With the founding of Grafix 25 years ago, we began a journey driven by the ambition to create an integrated system for providing production services in the field of commercial graphics, built on knowledge, professional organization and a strong market-oriented approach.
Our story is made up of many chapters marked by things that were “a first in our market” – experiences that represented both a business challenge and the joy of creating something new.
93 | 95 … INTRODUCTORY CHAPTERS – THE BEGINNINGS
We have been working since our student days, “impressing” clients with creative concepts developed on computers that were rarely used at the time. A pioneering yet extensive project involving the branding of city buses in Belgrade inspired us to establish our own company – Grafix.
96 | 99 … KNOW-HOW AND INNOVATION – A FIRST IN OUR MARKET
By the mid-1990s, the period of high inflation was fading into the past, while the commercial graphics market was beginning to develop. It was a time when companies in our country started embracing trends from abroad, increasingly recognizing the importance of communicating with consumers at the point of sale through large-format photographs, promotional materials and commercial graphic displays.
We kept pace with these developments, building our production capabilities and know-how at Grafix.
One of the most significant and defining projects of that time was the branding of Sport Café in Belgrade, featuring the largest interior graphic installation of its kind at the time.
The wall depicting Serbian athletes covered an area of an astonishing 12 × 4 metres, an unprecedented size at the time. (Printing took 10 full days, operating 16 hours a day.)
The Second Technology – 3M Scotchprint
We were selected and trained by the best in the industry – the then-unrivalled American company 3M. At the time, this leading American technology enabled us to deliver outstanding product quality, previously unseen on our domestic market.
We kept up with emerging trends and technologies, bringing them to Serbia shortly after their introduction.
This is how our story became truly unique.
In October 1998, for the first time in our market, we produced full-colour vehicle graphics (needless to say, we coined the term ourselves!). It was a Peugeot Partner branded for Sector watches.
00 | 04 A NEW MILLENIUM-FROM “LARGE” TO “WIDE”
The beginning of the new millennium brought accelerated growth and greater ambitions in terms of print formats and production speed.
The American technology that succeeded 3M was VUTEk. This technological leap propelled us into the realm of industrial-scale production.
We relocated our production facilities to the BIGZ building, at the time the only industrial facility dedicated to printing operations.
We were the first to produce MEGA graphics covering entire buildings. The Hotel Slavija in Belgrade proved to be the perfect advertising medium and a suitable surface for a 600 m² mesh installation. The use of commercial graphics expanded rapidly, both indoors in retail spaces and outdoors on vehicles, billboards and other advertising surfaces. Having been licensed manufacturers of 3M commercial graphics from the very beginning, we secured contracts to brand entire vehicle fleets for companies such as Pepsi, Knjaz Miloš and Coca-Cola. At that time, as many as 9 out of every 10 branded vehicles you saw on the streets had come out of Grafix.
In 2003, Grafix celebrated its 10th anniversary with a large-format graphic installation at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre (JDP). The following year, in 2004, we completed our VUTEk printing division, equipped with seven large-format printing machines.
05 | 08 … NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND NEW BUILDING
Then, in 2005, we embraced UV printing technology. This marked the beginning of direct printing onto rigid materials. This innovation expanded our portfolio of services and products, while also enabling us to manufacture items that had previously been impossible to produce using the technologies available at the time.
In 2008, we began work on the project for our own business premises – a specialized factory dedicated to the production of commercial graphics.
09 | 12 … OVERCOMING THE GLOBAL CRISIS AND MOVING INTO OUR NEW FACILITY
In 2009, we broke another record: in just six days, we printed and finished 12,000 m² of banners for the “Zavala” project in Montenegro. Every story has its dramatic turning point, and ours was no exception. The global financial crisis reached our country as well, bringing its own local specificities, including the fact that its effects would last longer here than in the place where it originated.
Nevertheless, by 2012, we were experiencing growth once again. That year, we moved into our new business premises, spanning more than 5,000 m² – a dedicated centre for developing ideas.
13 | 18 … A NEW ERA AND NEW DEMANDS
In this new era, technological development and client expectations were no longer our primary challenges. We celebrated our 20th anniversary with the project “People of Great Stature” and the slogans “20 Years – Nothing But Graphics, No Politics.”
A new factory called for new equipment. Between 2014 and 2017, we completely renewed all our printing equipment, including printers and finishing machines.
Our new printing capacity reached 471 m² per hour, equivalent to 11,000 m² per day and 250,000 m² per month – far exceeding market demand and providing more than enough capacity to handle any peak in demand.
Furthermore, high resolution and large-format printing were no longer the primary requirements. Print resolution had reached photographic quality. Excellence in organization became a new and additional challenge. This is why we introduced the EN ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 and Fogra PSD standards.
(UN)FAIR COMPETITION
OR HOW TO STAY TRUE TO YOUR PRINCIPLES
On the sidelines of our story, a new kind of “competition” emerged, unfortunately bringing with it a drastic decline in quality – both in billboard printing and across other segments of commercial graphics. By offering “the same quality at a lower price,” these competitors deliver a significantly inferior product. This trend continues, and lower prices have become the decisive factor when choosing a supplier. With a few honourable exceptions, price has become the dominant criterion. As a result, we are now all witnessing what can only be described as “anti-advertising” on delivery vehicles, billboards and all other forms of commercial graphics. Through decades of dedicated work, Grafix has established itself as a company committed to uncompromising quality – something our clients know well, which is why they have continued working with us for many years, to our mutual satisfaction.
THE PRESENT DAY
A COMPLETE AND INTEGRATED SYSTEM
Today, we are a well-organized company. We have systems, standards and procedures in place. We have a clear organizational structure. Our showroom is where we work with clients to solve problems with the speed of ready-made solutions. Our sales room guides clients through a fast and straightforward communication process, while ensuring daily monitoring of incoming and outgoing orders. Our warehouses are well-organized and regularly stocked with the materials we need. Our logistics team supports us with machinery and transportation. Our production process is planned and controlled. Today, our story is complete.
The story of Grafix is also the story of commercial graphics in this part of the world. A story filled with people, products, services, clients, hard work and success… a story we have been writing for 25 years, yet one that feels as though it is only just beginning.
Are you already part of it, or will you become part of it in the future?
Your GRAFIX
The true picture nad reflection.