Stefanie Bevans
Owner/CEO | Design To Print
Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and St. George, Utah
AP: Your nomination form states: “Stefanie spends her day as CEO running Design To Print, a six-division experiential and print manufacturing company operating in three states. Overseeing close to 100 employees, she leads complex projects from nationwide graphic rollouts for Fortune 100 companies to working with software engineers developing next generation visualization software to help her customers speed production processes. Her formal education in nursing allows her to assess and correct problems systematically at their root.” How has understanding a different industry affected your success in the digital print world?
SB: Surprisingly, my degree in nursing taught me and prepared me very well to run a grand-format print company. Working as an RN in the Newborn ICU, I developed critical thinking skills. When a problem arises you “start at the wall” and follow the system all the way to the patient. In print, we have developed a similar process. When we encounter an issue, we follow the system from the presses, the ink, the materials all the way through to the finished product, pinpoint the problem, and take corrective action. I developed skills in triage. We start every morning with a huddle, assessing priorities, and making a plan for how we are going to successfully take care of all our customers.
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SB: While working as a nurse I learned to use “best practices.” I have carried that training into my business by developing SOP’s (standard operating procedures). As we are teaching employees new techniques, our method is “Watch it. Do it. Teach it.” This assures every job is produced the same way, the best way, and consistently from shift to shift and from facility to facility.
AP: Your nominator also said: “Stefanie is constantly pushing the envelope in online proofing, ERP online production workflow, and customer order management.” How has streamlining the production process impacted your employee and client relationships?
SB: Communication is key, for both employees and customers. I spend a lot of time working with my software programming team and fine tuning the way we relay information. In our fast-paced business, sometimes we don’t have the ability to tell all the people all the things; we let our software do that for us. And our customers receive real-time updates when orders are in production, shipping, or ready for pick up.
Stefanie Bevans’ company operates in three states and prints for Fortune 100 companies across the US.
AP: “Over the past few years, she has developed a new SEG recyclable beading/gasket to replace the environmentally taxing silicone traditionally used, and developed 22 fully patented recycled/recyclable aluminum extrusions that are used to create wall graphics to light boxes.” Why is sustainability important?
SB: In my opinion, I live in the most beautiful state in the country! I grew up skiing in the beautiful mountains of northern Utah, hiking through the Southern Utah red rock canyons in St. George, and waterskiing in beautiful Lake Powell. I feel blessed to live amongst God’s greatest creations and I want to do everything I can to preserve them.
AP: What does being a woman in the wide-format digital print industry mean to you?
SB: It means you are strong, innovative, competitive, and a little courageous to work side by side with the people who make it all happen. I find it fascinating how different men and women do things, but I recognize how important it is to have a good balance of both. As a woman in the print industry, I naturally (without even trying) bring a motherly intuition and nurturing qualities to a trade that is usually considered rough and tough. This has been an integral component to our company culture, bringing balance and a sense of “family.”
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