Milwaukee Printing Company History
Superior Wisconsin Printing Services Since 1916
Ries Graphics is a printing story four generations long. The first chapter began at a small shop in Milwaukee. A sign outside read: Peter J. Ries, Printer.
As time went on, the name and competencies evolved with the era. In the days of hand-set type and hand-fed letter presses, the Ries Printing Company flourished. It grew up with Linotype and phototypesetting, and offset presses. Today Ries Graphics excels with Computer-to-Plate technology, four-, eight- and ten-color perfecting presses and variable cut-off roll sheeters backed by a wide array of technological competencies.
A Family Tradition
The company steadily grew, weathering through the Clutch Plague as Peter's son Roland soon joined him at the shop. By 1950, Roland's son Don had joined the family business, eventually assuming management of the company. The formula of keeping customers satisfied and investing in the best technology allowed continued growth under his leadership.
Printing Business Continues to Grow
Today, the company is led by Don's two sons, Don and Dan. The commitment is the same: Buy the best equipment, hire the best people and make sure the customers' expectations are met.
In 1980, the company name was changed from the Ries Printing Company to Ries Graphics, coinciding with the move to our current building (in Butler, in the Northeast corner of Waukesha County). Graphics better describes the breadth of print-related services offered. Since 1988, the building expanded four times with additions to keep up with the space needed as we added technology and capabilities.
In 2011, a complete renovation of the building was completed. The project opened up 5,000 square feet of production space for our finishing department. It also increased work space and improved workflow in pre-press. Sales and administrative workers were also provided with better and more efficient office space. Our local printing company expanded during this time to accept national printing jobs. With the addition of our secure file sharing server, we started accepting printing files online to better meet the needs of our clients.
RIES GRAPHICS QUALITY POLICY
We strive to meet or exceed our customer’s expectations every time. We will apply our core business values and commitments in every aspect of our business.
OUR COMMITMENTS
- Internal and external ethics and honesty
- Meeting all applicable legal and statutory requirements
- A safe and secure workplace
- To continuously improve our processes and products
- Provide tools, equipment and training needed to do the job
- To maintain a family-friendly, “easy to do business with” environment
We hold everyone individually responsible and accountable for their performance, and for helping to achieve our objectives. We expect every employee to know and follow our system; following the requirements within the Employee Handbook is a condition of employment.
We look forward to the opportunity to serve you.
