n 1994, Dave Dubois was an employee of Alaska Legal Copy.

“I brought engineering reproduction to their business, and the business grew so fast and strong; by the beginning of 1997, it was obvious that a business split had to occur in order to properly maintain all clients,” Dubois says. “Richard Blaylock, myself, and a person named Paul Krous found a home for the new business of DIGITAL blueprint, Inc.”

Dubois took the role of production manager and Krous became the general manager.

“Blaylock was ready to call it a career by the beginning of 2015, so after much discussion with my wife and a CPA, we decided to purchase my job,” Dubois says.

DIGITAL filled a void in Alaska that proved visionary.

“The main reason DIGITAL blueprint was created back in 1997 was to give a print alternative to the blueline industry,” says Dubois. “We were the first company to bring wide-format high-speed digital black and white output to Alaska. This helped create a specific, niche copy-and-print business that was needed for the architectural, engineering, and construction industry.”

“A full-size drawing in the hand of a contractor is a valuable construction tool,” Dubois says.

“There have been many people reviewing construction drawings on things like phones and tablets, but it requires a lot more time to pick the page, zoom into details, and to navigate within. I believe, as well as many contractors, that there is still no faster method for review than having a sheet of paper in your hands.”

The Hewlett Packard PageWide XL 8000 Printer is one of the fastest large-format printer ever, in monochrome and color.

He explains that blueprint technology is more than 150 years old, and blueprints were once the standard for printing architectural drawings. As with most business documents, technology has affected the practice.

“Even though we have modernized the way we print drawings to digital output, the concepts are still the same,” he says.

“By the year 2015—the year my wife and I purchased the facility from the original owners—technology changed the way business was working out,” he says. “Architects and engineers began to do a lot of their copies in-house, and this changed the dynamic of how we do business. As a result, the profits lowered dramatically, and we found ourselves struggling to maintain profitability in a 6,000 square-foot -facility. At that point we were looking for a new, downsized home and found it where we are now, at the corner of Fireweed and the New Seward Highway with 2,700 square feet and happy.”

Dubois notes that the uniqueness of his business sets it aside from other printers in town.

“We are not built to compete with normal print shops because of our specialty services.”

Large-format printers like the Hewlett Packard PageWide XL 8000, the fastest large-format printer on the market, prints in both monochrome and color and helps customers meet
tight deadlines.

And the Epson SureColor P9570, designed for large-format printing, is a 44-inch wide-format inkjet printer that provides consistent color and fast print speeds for proofing, graphic design, and commercial and professional photography.

Roger Hickel Construction Project Manager Karen Deason says her company has used DIGITAL blueprint for twenty-three years and, in that time, it has been very professional, asked questions about the print job, and always brought the job in on time.

At Watterson Construction, Administrator Nicole Coslet says Watterson has worked with DIGITAL for twenty-six years, and the company is very satisfied with DIGITAL blueprint’s work.

“If anything comes up, they fix it, and working with them has taught me a lot,” she says.

DIGITAL extends a 15 percent price discount to all AGC members because of its membership standing and the support it receives from AGC.