Three Brothers and a Vision

1926  Frank Kubin and his two brothers, Henry and Rudolph open a silkscreen shop, the Kubin Poster Process Company.

1933  The Great Depression squeezes the company’s budget, but Fred Nicholson, a clever promotions man convinces the frugal Frank Kubin to let him join the team as a traveling salesman at his own expense.

Nicholson acquires so much business that Kubin wires Nicholson and asks him to stop as the three brothers couldn’t keep up.

By late 1933, the company moved to its third new location, taking up several floors with presses to keep up with the work coming in.

1935-1970 Partnership and Major Growth

1935  Nicholson becomes partner and Kubin-Nicholson becomes incorporated.

1945  Kubin-Nicholson grows to more than 35 employees to meet the demand for national media schedules.

1950  Nicholson buys out Kubin’s shares and become president. His brothers, Bill and Jerome join the company.

1956  Nicholson dies of cancer but political campaign advertising, postwar expansion and the demand for high quantities leads to the purchase of the company’s first 4-color, 77" offset press.

1958  The Nicholson brothers purchase the company from Fred Nicholson’s wife.

Enter the Rees Family

1971  Thomas Rees, Sr., the Chicago Kubin-Nicholson sales manager, buys Bill Nicholson’s shares to become vice president.

1980  Jerome Nicholson retires. Tom Rees, Sr. buys his share to become president and CEO.

1981  Tom Rees Sr. passes away leaving his wife, Margaret, as CEO/Chairperson. Tom Rees, Jr. takes over as president with his brother, Mike, as vice president.

Within 15 years, the Rees brothers expand the company to include two manufacturing locations with six 77" offset presses and make a major diversification into super-wide format digital printing.

Printers of the Humongous

1996  Now coined "Printers of the Humongous," the company’s purchase of two revolutionary 16 foot wide VUTEk 1660 digital printers barely satisfies the industry’s fierce demand for one-piece 14’ x 48’ vinyl billboards replacing traditional offset paper products printing in 27 separate sections.

1998  Government bans outdoor tobacco advertising and sends the industry scrambling to recoup from losses of large customers and national billboard media contracts. By then K•N has four VUTEk 1660's.

1999-2000  The1660’s were replaced by two 5300’s, the next best model on the market. The purchase of a 100,000 square foot building to house the digital division and administrative services sets the stage for what’s to come.

2001  Kubin-Nicholson acquires its hometown competitor, Northstar Printing along with its 50" Komori offset press.

A Humongous Leap Forward

2003  Mike Rees becomes president and CEO upon Tom Jr.’s retirement.

Kubin-Nicholson opens a digital printing facility in Dallas.

2004 The KBA 81" offset press is introduced and Mike Rees places the multi-million dollar order.

 The third VUTEk upgrade to the 5330 model increases the digital capacity six fold from that in 1996.

2005  The KBA 81" offset press arrives in June with its largest offset press sheet size, lightning speed and extreme substrate flexibility. Consolidation of the two Milwaukee facilities ensues, and the company becomes a true one-stop, technologically advanced print shop to accommodate the gamut of humongous print needs.