Signs of success – ImageLab thrives with DIY spirit and strong relationships

Posted by: Laura DeMarco on Tuesday, June 20, 2023

The printing company works with major retailers, and Cleveland civic partners.

From punk rock to printing, the DIY spirit is in David James’s creative DNA.

When James printed his first underground rock ‘zine during a class at Valley Forge High School in the late-‘80s, little did he know it was the beginning of a vibrant entrepreneurial career.

Today, James is the founder and owner of one of Cleveland’s most successful large format printing companies: ImageLab Media Services. With offices in AsiaTown, ImageLab specializes in full-service graphic arts support to the advertising and marketing industries, including banners, signs, packaging, trade shows and presentations. James and his husband-business partner, Matheus Venancio Arêas, a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, serve clients including large, national corporations such as Target, Home Depot, Office Depot, Twitter and Subway; small, regional businesses; and NGOs. They have been partners with Cleveland Asian Festival since its inaugural year, and also count Brite Winter, Ingenuity and MOCA among their clients.

James has come a long way since his “Negative Print" ‘zine – which would become a staple in the local DIY music scene – as would bands he played in, including Death of Samanatha and Suburban Decay.

“It was really interesting, putting things together and seeing how they looked when printed,” says James on a recent call from his office, having just finished creating signs for Cleveland’s Juneteenth celebration.

Following high school, James took business and design classes at Tri-C, but did not immediately leap into entrepreneurship. In the early 2000s, he was working for another printing business when the owner suddenly decided to close – despite a big account with Target that needed fulfillment.

“Long story short, I had been there ten years and I had pretty good relationships with a lot of their customers,” says James, “in particular the woman who ran the Target Optical account.

“Basically, we were left without a job about two weeks before Christmas in 2005. And by February of 2006 we were up and running again. I secured the Target work and we borrowed $40,000 from my mom and bought equipment second hand.”

At the time, ImageLab was owned by James and a partner who has since left the company.

By that spring, ImageLab was flourishing, having taken over most of the previous company’s clients – and adding new ones.

Established relationships helped ImageLab grow, though capitalization was a learning process for the new business owner.

“I didn’t yet have those established bank relationships with a credit history or anything like that. It was pretty barebones at the time, but we learned and grew and were able to get more equipment.”

*Matheus Venancio Arêas, left, and David James of ImageLab Media Services, with one of many Cleveland neighborhood maps they have printed. (Photos by John Petkovic)*

The last decade-plus has led to two location changes and multiple new generations of equipment – and clients.

In 2014, James was joined by his husband in the business.

“I was finishing my masters in Barcelona, Spain, when the Euro crises started,” says Venancio Arêas of his decision to move to Cleveland. “It was a difficult time for jobs, especially for marketing and advertising, so I decided to go back to Rio, which was having an economic boom with the Olympic Games.

“At that time, I met David online and the only possibility for us to be together was he would live in Rio, or I would come to Cleveland. David said that Cleveland was a small city, with a nice cost of living and we decided that the best was for me to come to Cleveland. In June 2014 I arrived here, and we started to live together and also work together. For me, it was a new experience, a new culture, a new way of life. The USA is completely different from the European Latin culture that I was used to. But for almost 10 years now I have felt very welcome and I feel that Cleveland is home.”

As for many small businesses, COVID was tough for ImageLab. James says he finally feels this year that there has been a full-scale recovery – though he says the market remains less predictable than pre-pandemic.

Keeping a lean two-person staff, and having lower rent in AsiaTown than other areas of the city have helped ImageLab stay competitive. James does not invest in marketing, preferring to let his work speak for itself.

“Like any business, we strive to provide a quality product and service at a competitive rate. Because we’re a small operation a lot of personal attention goes into that process, which possibly sets us apart from the competition. That may not be easily scalable, but ensures quality down the line,” he says.

Greater Cleveland Partnership’s All In vision for a Great Region on a Great Lake has five key priorities: Dynamic Business, Abundant Talent, Inclusive Opportunity, Appealing Community and Business Confidence. All of our work ties back to these values. This story relates to Inclusive Opportunity and Appealing Community.