the press at colby poster printing runs day and night during election campaign season, just as it has since it opened its doors decades ago

Red-and-white “Gray 4 Gore” signs touting Gov. Gray Davis’ support for the Democratic presidential candidate may be appearing soon in a neighborhood near you.

You may think you have Davis or Al Gore or the Democratic Party to thank for that. But lurking discreetly in the background is Colby Poster Printing Co., which specializes in making outdoor political signs and has been churning out every imaginable poster night and day in these frantic final days of the election campaign. These days, Glenn Hinman, company vice president, fields up to 42 calls an hour from politicos still trying to make that last-minute push.

“We understand how important it is to grab what you can, to grab the gold ring before it slows down,” said the ponytailed Hinman, as he leads a visitor through the 6,000-square-foot Pico Union shop, its walls festooned with colorful signs for school board and city council hopefuls.

Of course, there’s also the banner for Florentine Gardens, “L.A’s hottest dance club;” a poster portraying Oscar de la Hoya; and a sepia-toned sign for Homer Stokes, “friend of the little man,” a faux 19th century ad produced for a movie.

But when it comes to grabbing the attention of the modern-day public, “if candidates ask what would help their campaign, I tell them, ‘neon,'” Hinman said, holding up a teal-and-orange sign for congressional hopeful Jane Harman. “It’s better than red, white and blue.”

As one of only a handful of local unionized printing shops and the only one that caters to the political world, Colby gets the largest chunk of its business, about 40 percent, from campaign signs. And that keeps the Hinmans hopping during election seasons: in odd-numbered years between February and April and during the general election rush from mid-July through October every year.

No sales force, please

When Herbert Colby, Glenn Hinman’s grandfather, started the shop in 1946, he targeted political candidates because doing so didn’t require a sales staff. Colby never has had a single salesperson, instead relying on word of mouth and its name printed on its signs, next to the union label, to get new clients.

“We have Democrats literally walking through the door,” said Rouse Hinman, 71, company president and Glenn’s father. “We can’t stop them.”

That’s not to say Republicans are turned away. Far from it. Colby printed signs for both then-Congressman Bob Dornan, a staunch Republican, and Democratic challenger Loretta Sanchez during their contentious 1998 campaign battle.

Colby has had its share of unusual clients, including a “carpetbagging” public-interest lawyer who has staged a half dozen political campaigns in San Diego, Nevada and Maryland. There were also the candidates for whom the elder Hinman devised slogans like “Wong is Right,” “Pick Cotten” and “A Man of Decision” for a city council hopeful who started out with that tagline but kept changing his mind.

The family business is run by Rouse Hinman, who will retire at year’s end after half a century and sons Larry, who designs signs and handles purchasing and equipment maintenance; Lee, who runs the letter press; and Glenn, who works with customers and runs the office.

Despite stiff competition, Colby has managed to keep its revenues stable at about $1 million annually projected revenues should hit $1.25 million this year and its workforce remains steady at between 11 and 14, depending on the season.

Indeed, the ability to produce on demand is the main reason that political consultant Dennis DeSnoo, of The Broadway Group in Santa Ana, has used Colby for a decade. The Broadway Group represents city council, water board and school district candidates.

“They deliver when they promise, sometimes as quickly as the next day,” said DeSnoo. “This is a seasonal business, we come back every one and a half or two years, and we pick up where we left off. We don’t have to reintroduce ourselves.”

A hand from the competition

Paul Gangi, who runs Gangi Studios, a printing shop which specializes in large silk-screen projects, also praises his competitor’s consistency and says the two firms occasionally share stock and ink, or borrow each other’s equipment.

“They’re our most friendly competitor,” Gangi said. “They’re decent folks who realize there’s enough business for everyone.”

In the early days, Colby kept busy doing bus posters for radio stations and movies. But in the mid-’70s, Colby began to face more competition from large printers moving into the area with huge presses and quicker turnaround times. In response, Colby began re-emphasizing its political business, also doing more carnival and dance posters and bus ads for lawyers and car dealerships.

Only about five years ago, it entered the electronic age, computerizing everything from payroll to printing. And Colby recently spent $100,000 on an inkjet printer and other electronic equipment to expand its banner business. Nevertheless, the letter press, with a patent date of 1911 purchased a few years ago from the Los Angeles Times and only the second one the company has ever owned, still handles about a third of Colby’s business, while silk screening accounts for the rest.

With Rouse’s impending retirement, the brothers must decide how to replace him.

“We’re in the critical third generation, where a lot of companies fail,” Glenn Hinman admitted. “We’ll be exploring for new niches.”

But back in the old niche, Colby prides itself on using an ultra-thin plastic laminate stock for its outdoor signs, which holds up very well in inclement weather. Glenn Hinman couldn’t help but notice that signs used during the recent MTA strike (and not made by Colby) were printed on “thin stock.”