HOUSTON LITHO CLUB

SINCE 1950

SHARING KNOWLEDGE WITH EACH OTHER

BUILDING THE FUTURE ON TRADITIONS OF INNOVATION, EDUCATION, AND EXCELLENCE

Welcome to the Houston Litho Club's web page. Here you will find information about our meetings, officers, history and more.

Meetings

We meet at the Steak Country Buffet at I-10 and Antoine at 11:15 on the first Tuesday of each month.

For more information or to make a reservation, please call:

Art Howard 281-342-1563 or texasprinter@msn.com

Newsletter

We publish a monthly newsletter. To receive a free copy or for advertising information, e-mail to texasprinter@msn.com .

Houston Litho Club Officers

President

Jerome Borski
3484 West 11th Street
Houston, TX 77008
281-376-9222

Vice President

John Hardie
Southwest Bindery, Inc.
3009 Claymore Parkway
Houston, TX 77043
713-956-7260
FAX 713-956-5952

Secretary

Art Howard
Howard & Associates
P.O. Box 2127
Sugar Land, TX 77487-2127
281-342-1563
FAX 281-342-1806
texasprinter@msn.com

Treasurer

Diane Austin
281-240-8040
FAX 281-240-2460

Past President

Michael Austin
281-240-8040
FAX 281-240-2460

Board Members

Judy Myers
281-498-2480
FAX 281-498-6721
Larry Harris
713-468-8602
Craig Robilio
713-812-0600

History of the Houston Litho Club · 1950 - 1995

1949 was a year when those engaged in the printing business were concerned and somewhat confused about this new fangled process called lithography. Ink and water mix? No way. In an effort to arm themselves with answers to many questions, members of the trade in Dallas gathered on the banks of White Oak Creek one weekend in June to brainstorm about what was happening in their industry. They invited their counter parts from Houston, and for two days they shared their knowledge, experiences, misgivings, uncertainties, and curiosities. That June weekend meeting proved to be so helpful to all concerned that they decided to meet again the following June, this time in Houston. More sharing, more knowledge and more desire to continue these meetings heralded the birth of the Southwest Litho Clinic in 1951.

Those two days on White Oak Creek had also awakened Houston's dedicated craftsmen to the fact that education in lithography was sorely lacking and needed year-round. Sharing of technical knowledge was proving to be a productive way to get the answers they needed, but they wanted to meet more frequently, and locally. Thus the birth of the Houston Litho Club in January, 1950. Under the able leadership of Mr. John King, the first president, the club grew and prospered. New techniques were presented at regular club meetings and demonstrated in local plants. This sharing of information and mutual informational support was expressed in our simple but genuinely felt motto, Sharing our knowledge with each other." Enthusiasm was growing rapidly.

In June of 1952, the Houston Litho Club hosted its first Southwest Litho Clinic with 125 people attending. 1954 proved to be one of the most important years in club history. We joined the National Association of Litho Clubs and hosted the N.A.P.L convention in conjunction with our second Southwest Litho Clinic. The cost involved in hosting these events motivated the Houston Litho Club to introduce a trade fair to help offset meeting and convention expenses.

Before long, Southwest Litho Clinic (now also a trade show), was being held every year and eventually began rotating among Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin. In 1979, the name was changed to Southwestern Graphics in order to reflect the vast area it served and the broader scope of technology it was encompassing. Eventually, rotation settled among Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, and the Southwestern Graphics has continued to serve more and more in our industry and education. Southwestern Graphics '95 will be held in Houston. It is the 45th educational symposium and equipment exposition, hosting over 250 exhibiting companies with 600 booths. It offers 34 seminars covering the latest technology in prepress, desktop publishing, waterless printing, and a myriad of other developing processes to some 2,000 seminar participants and more than 12,000 trade fair attendees.

The Houston Litho Club has grown to mean a lot to our members, our industry and, we believe, to our community. Social activities have added another valuable dimension

to our fellowship, through annual golf and fishing tournaments, western dances, Printing Week Banquets, and allied Craftsmen Club activities. Gatherings like these have been unifying and motivating aspects of Houston Litho Club tradition since its beginnings.

1983 marked another important milestone for the Houston Litho Club. We committed ourselves to contribute to the support of the Texas Printing Education Foundation

which had been chartered in 1982 to further graphic arts education in Texas. We determined that, beginning with Southwestern Graphics '83, 75% of net revenues from the Show would be donated to the Foundation each time Southwestern Graphics is held in Houston. This commitment has given a significant boost to the Foundation's growth. It has grown steadily and has achieved one of its original goals by establishing a degree program in the Department of Technology at the University of Houston. Enrollment in this department is escalating yearly, and the first undergraduate degree from the program was awarded in May, 1995. The Texas Educational Foundation is growing, prospering, and reaching its goals through the support of the Houston Litho Club. Club contributions through the 1992 Southwestern Graphics show were In excess of $750,000. Proceeds from the 1995 Southwestern Graphics Houston show will add even more to that figure.

Membership in the N.A.L.C. has been important to us, too. The Houston Litho Club has been an enthusiastic supporter of the N.A.L.C. since it became a member back in 1954. We were honored to host the 1959 Mid-Year Conference, the 1971 and 1978 Mid-Year Conferences, and the 1987 Annual N.A.L.C. Convention which was held at the NASA Hilton Hotel in Clear Lake, Texas. Two N.A.L.C. past presidents, Mr. John Thomas and Mr. Leon Seidl, have come from the Houston Litho Club and many of our members have been proud to serve as national committee members and chairmen.

Forty Five years of club history in this short space can only mean that there's much we haven't mentioned . . . names of all those members whose energy and toil over the years have helped in thousands of ways large and small, anecdotes that each of us recalls about who did what when and how we ever made it through those fund-raisers and shows, the untold times that the elusive solution to a member's plant problem was tracked down with the help of a fellow club member, the good times, the lean times, and all the 'little' club accomplishments that made the big ones possible.

Recalling our history has a way of making us think about the future - and our commitment to building a better one for those who follow us. Joining together to help each other, sharing our knowledge, building Southwestern Graphics, and supporting the Texas Printing Education Foundation program are core to our history, our growth, and to our future as a club. Meanwhile, we'll bear in mind that 45 years of hard work, and teamwork have made the Houston Litho Club work. We'll keep you posted.

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