Ann Arbor printing company moves for first time in 45-year history
Dollar Bill Printing, previously located on Church Street, opened its 3768 Plaza Drive, Ann Arbor, facility in November.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- Since opening in the late 1970s, two things have stayed constant about Dollar Bill Printing -- the building and the people. And while the people will remain the same, they will be continuing their decades-long tenure in a new facility.
Dollar Bill Printing, previously located on Church Street, opened its 3768 Plaza Drive facility in Ann Arbor in November. The company offers a wide range of printing goods, including signs, posters, brochures and postcards.
“It is very, very rare that someone calls here and I say, ‘I am sorry; we cannot do that.’ Very rare,” said Stacy Collick, a sales manager with the company. “And If I do, I tell them where to go. I always have an answer for them.”
The shop’s new facility, which is three times larger than its previous one, has made room for larger machinery. While the company will not be adding services, the new machinery will speed up production.
Dollar Bill Printing has moved just once since it opened near the University of Michigan campus in 1977, previously swapping places with Amer’s Delicatessen, which used to share its building.
“(The owner) wanted to expand, and we needed more space. So we moved across the hall to take that whole side, and then he took the whole side that Dollar Bill’s on,” Collick said. “So we have sort of moved once — we moved across the hallway.”
But, she added, the previous space was tight.
“We want to expand and give our customers more options,” Collick said.
Despite the recent change, the company is perhaps better known for its constancy. Although originally opened by Bill Flack, two of its current owners — Dan Clark and Michael Leonard — served as managers of the company before taking it over in the 1990s. Sean Galanti is also an owner.
The small-business style is part of its appeal for its customers, Collick said.
“We all have the power to make a decision. That’s good for the company, good for the customer,” she said. “We can make that decision without asking the owners, so it makes it a whole lot easier to get things done around here.”
It has also appealed to its employees.
Julie Pratt, a sales manager, has worked with Dollar Bill Printing since 2001. Both she and Collick began working at the shop when they were college students and have stayed on since.
“I think that kind of just speaks to the small family nature of the store,” Pratt said.
Collick agrees, adding that nobody wants to leave the company.
“We all laugh all day; we tell jokes,” Collick said. “We have so much fun because it’s just a family-owned (store), and we’ve all known each other for so long.”
While the change has been “daunting,” Pratt said, the new facility has also brought new opportunities.
“It’s great for us to spread out, have more room, have new machines and new thoughts and ideas moving forward,” she said.
Dollar Bill Printing, 3768 Plaza Drive in Ann Arbor, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday by appointment. Find the printing company online, on social media or by phone at 734-665-9200.