A Man of Motivation

As Print Solutions has turned the corner, Kirkland says many of his staff members have remained on board, buying into the new methods and operating strategies. He also says he and his staff have embraced new technologies, adding an HP Indigo 7600 and taking the time to learn new relevant software.

“I stress to my staff that you can never learn enough,” Kirkland says. “They learned how to do InDesign for prepress because now prepress is pretty much all computerized. [It’s important to] understand and not be afraid of computers. In general, even learning how to use Word, Excel and Office and even Acrobat really helps them.”

Something from Nothing

Though Kirkland has seen the highs and lows that the printing industry has to offer, he still gets a thrill out of creating something new each day. The same love of artistic output that drew him to Birmingham away from the coal mines of Pikeville has stuck with him throughout his career.

“It’s the love of creating something from nothing,” he says. “In high school it was drawing and painting. In printing, I was taking that art and making it look the best I could make it on an offset press.

“When digital came around you were able to get that self gratification much faster than in the offset world because you could just print it on the Indigo and see if it looks good or not,” he concludes. “That is what makes me want to do it every day over again.”