Minuteman Press

I needed political yard signs printed.
I priced them all over the country and by the time I added stakes and shipping Minuteman price was very competitive, also they got my order done in less than 3 business days, other places said it would take longer or I could pay for rush job.
All the people I talked to were helpful, they made sure my layout worked for the sign and helped me to load my order in the car.
I couldn’t have been happier with the job they did.

Terrible customer service. Will never work with them

I called for an estimate, emailed my document, and it was ready the next morning. It was professional and the price was the best out there by far!!! I would highly recommend and will use them for future projects. Mike was professional!!!

I really like Minuteman Press. I understand some people have had bad experiences here, but with the amount of times I have gotten projects made here (over 15 or so projects) I have had absolutely no complaints.
Rule of thumb: Give yourself time to email your project in to receive a quote. Gary is a busy man, and he is always moving nonstop to keep his business running. Some people may not like his attitude, but he is a Chicago guy; I totally get it. As long as you give yourself time to send in your project, follow the printing specifications exactly, as well as take a good long look at the proof before okaying the project to print; you will be fine.
Also, I simply just email them and ask for an invoice for my receipt. Works the same way for my accountant and clients, and its much faster for them to send it to me via email, instead of them having to go back through their records in the credit card terminal.
ALSO, I almost forgot to mention. The workers at Minuteman Press even have helped load my car a couple times, without me asking them. They did it with a smile and even made conversation with me while they did so!

Good service and management

I had clothing embroidered and silk screened for my business. Not only did they miss the deadline (I was promised) by 2 weeks the product I received was subpar. The silk screen was done in 2 colors and EVERY single shirt was lined up off and it is obvious. The embroidery was much more successful and looked much better but they ruined a pair of expensive pants by sewing the logo through the pocket making it unusable. This is inexcusable. It also took them until the day before I got the items to get a price quote which they claimed I was getting a discount «due to their delay in finishing the product.» How do I know I received a discount when I never even got a price quote until the end.
Overall my experience with Minuteman Press was that they are a very disorganized company filled with workers who just didn’t really care about the customer. Find someone else who specializes in getting the customer what they paid for.

Customer service was great and email correspondence was very prompt… and they had a jar of candy at the shop :)
Had a pretty standard rush order of 500 business cards that was surprisingly difficult to get done through vista print… with no candy whatsoever. Bryan was able to get it taken care of for an easy pick-up…while I chewed a Dubble Bubble.
Once I got the cards, I was very impressed and satisfied with the final product… and the candy they gave me to take home :)
Will be going back and would definitely recommend!

I’ve worked with Minuteman for years, now – on one annual, small order for our school’s Writing Center. Despite the fact that we’re really small potatoes, only once have I ever had any delays in completing their job, and that was a year they knew that my deadline wasn’t pressing (at first). I’ve gotten really good value from the Minuteman folk. .. to the extent that I’ve fought the school’s red tape to stay with Minuteman, despite the fact that the school’s external advertising office uses another service and wanted me to switch, too. That business cost twice as much and asked silly questions, one at a time, delaying the process needlessly. I canceled that order and went back to Minuteman.

I’m going to echo what many have said on here. Gary is menacing and for no reason. If you can’t provide price quotes that you can point to and are constantly adjusting prices out of thin air it goes to show you are neither a dependable nor a professional business. I never received receipts for what I paid for until I insisted for bookkeeping purposes. Specific emails detailing what I wanted and by when were either misunderstood — even after clarifying phone calls — or ignored. I gave 5 days prep time for a job and they finished it late.
Overall Gary was defensive for poor service and outright dismissive. Here’s a quote I wrote down for this purpose right after he said it: «I’m spending too much time on this.» Great, I’ll have someone else spend the time. Avoid.

I worked with the Minuteman printing team for ZeroCater’s marketing collateral for the large Techweek conference that recently happened in Chicago. I asked Minuteman to print a very specific type of half sheet, create promo stickers and a step-​and-​repeat backdrop for the event.
Not only was the team very well versed with printing (even found an error in my materials) but printed everything flawlessly, quickly, and affordably. I have never worked with Minuteman before but I would without a question work with them again. I highly recommend.

Gary and the team came through for me in a big way. I needed last minute printing for a trade show and they got it done –I sent it in after 3pm on a Friday and it was ready by 8:30am on Saturday! They were pleasant to work with and the price was fantastic (especially compared with other big box places). I did take one star off because I’ve seen slightly better quality. But we are talking an A– vs A. Overall, they are my new go to printer in Chicago!

Terrible customer service and lackluster quality.
As a designer and agency manager I work with print vendors quite a bit — and I have never experienced such rude service. I had a smaller freelance print job for postcards and a vinyl banner that had a hard delivery for an event. I gave them a few days lead time (for a company who claims they can print day of) and found out from my client 30 minutes before the event the product was not delivered. So I called to find out the order was printed but «forgotten» to be delivered. And there was nothing they could do, as it was 5pm and they were closing shop. There were no apologies. I hate having to feel like a bully, but I had to raise my voice quite a bit in dealing with Gary, as he did not want to make any efforts to help. The location was only about 1 – 2 miles away, and could have been delivered by anyone. Finally after some back and forth he had a delivery driver make the delivery with moments for spare for the event.
I understand things slip through the cracks — but you need to make every effort to make up for it.
The quality was also quite poor compared to other printers I print the same exact pieces with. This company was quite a bit less, and I can see why.
On a positive note the delivery driver was apparently nice when he delivered the order, as was the actual printer (Jason?) who actually printed the order.

READ MY REVIEW!
So I think I have figured out Minuteman Press and why there is such a discrepancy between 5 Star and 1 Star Reviews.
So my company did business with Minuteman for about 4 – 5 years when we were doing summer street festivals and needed signage for our booth. Their finished product was good and they were courteous when I would go into the shop and pick things up.
So I thought of them when I recently needed some promotional materials for another personal project. I gave them a call, they quoted me a price and told me to submit my order via their «E-​Mail Us» link at the top of their website. I received an email confirmation that they received my request.
A full day goes by and I did not hear back from them so I decided to call and check up on my order. I am a very patient and easy going person, but from the get go of this conversation my patience was tested every step of the way.
So when I called I first explained that I had called in earlier and submitted my order as instructed via the E-​Mail Us link on their site, I was interrupted abruptly with, «START WITH YOUR NAME, THAT’S HOW IT WORKS!» to which I replied with my name and was put on hold. The person came back with we don’t see any order from you. I then explained again that I called in and was told to put in my order via email. The person then told me that they got over «300 emails a day» and what I received was not an email confirmation on my order and my order was not actually received. It became almost comical to me at this point. I was like ok, and I explained what I wanted again and asked how was the best way to get this order in. They evidently did receive my materials via email b/​c he replied with a new quote for my order. This time the quote was for a slightly higher price. I asked why the price was higher now, he replied with «Why didn’t you tell me you had a quote?» and finally, «Well do you want this order or not?». I politely said no thank you and he hung up on me.
The whole thing was just bizarre, it’s like they were upset I was unfamiliar with how their ordering process worked and it was beneath them to explain the process. They must be just killing it with business, I have no other explanation as why you would be so rude to customers.
So here is my take. If you do manage to catch them on a good day and get a larger order in, they will get your order in and once you establish a relationship will continue to provide their services to you.
However, if you are someone looking for a a smaller job or just a one time job then good luck. Your are going to get extremely rude service if you are able to get an order in at all.
To me, these guys are just too unprofessional to work with. They have lost my business forever, which includes my company.
There are so many other better options out there. I ended up going with
for my project.
Also just search «printing services» on Unilocal and you’ll find lots of options.

Gary and the rest of the team at minuteman press were amazing! When every other shop in town told us that we would need to wait at least 24 hours to have a poster printed, minuteman press was able to get the job done in 25 minutes (at 4:30 pm on a Friday evening, no less)!!!
Minuteman press — you are a lifesaver, and truly deserving of your name. Thanks a million!

Really just terrible. Was referred by a friend to Gary and team via email who had worked with them quite extensively in the past. I had a simple printing job for my wedding — 200 menus and ceremony programs. Not only did the team at Minuteman take a week to respond to my original inquiry, there were no answers to any of my questions on timing or paper, just a one-​sentence question back to me. I responded same-​day and just never heard back. Tried following up — nothing.
I need printing services fairly regularly and I’ll never go back here. Ended up going to Sir Speedy on Diversey and it was definitely the right move.

If you like your jobs late; then, after they dropped the ball, being rudely berated because «you’re making my (his) job harder», this is your print shop.
Probably too late for the clown I spoke to, but they need to put someone on the phone who has a clue when it comes to customer service and manners. A simple «my mistake, let me fix this» and no complaint on Unilocal.
I prefer the local guy, but Kinkos got this job.

Wow. Perhaps the worst and rudest customer service I’ve ever received. My mother in law passed away and I was tasked with enlarging a portrait of her for the Memorial Service with only 48 hours notice.
I called and spoke with Gary who asked me to send over the file. I explained it was time sensitive, and he said no problem. Later in the day, I had yet to receive confirmation that he received the file, so I called just to make sure, seeing that it was such a quick turnover. He told me it would be ready at 930am the next day for pickup, which is great – because we had to travel to the suburbs to prepare the house. As you can imagine, planning a funeral is a very busy time.
By 1230pm I still had not heard from him, so I called the store. He told me he had deleted the file by accident and it would take «some time» to print it. Disappointed, I explained to him that I didn’t have much more time — he cut me off and told me I was making his job difficult and he was «very stressed» over there. In response, I reminded him that he told me 930am, and he once again cut me off and said «I’m not going to tell you again, you aren’t making my job easy». At which point, I reminded him that I came to his business to help me prepare to bury my mother in law tomorrow. It’s certainly not an easy time for me either. He then said he wouldn’t help me. I was floored and just said «WOW– this will be some Unilocal review, I’m in shock on how you handle customers.» And he hung up on me.
Now I have to tell my husband that we won’t have an image of his mother at her funeral service because Minute Man press not only did not do what they told me they could do (easily reason enough to be upset), but they also handled this situation without tact or professionalism. Disgusting behavior. You should be ashamed by your employees Minute Man. Ill be tweeting and face booking about this too.

Gary and his team continue to come through every time!!!
I called on Friday with a VERY last minute client need.
I called Gary around 9:30am and explained what I needed and that I needed it in a matter of hours and their team delivered.
I am so grateful for their fast response and for helping me out! I emailed them the artwork, called back to make sure they received it (they did) and received a proof back in minutes. I drove there later and my stuff was ready by the time I needed it as promised.
Thank you to Gary, Mike, Jason, and the rest of the Minuteman Press crew for providing quality work and a quick turnaround when needed!
I always feel like I can count on you to get the job done!
Sincerely,
A fellow business owner :)

Last week, I visited a competitor to have wedding invitations printed out for my sister. I have used that printer, in the past, with no issues but this time I had the worst experience.
After days of trying to work with them on my design and paper choice, they refused to give me a quote. I dropped off my order on a Wednesday and by Monday, I only received a quote because I kept calling and calling. By the time I received the quote, it came with the caveat that the files I sent weren’t what they were used to, my font type was too light for the paper I chose, the paper was going to be something they wouldn’t be able to print on with quality, and that they would need more paper from me in order to get the quantities that I needed. The quote was for $ 610 to print 120 invitations (that had 4 pieces). Mind you, I needed to supply more paper. I was so upset about the lack of urgency they had for my print job.
I then went to another competitor’s Unilocal site and found out that many were unhappy with their services. Embedded in those reviews was a suggestion to go to Minuteman Press.
BOY WAS I HAPPY I CALLED GARY!
First of all, Gary was the nicest person on the phone. I called at 4:50pm (they close at 5pm) and explained my drama with the first printer. He said that he would be happy to help and asked that I send the files over. He reviewed the files and said there shouldn’t be an issue with the design but suggested I come and show them the paper.
The next day, I dropped by with the paper and met Mike K. (one of the designers). He said the paper should be no issue to print on, that the files, were fine, and that they would have the job done in a couple of days. The next day, Mike gave me a quote for the job.
It was $ 275 (total) … Less than HALF of what their competitor told me — and minus the drama and the attitude!
When I went to pick up the invitations, they looked beautiful. I was so thrilled with working with Mike K. and with Minuteman that I promised that I would give them glowing reviews because THEY DESERVE IT!
Don’t waste your time with other printers. In the end, just work with Minuteman Press. They’re the nicest guys, will treat you fairly, and will get your job done in the fastest time they are able.

The Mad Cow Killers!
I have used Minuteman Press off and on over the years but have now become a convert to the way of Gary. This is a straight No B.S. Chicago guy that knows how to take care of business.
Not only that but they have the best price versus quality ratio in the city!
Here is the super secret tip to ordering your business cards from Minuteman Press. Ask for 16pt card stock.
16pt is the same exact thickness the Udder Guys use but you get a much better price. Because let’s be honest, the whole cow is expensive for business cards.
Not only that, you get your cards faster and you support a local business that give local jobs.
At the end of the day kill the mad cow and use Minuteman Press to print.
P. S. If you have a problem with Gary… try another city.