HOF 05 Surviving Day by Day -- Donald Samuels

By Erik Cagle

Senior Editor

Truth be known, Donald Samuels never had it made. The managing partner of Pictorial Offset in Carlstadt, NJ—who heads up the third generation family owned company with brothers Gary and Lester—has made a prolific career out of living day to day.

The Samuels brothers found themselves thrust into a leading role in 1980, when their father, Jay, died in an automobile accident. This came on the heels of a move from New York City to New Jersey and the purchase of a new press that did not work all that well. Reeling from the loss of his father and facing the real possibility of bankruptcy after losing two key accounts due to the bad hardware, Don Samuels was ushered into the world of print management.