Roger, I copy that

Keith Fujimoto oversees operations at Professional Image’s Moiliili outlet

Keith Fujimoto isn't necessarily a fan of redundancy, but he will make as many copies of a document as you like, as manager of a print shop in Moiliili.

Who: Keith Fujimoto Title: Manager Job: Manages the Moiliili outlet of Professional Image Inc.

Fujimoto started in the printing business more than 30 years ago, at a print shop just across the street from where he works now, called Second Image. He eventually bought that shop with a partner after the original owner decided he could no longer run the business due to health reasons.

"And eventually I became the sole owner of the business," Fujimoto said last week.

In 1997, Fujimoto closed Second Image and joined Professional Image Inc., a competitor company owned by Helen Godwin that these days has six outlets on Oahu and about 30 employees.

Named manager of its Moiliili store seven years ago, Fujimoto works with a staff of two, including his brother, Mark; deals with customers; and makes sure all the production deadlines are met.

Fujimoto, 53, is a graduate of Roosevelt High School. He has an associate of arts degree from Honolulu Community College and took business classes as well at the University of Hawaii.

He is married to the former Nalani Chang ("my beautiful wife," originally from the Kohala area of the Big

Island), with whom he has a "beautiful daughter," Alyssa, 16. They live in Royal Kunia.

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Mark Coleman: How long have you been working for Professional Image and when were you promoted to manager?

Keith Fujimoto: I've been working for Professional Image for 10 years and promoted to manager seven years ago.

Q: What was your first job there?

A: Customer service.

Q: What is that?

A: We service customers who require certain copying work or printing. We provide the know-how to understand their needs and get it done.

Q: Have you ever worked at any of the company's other five stores?

A: I've visited some of them, but haven't really worked hands-on in any of them.

Q: What were you doing

before you joined Professional Image?

A: Actually I had my own company. It was similar in nature. We were a quick-printing company.

Q: Where was that?

A: That was at Puck's Alley, at University (Avenue) and South King Street.

Q: How is it you ended up working with Professional Image?

A: Basically, I closed that store down and merged with Professional Image.

Q: So are you an owner (of Professional Image)?

A: No, I'm an employee - a manager.

Q: How many people do you manage at the company's Moiliili outlet?

A: The staff here is three. So I manage two.

Q: What are their titles?

A: Customer representatives.

Q: What kinds of services does the company offer?

A: We provide high-speed, high-quality duplicating, full-color reproductions, oversized black-and-white reproductions; we also offer various types of binding; we print business cards, letterheads, envelopes; we also do CD and DVD duplication; and scanning. We also do banners and oversize color printing - like posters.

Q: What kinds of computer software programs do you have to know how to use?

A: Basically, we run both platforms of computer operating systems (Mac and Windows). And in terms of the programs themselves, we need to be familiar with various programs such as Adobe Acrobat, Word, Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign.

Q: How did you learn to use these programs?

A: A lot of the education was hands-on, with a minimal amount of training.

Q: From whom?

A: Well, the training was very minimal, and, if anything, it was done by one of the staff members, so mostly it was hands-on.

Q: What are your working hours, generally, at the store?

A: We're open from 8 to

6 p.m., Monday through Friday; Saturday, 9 to 2:30.

Q: Are you there the whole time?

A: I'm here from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday.

Q: As the manager, do you typically put in longer hours than the other workers?

A: Not always.

Q: Do you do the hiring and firing?

A: I would assist the owner in that area.

Q: What would you say is the hardest part about being a manager?

A: You know, at this location really I got two staff members that really make my job easy. We work together as a team. So the hardest part of being a manager is, I guess, being on top of production schedules and meeting deadlines. This type of business is really deadline-sensitive where we have jobs that need to be done by a certain time.

Q: Like yesterday?

A: Yeah. (Laughter). A lot of it comes in like that. We have customers like ...I guess everybody has a little procrastination in their life, so, yeah, like yesterday.

Q: Who are the two people you work with?

A: I work with my brother, Mark Fujimoto, and David Wilson. Mark's been here for seven years.; David's been here for about four years.

Q: Do you deal with any of the customers yourself?

A: Oh yeah, I also do customers service. That's a big part of this type of business. You need to build a relationship with the customer. Not just one job thing, but a lasting relationship.

Q: What kinds of jobs do most customers come in and ask you to do for them?

A: We do a lot of digital printing. I think that's where the future of this industry is going, where we do a lot of prints-on-demand stuff: photos, black-and-white reports ...

Q: What kind of reports - for businesses or students or who?

A: We do a lot of engineering and architectural reports. Sometimes it's environmental impact studies. We work with government agencies, large corporations to small businesses. We work with the University of Hawaii, and a lot of individuals who reside in the neighborhood.

Q: You do design work, too, right?

A: Yeah, we do design work. We have two full-time graphic designers at the downtown location. In store, we also provide a limited amount of graphic designing.

Q: Has the business changed a lot since you joined the company?

A: I've seen the business change a lot in the last 10 years. It's going towards the direction of digital reproduction. We do a lot of color copy work, and a lot of the art work is either e-mailed to us or brought in on a CD or a flash drive, as opposed to a few years ago where a lot of it used to come in as a hard-copy original.

Q: So has it gotten easier for you?

A: In some sense, it has gotten easier. I think it's more a matter of convenience, where customers can e-mail files to us.

Q: How do you keep up with the fast-changing technology of your business?

A: Helen Godwin, who is the owner, she has great business savvy and great vision as to where the industry is evolving towards, and she ensures that the printing and computer equipment are a step ahead of our competition. She keeps up with what's happening in the industry in terms of the technology.

In fact, at Professional Image, we're celebrating our 30th year of doing business in Hawaii, which is really amazing, and, I think, a tribute to the company, its owners and its employees.

Q: In what way?

A: I think it's a testimony to a lot of perseverance, hard work and dedication, and guidance from the owner.

Also, don't forget competitive pricing, friendly and knowledgeable staff and high-quality printing. (Laughter)