Not your usual printer
MPC Signs is, like the name suggests. And they’re in it in a big way; and I mean a really BIG way. Michael Chrisawn bought MPC Signs along with Marty Powers five years back. He wanted to show him a piece of equipment that the business had purchased six months prior. It’s a 8 ft. x 10 ft. large format UV flatbed printer and I’m here to tell you it’s impressive to see in action.
“I don’t know of anybody else in Warren County and maybe even in surrounding counties that has a machine with these capabilities. It’s a UV printer which uses ultraviolet inks and it will print a substrate that’s up to 96” by 120” so you can have a 8 ft. x 10 ft. piece of wood or whatever on this table and we can print a sign on it in one fell swoop – no piecing together. If you’re looking to print items like pocket calendars and want to put a logo on them, we can set them on the table at certain intervals and print an entire table’s worth of them all at one time,” Michael said.
Michael allowed me to see the printer in action. It was quite exciting for me as a graphic designer. Although the printer can work with any format, vector formats are best for large-scale print jobs. It’s a CMYK printer but can also use white ink, which not all printers do. The table is covered by tiny holes that apply suction to keep the object being printed in place, while the printer arm sweeps across the surface. It is similar to an air hockey table. The air is pulled into the table instead of blowing out.
MPC Signs is located at 423 Castle St. The main room for the printer occupies a large portion of the space. Although the printer may raise the limits of what MPC Signs is able to do, the company has been in the business of making signs for over 40 years. MPC Signs was created from Metal Products Company, which was established around 70 years ago. The company began by making church signs. Metal Products Company was well-known for its network of church supply businesses.
Michael worked for Metal Products Company as an associate over many years. The company entered the commercial markets shortly after Michael joined. He has witnessed many changes in his career. “The internet has changed the sign business tremendously so we have changed our business model since Marty and I bought the business five years ago. At that moment, we decided that local commercial was the best direction for us to go. So, that’s what we’ve been trying to do since we bought the business. Metal Products Company is now completely separate. However, we continue to serve the church industry around the world. We have signs in Guam and Italy. We ship wherever people want a sign,” Michael said.
While the company’s work can be seen around the world, one only needs to take a look around Warren County before running into samples of their work locally. “We can pretty much make any kind of sign including electronic message boards. We did signs for Family Care Wellness, Homeland Community Bank, First United Methodist Church, Eastside Elementary and many more,” Michael said.
Michael states that while the company works with many large corporations, everyone is welcome to visit and benefit from their services. “We’re open for business. We can print anything for anyone who wants it. We can print any picture you give us. This printer is used by many people to print wallpaper. We can print on vinyl or acrylic or whatever.”
MPC Signs can be contacted at (931) 473-1016 or by email at [email protected].
They are Bizness.
Good workspaces are becoming more important as life returns to normal. The Biz Foundry is located at 118 S. Court Sq. The Biz Foundry at 118 S. Court Sq. opened its doors in November 2019. It had just begun to establish itself locally before the pandemic which drove many people from their public work places and to their homes. As things settle down, people look for places to do their jobs and also places to host meetings and events. That’s where the Biz Foundry comes in.
The Biz Foundry provides office space or desk space for a monthly charge. This eliminates the overhead associated with renting an entire office building. You can also get one-day coworking permits. Private offices start at $299 per calendar month. Dedicated desks are $179 each month. All-access coworking memberships start at $99 per per month. Two days per week memberships cost $39, while one-day passes cost $15. All memberships include access to all three Biz Foundry locations, printing/copying/scanning, member Wi-Fi, coffee and discounts on meeting and conference rooms, event spaces and privacy booths. The Biz Foundry’s rebound is evident in the fact that all private offices are available for rent. However, there is a waitinglist.
The Biz Foundry is a great option for freelancers, start-ups or just remote workers who don’t have the ability or desire to work from home. You can do everything online, including registration for events and memberships as well as reserving places at the Bizfoundry.
Community memberships are also available at no cost through The Biz Foundry. This community membership is free and allows you to access a wide range of services and events at the McMinnville Biz Foundry, as well as the Cookeville or Sparta locations. One such event is “Pitch It,” coming up on Feb 6 at the Cookeville location at 114 N. Cedar Ave. The program is in partnership with the Upper Cumberland Development District’s Recovery2Work program to allow individuals in recovery to pitch business ideas that can help them and their community. The deadline for submissions is January 27th, and the finalists will be announced Jan. 30. Many educational and networking events are planned for 2023 at all three Biz Foundry locations.
Visit thebizfoundry.org for more information. To arrange a tour at McMinnville’s location, text or phone Ashley Gillentine Wright (931) 607-6599.
Until next time,
Same Biz time,
Same Biz Page
We appreciate your interest in Business Pulse. I’ve been getting plenty of calls and questions and I appreciate the feedback. I’ve also gotten a few messages from folks I’ve featured in past columns telling me how many customers coming in have said they’ve heard about them in Business Pulse, so that’s always great to hear.
We are grateful to Ben Lomand Connect, who sponsored the page and allowed me to continue the coverage of businesses.