2009 Printing Industry Hall of Fame: Quest to Be the Best

"I didn't give much thought to printing until I got into high school," Zebrack says. "I picked the course because I needed a class to finish out the day. And the great thing about my printing class was the instructor, who never took roll, so you could come in late or not at all."

Law school would never materialize, but the industrial arts college set Zebrack on the destined path. After graduating, he worked for a couple of shops as a pressman and foreman, before arriving at Lithographix—a sheetfed and web commercial facility—as a plant superintendent. He quickly learned about the hotbed of competition that existed in Southern California, including George Rice & Sons, Anderson Lithograph and ColorGraphics. And, when he took control of the company, he saw constant reminders of this, not the least of which was a large Los Angeles startup that tried to ply his employees with promises of gargantuan salaries.