High Quality Printing is Not All They Do
In a world where image is everything, one local printing business is making its own tracks by rescuing and placing Labrador retriever dogs that are facing dire circumstances.
Though its name doesn’t imply it’s a local business, the Santa Barbara Image Café is based in Buellton and its owners Heidi and Zach Miller call Los Olivos home.
“We kept the name for legal reasons,” Heidi said. “Everyone jokes we’re Santa-Buellton Image.”
Started up in 2000 by the Millers, the image café specializes in large format printing; in laymen’s terms, oversized or large images that are reproduced with digital ink jet printers, in low quantities and extremely high quality.
“It’s ideal for things like trade show graphics, booth graphics or theatre graphics,” Heidi said. “We do a lot of theater work, always individual productions like the Lobero.”
Some of the image café’s clients include The Territory Ahead and Buellton based Platinum Performance.
“We’ve used them for a few years and they’ve done a phenomenal job,” said Mark Herthel, president of platinum performance in Buellton. “We’ve used companies from out of the area in the past, but we’ve found that with Heidi and Zach, their quality is unmatched and the convenience of having them locally is great. There’s no reason to go outside the Valley. It’s awesome working with them.”
“Their service is very personal. You can go and talk with them. It’s not like a large corporation,” Herthel added.
The couple transferred the business to Buellton in 2006 so
they could be closer to home, which was ideal for their goal to adopt a baby
from
“I love having the freedom to not do what I do all the time,” Zach said. “I’m a pretty smart guy but anybody can do what I do with the right training.”
Before opening the business, Heidi worked in the design & architecture industry and Zach worked for various magazines, including Santa Barbara Magazine, Montecito Magazine and Showboats Magazine, as a copywriter and editor.
“I was working for a very large company in the design architectural business, and it was probably the most frustrating job I ever had,” Heidi said.
“My background in sales and marketing and especially working with a hospital in particular, really helps the service end of our company,” Heidi said. “But Zach’s the technical guy. So the irony is, if something happened to him, this would be over, and he was diagnosed with cancer last year so we were actually facing that as a possibility.”
Though Zach’s cancer was treated and he is in
recovery, the Millers dream of adopting a child from
But even in the face of disappointment the Millers keep a positive attitude and outlook.
Even though the
The two work as one team to complete projects and make the image café a business people want to come back to.
“What we each do here is so clearly defined,” Heidi said. “We don’t let him near the check book and I stay away from his printers. It’s an agreement we have that’s worked quite well.”
Though the couple runs a successful printing
business, philanthropy plays a large role in their lives. One organization they
are involved in is Fetching Companions Retriever Rescue, which is an
all-volunteer, 501C3 non-profit organization that specializes
in rescuing Labrador Retrievers.
“We get dogs from all kinds of circumstance,” Heidi said. “We get them from the shelters; divorce is a very common reason to give up a dog and moving is a big one.”
The Millers have been involved in placing over 200 dogs since they first began in 1998 and admit that rescues can prove to be trying.
“It’s very stressful when you have a shelter calling you and saying ‘look we have this dog and its time is up. If you don’t take it we’re putting it down.’ We get those calls every single day,” Heidi said.
Regardless of the stress level, the Millers can’t imagine never helping people or animals.
“I’d be really happy if things kept going the way they’ve been going,” Heidi said. “I don’t think the world is such a special place anymore. It’s kind of creepy and scary and I don’t really relish in adding more population to it. But I think we’d really like to help somebody who’s already born.”
“I think I’m very pragmatic and to me it just makes sense,” Heidi added. “It just makes sense to do these things, like it makes sense to breath in and out. I don’t see how people don’t do it.”
For more information about the Santa Barbara Image Café call 805-688-9400 or visit www.sbimagecafe.com.