by Cassandra Balentine
Important characteristics of a print business owner include curiosity and consistency. A unique business, print offers benefits and challenges not unlike other industries. However, the opportunities are endless if you have the right mindset.
Beginning in 1973, the Minuteman Press franchise features more than 1,000 locations worldwide. One of those is Minuteman Press Matthews, NC. This particular Minuteman Press operation has been around for 30 years with the original owners selling in 2022, it was sold again two years later to the current owner, Franchesca Mazariegos.
A sharp businesswoman, Franchesca recently hit the one-year mark of ownership on this location. She said it’s been a whirlwind. Without a print background, she is determined to learn how to operate a successful print business from the ground up.
Her personal resume includes a lot of work in accounting and operations, as well as learning new industries. For example, she helped build an açaí business with an accounting client, working in the industry for eight years. She also co-owns a local healthy food restaurant in Charlotte, NC with her husband. While he oversees the restaurant’s day-to day operations, Franchesca handles the accounting and back-office functions in addition to running the print business.
Luckily, the ownership transition aligned with a biannual Minuteman Press conference, which served as a great networking experience. “What I learned from other owners was invaluable information. As I understand more about the business, things they mentioned months ago suddenly click at the right time,” shares Franchesca.
A Mix of Clientele
Minuteman Press Matthews, NC currently has three full-time employees and occupies a 3,000 square foot storefront and production facility. While it mostly services the local area, it also serves several national customers and many clients up and down the East Coast.
One thing Franchesca has learned about the print business is that it tends to be cyclical. There are times when it’s all hands on deck, bringing in help from family, friends, and other co-workers to meet deadlines, while other months are almost too slow.
The new ownership team at Minuteman Press Matthews, NC has gotten to know its customers. For example, they do a lot of work for local churches and organizations. Many of these clients are mid-size businesses with monthly orders and are well adept at presenting what they need without too much direction or drama.
These mid-size customers are the sweet spot, dream customers for Franchesca. “I love my big customers, but mid-size customers are the golden gem. They are consistent and when you show that you’ll take care of them, they come back to you.”
Knowing and Growing
A majority of the services offered by Minuteman Press Matthews, NC are digital in nature. Its equipment lineup includes both digital and wide format printers. It operates a Xerox 4100s and a new Xerox Proficio PX500 production press, as well as two wide format printers from HP—the HP Scitex FB750 flatbed UV device, and HP Latex 330 roll-fed press.
The Xerox Proficio PX500 features a fifth station for specialty inks and enhancements in order to expand capabilities beyond CMYK.
Of course, the print provider also operates a versatile range of finishing equipment, including the Duplo DC-646 Cutter Creaser, Summa D Series cutter, hot and cold foil lamination, a folder, guillotine cutter, as well as a shrink wrap machine.
It also invested in apparel products, including a heat press, hat press, and sublimation capabilities, with a single-head embroidery machine from ZSK expected to be installed in the coming weeks. “I’d love to see the apparel offerings grow. Now having a lot of the capacities in house we’ll be able to do a push for this type of work,” says Franchesca.
Production Focused
With a majority of its work digitally printed, the shop’s Xerox machines are essential to the operation. The prior owners employed multiple offset presses, but the focus is now on digital, with about 47 percent production and the rest wide format and apparel.
Entering the business, the shop had two Xerox 4100s, with one coming up on the end of its lease. The Xerox Proficio PX500 was installed in April of this year, with the fifth imaging station option. The press offers color printing, built-in automation, and rated speeds of up to 100 pages per minute.
The fifth color station was important to Franchesca’s vision for the future. “We’d love to expand on that, showcasing what the fluorescents and gloss can do.”
At press time, the company was settling in with the new press. The first order that called for clear gloss came about after a networking event where someone asked if she could duplicate a real estate brochure. “I could tell it had a UV coating and I knew we could match it with the Xerox Proficio PX500 clear gloss. We did it with a clear gloss and it came out perfectly. The difference between the two was negligible. Now, this customer will order these brochures in small increments because we have the ability to do that,” notes Franchesca.
She is also excited to get into more fluorescent work. She notes the Minuteman Press logo has a specific orange, P165—a spot color it couldn’t accurately hit before the Xerox Proficio PX500. The print provider is slowly transitioning all marketing materials to include the vibrant logo as it should be, which is sure to generate attention to the pop in color it now offers.
Getting its Xerox machines to run optimally did take some work. Franchesca admits there were challenges early on, but credits Xerox’s sales and service teams for staying engaged and working through those issues. One Xerox technician in particular made a significant difference by taking the time to listen, understand the challenges, and work through them alongside her team. She admits that while the machines weren’t at 100 percent when she first got on the scene, the company’s commitment to finding a solution helped get the equipment performing to her standards.
“When we had challenges at the beginning, the sales technician really listened to what we had to say. I expect perfection out of our machines and we didn’t stop until we got there,” says Franchesca.
High Expectations
Coming into a new industry takes courage, commitment, and creativity. Franchesca has it all. The Minuteman Press Matthews, NC franchise continues to invest in solutions that align with its goals and support expansion. Technologies like the Xerox Proficio PX500 promise opportunities for high-value digital offerings that pop.
Oct2026, DPS Magazine
