What Started as a Family-owned Business is Still Thriving Today
I was in Nashville, Tenn., last week for PRSA’s Counselors Academy. Always a valuable experience to be with other agency owners from around the country. With a few hours to spare before the start of the conference, I joined my friends Dana Phelps and Chuck Norman for a tour of the Hatch Show Print.
Truth be told, I had no idea what the Hatch Show Print was, but it was a chance to hang out with my pals, so I figured why not.
William Hatch ran a print shop in Prescott, Wisc., where his two sons, Charles and Herbert, grew up learning the craft of letterpress printing. In 1875, William moved his family to Nashville where, four years later, Charles and Herbert founded CR and HH Hatch.
Letterpress printing is a process in which raised, inked surfaces—usually made of wood, metal, or linoleum—are pressed onto paper. This practice is essentially the same method that was invented in the 15th century by Johannes Gutenberg, using movable type, hand-carved blocks, and hand-cranked printing presses.
Successful from the start, the brothers created posters that would be distributed around the cities and towns to generate awareness and excitement for shows that would be coming through. Designed in-house, the Hatch brothers’ posters promoted everything from the circus to the carnival, musicians to magicians; if you wanted “butts in seats” you had a poster from Hatch Show Print.
Today, Hatch Show Print combines 21st century technologies with 18th century philosophies, designing upwards of 600 posters each year, including the creation of artwork for ad agencies and creative directors who desire the look and texture Hatch Show Print.
