Snap Print Has Been in the Family Since the 1930's

For the Dorholts, it's a family affair.

The Dorholts have been in the printing business since the 1930s when LesterDorholt started his own printing company. Today, his grandsons run Snap Print, which evolved from Dorholt Printing and the Hopkins-based company continues to thrive even though the industry has undergone major changes and shifts in the past couple of decades.

“Back in the 1980s, so-called quick printing came into vogues,” said Dan Dorholt, who along with his brother, sister and sister-in-law make up the bulk of the executive team at Snap. “Also, the advent of the digital age has radically changed printing from the days of my grandfather and father.”

Snap was founded in 1979 as a spin-off from the original company.

“Half of the printers from ten years ago are gone or have been absorbed by other printers.”

Snap is located on Shady Oak Road and the vast majority of its customers are within a six- mile radius. The company has a second location in Minneapolis at 26^th and Cedar Avenue.

“About 85 percent of our work is with businesses and the rest with private customers,” Dorholt adds. “Our Minneapolis location focuses most of its work on the medical and dental professions.”

While the digital age and other issues contributed to the demise of a lot of printing companies, it also has, at the same time, made printing far more efficient.

“We have half the equipment we used to in order to do the same amount of work.”

Snap Print has 10 employees in the Hopkins location and two in Minneapolis. Dorholt oversees the financial aspects of the company while his brother Dan is the head of production. His sister Laurie and sister-in-law Kim are responsible for sales.

“We have excellent customers and I like to say once we have them we keep them.”

While business is good and Snap continues to prosper, Dorholt is concerned about the future of the business insofar as its current location. The proposed widening of Shady Oak Road threatens Snap and several dozen businesses and homes between Excelsior Boulevard and Highway 7.

“Up until recently, there has been no clear timetable as to when the project would start,” he said. “However, there is federal stimulus package money tied into it and Hennepin County has to complete the project by 2015 or they lose the stimulus funds.

“We have 22,000 cars a day go by our Hopkins facility and we would like to relocate in a comparable area if we have to move.

“We very much want to stay in Hopkins, but places like this one are not easy to find,” Dorholt added. “Even if we stayed where we are, so much of our current parking space would be gobbled up by the widening of the road and that would not be good at all.”