appointments 
Itís been a tough road for John Stanford, but faith and family have always gotten this Printer of the Month through Taking the easy road isnít what a true Australian Printer of the Month is made of. Image Solutions managing director John Stanford has made a name for himself in the industry by doing something different, taking the many spheres of printing and pulling them into a cost-effective package, creating a cohesive image for businesses around Sydney.

ìAt 16 I took a four year screenprinting apprenticeship. At the end of that I decided I could run a business better than everyone else, which I couldnít, but I dived in and started a company called J.S Signs,î explains John.

ìI formed a partnership with a company that worked with real-estate agents. I said to them ëyou give me all the sign work and Iíll give you a good priceí. When their business fell over moths later, I started printing corflute signs for real-estate agents. However, I saw that every time I arrived at the real-estate agents, my signs didnít look like the shop front, and the shop front didnít look like their business card. As a printer I was saying ëthereís something not quite right hereí. So ten years ago I folded the screenprinting business and took this track of co-ordinating images for small businesses.î

In his 25 years in printing, John has experienced the agony and the ecstasy of running his own business, and has seen many things change. One of the biggest changes he has witnessed is the development of cross-platform software, the lack of which was costing his company dearly at one point. He has also had a close brush with insolvency.
ìThere was a time we nearly had to go bankrupt and we had to knuckle down, go out and talk with our suppliers. We were in debt but we fought our way back to the front. Getting to that point was probably the most memorable time in my whole career.î

Through all these tough times, it has been his family that has taken pride of place in his life. He has also found great fulfilment being involved with his son in the local baseball competition and also working with his local church.

ìThe most important thing is having a family that has stood by me through all this. Iíve never worked on weekends or late at night, and Iíve always gone home, had dinner and spent time with the family. Iíve started at 3am some mornings to do that,î says John.

ìIím also very involved with Hillsong Church where I work, among other things, as an assessor for a group called Teen Challenge. When young guys have serious problems in their lives like drug addiction I go in an assess them and put them into the programme. When peopleís lives turn around thatís what I love seeing.î

Looking back upon what he has achieved and what he has now, John looks forward knowing he may not be a rich man, but as he says, ìif you could measure wealth in contacts and experience, then I am extremely wealthy indeedî. John Stanton: a wealthy man and Marchís Australian Printer of the Month.