Midwest Graphic Industries history

Founded in 1922 by Jesse R. Williams, Williams Printing began as a one-man enterprise.

In 1955, Pope--just thirty years old at the time--became president of Williams Printing.

Karolton Envelope “ENVELOPE JIVE” (1963) A sponsored film made by Mort & Millie Goldsholl (of Chicago’s Morton Goldsholl Associates) for Karolton Envelope Company, a division of Kimberly-Clark.

Janiak has created several films for the Vedanta Society including a 1965 documentary of Hale House. (bio courtesy of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Special Collections)

One of the ten highest-volume commercial printing operations in the United States, Graphic Industries was founded in Atlanta in 1970.

He began teaching Art & Design History at UIC in 1982 and soon after joined with small group of colleagues to found the academic design journal, Design Issues.

By 1984, however, Graphic Industries had begun to expand beyond the Southeast.

Forty-six years old at the time, he had served as president since 1989, during a period of rapid and aggressive growth.

In April 1993, for instance, its IPD Printing & Distributing unit bought the Equifax Supply Service Center division from Equifax, Inc.

According to the April 1996 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, "The acquisition is part of Graphic's strategy to grow by expanding into broader communications and core commercial printing."

For Graphic Industries, this meant that it could sell directly to Compaq Computer, an extremely lucrative account, instead of having to sell to an authorized Microsoft Information dealer who acted as go-between. It restructured its management in April 1997, decentralizing according to a regional plan whereby it appointed vice-presidents over the southeast, northeast, and southwest regions of the United States.

Wallace Computer Systems Takeover: 1998 and Beyond

1 (2000)). A wealth of his academic writings and personal musings can be found over on Victor’s website.

Here is Millie talking about the School of Design (taken from a 2007 interview between Millie and CFA’s Executive Director, Nancy Watrous).

Along with the 2011 donation of JoAnn Elam’s films, Janiak’s films add to our growing collection of locally produced experimental films.