on what you were trying to buy, you may also check around with people like John Barrett of Letterpress Things or Alan Runfeldt of Excelsior Press. Though Alan is a bit hard to contact sometimes.

You can also try Pressworks in Texas. They seem to have a stock of letterpress parts.
pressworksmaximum.com

http://www.briarpress.org/34767 Sal sells furniture
http://www.briarpress.org/yellowpages/browse?t=53
12 listings for ink suppliers

And if you happen to be looking for tubes of ink (ink in smaller quantities than cans), although N.A. Graphics doesn’t seem to be able to get them at the moment, Letterpress Things does carry some. Or you can e-mail me directly (at Ink[at]Orchidesign.com) for a list of well over a hundred colors I have available in “quarter pound” tubes (actually about 5 oz.).

Dave (the Ink in Tubes guy)

I just want to say, We placed an order over the internet from NA Graphics on Thursday about noon, we received an email Friday morning that our order has shipped and will arrive on Monday. I call that excellent service, and highly recommend NA Graphics to everyone. Good job Fritz!!!!

I debated about responding to any of this thread and usually prefer to deal with people directly rather than through public forums. I’ve owned NA Graphics now for 17 years and do it pretty much full time. We do have a construction business that is quite active, I’m involved with community affairs at the governmental level, and have now been a letterpress printer for 59 years. The Kelsey press I bought new as a teenager and that arrived by Railway Express sits in the next room. I’m now afflicted by the ailments of old folks, and have spent part of this past summer dealing with a total knee replacement and its after affects, like physical therapy, but here I am on a Sunday morning at the office getting ready for business tomorrow, partly because my scheduled physical therapy is a 100 mile round trip 3 times weekly in the afternoons.

I was pleased to receive a nice email this morning from one of my college classmates—we both missed our recent 50th reunion in Pittsburgh but we occasionally correspond. We were both printing management students in college—he went on to be highly successful and I dropped out to move to the mountains in 1970. I thought I’d share his comments about letterpress:

I don’t view Letterpress as a laughing matter. At 15 years old, I started my love of printing with a Kelsey hand press, moved up to foot treadle platen, then a C&P with feeder, then another. All in my Mom’s basement. When I sold my company and retired in 1988 it employed 150 people operated 24/7. There were 4 40 inch Heidelbergs, 4, 5 , and 6 colors. Also web presses with inline finishing. But the real prize that nobody could compete and what brought us a lot of premium work was our 3 Kluges. Used mostly for foil stamping, we also did die cutting on occasion. Letterpress is my origins and still my love. I salute you for doing all that you do to keep letterpress viable!

My friend Harvey owned Hochstetter Printing in Pittsburgh and now lives near Ft. Bragg, California. I had shared with him this photo I took a few weeks ago from the front door of NA Graphics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53177163@N00/9899527804/

Fritz Klinke

Fritz

Sorry to hear about the knee. Starting to feel the old folks things myself. I’m not sure why, but letterpress folks who are solely running their shops, seem to be unaware that a number of (non-corporate) suppliers are doing that as well. Sometimes there are problems, illness, etc., that might prevent one from being Johnny on the spot. At least you are out there and holding it up; why has letterpress suddenly become so urgent? Or maybe it is just folks who are constantly putting things off until the last minute?

Gerald

Hope your replacement and therapy give you the relief you need. I’d like to replace my lower back, but they haven’t figured that one out yet. Thanks for all you do for us by keeping tools and supplies available at reasonable prices. I, for one, really appreciate your knowledge and experience in the trade, and your willingness to share it. And if my shop had a view like yours I would have a hard time getting any work done.

Paul

The internet is not all that great. We all think if we email or order on line someone will reply to our request.

Over the past two years, I have purchased from NA Supply. Very happy. Sometimes I have to email to see a time frame on items.

As all small business, we something have a lot going on at the time a customer emails us.

I lost a great account last week. A major customer that could give me that would pay all my bills.

But, the day they emailed a request on a quote, I was knee deep it work. Couldn’t think about the quote and get other work done.

The customer when I contacted them the next day, had already from two other suppliers for their work.

The major problem is small business, we do not have the money to hire people, and when work comes in we can only handle what we can do correctly at that time.

NA and all the other suppliers I think are just one person shops doing the best they can do.

I’ve had great experiences with NA.

In my experience, Mr. Klinke put the interests of his customers over his own. He generously spent some time bringing me up to speed on things letterpress and discouraged a big purchase from NA that he thought not prudent on my part. Such service and honesty is real gold!

I have ordered often and the orders have been filled promptly along with a good deal of help about this and that. NA Graphics continues to be an excellent source for what I need.