2013 Hall of Fame : Frank Defino Sr. - Printing's Heavy Hitter

Defino would co-opt the elder Kirchner's goal and build Tukaiz into a Midwestern prepress and printing powerhouse. "I wanted to keep the name and the dream alive," he says. "Today, I have my sons—Frank Jr., John and Dan—son-in-law Christopher and daughter Maryann as my partners."

Print and graphics have long been an influence in Frank Defino's Sr.'s life. He started out by doing typesetting in high school and graduated, both figuratively and literally, to letterpress shop Monarch Printing in Chicago. His first day there was the evening of high school graduation. After Monarch, Defino landed at Alco & Gravure, then at Segerdahl Halford, which was his first lithography job. He has vivid memories of working for Joe Halford and Gil Segerdahl, and recalls the somber day when he arrived at work to learn that Halford had passed away.