“We would really like to grow into a printing house that would cover all types of such services for Kherson residents and create jobs here in the city, — says Yuliya Roshchenko, founder of the photocopy center “Print”. — So that we are independent. So that we are powerful and even encroach on neighboring regions in terms of selling our products. We would like to have a beautiful souvenir shop with gifts that would lift the spirits of Kherson residents and city guests. And that it would definitely be in the center of Kherson, where happy, smiling people stroll”.
For now the small team of “Print” works under constant shelling and faces everyday challenges – staff shortages, problems with logistics, electricity, equipment maintenance. However, despite this, the business has been able to scale, and the photocopy center’s assortment is constantly expanding.
MOST spoke about this with the founders of the printing house “Print”, Yuliya and Oleksandr Roshchenko.
“People persuaded us to return”
The photocopy center “Print” has a rather respectable history — it has existed for 14 years. It all started with a small copy center in Chornobaivka — as a printing house with branches in Chornobaivka and Kherson it has been fully operating for 7 years. The company provides copying, laminating, various types of printing services, and also offers souvenir and advertising products — from business cards and magnets to canvas portraits and patches.
After the full-scale invasion the photocopy center’s offices had to be closed, and soon Yuliya and Oleksandr left their hometown due to threats from the occupiers.
“At the beginning of the occupation we still worked a little, but of course not on the same scale. Mostly we printed orders for those who were leaving. For example, we laminated documents for people who worried about their integrity. Then there was a cooperation proposal from the “new authorities”. We refused. Threats followed — saying we’d burn it down, we know where you live, where the child is and so on. And actually after these threats we packed our things and left”, — Yuliya recounts.
The couple returned to Chornobaivka in April 2023. Yuliya says — they did not plan to stay long, they wanted to resolve social and household issues and leave. However, it turned out they were needed at home — locals began to ask them to resume work.
“The people we met began to ask to print this and that. They said “Come back, services are needed”. And the local authorities said “Please, come back, open up, — Yuliya says. — So it was the people who brought us back”.
Such a forced pause in work affected the equipment and materials – some things spoiled, and some required repairs.
“When we realized that the city really needed the full range of our services and there was demand, we began to buy equipment and look for an office in Kherson. The print heads dried out, photo paper and inks got damp. The husband managed to repair some things. Some were ordered new, we bought equipment”, — adds Yuliya.
They decided to reopen in Kherson — the city has greater demand and it was possible to find an office in a safer district. However, now, according to Yuliya, it is already too small.
Oleksandr Roshchenko says that the “Print” team is not afraid to experiment and cooperate with other businesses and brands.
“Our motto is “We print everything, on everything and for everyone”. We really try to provide a wide range of services and constantly look for something new. For example, thermoses. We tried — it took off, we make them. Some things don’t work out, but we keep trying”, — he notes.
The man shows “Funny First Aid Kits” — gift boxes with a touch of humor. Inside are boxes of sweets with funny names adapted to medicines. He says: this kind of product is what Kherson residents like the most right now.
“We ourselves sat with the team and invented captions. The same with the “Kherson resident ID”. We sat and came up with funny things. For example: “This ID certifies that the person distinguishes exits from incoming strikes, artillery from MLRS, wasn’t scared of a drone and even sent it to three letters. Ignored the alarm because they needed to go to ATB”, — says Oleksandr.
Most of the products the photocopy center makes itself – magnets, T-shirts, mugs, etc. Patches have also appeared in the assortment — “Print” develops the design, and manufacturing is ordered from producers.
The team also never refuses other businesses the opportunity to sell their goods, so other manufacturers of souvenir products often consign their goods for sale to the “Print” shop.
“Our biggest fear is isolation”
Now the business, according to Oleksandr, faces various problems. These are maintenance, a shortage of personnel, and logistics.
“There was a period when the Kherson – Mykolaiv highway was being actively shelled, and there was a fear that logistics would be disrupted. And we are here like in a closed environment. If the logistics are disrupted — the blanks won’t arrive, accordingly we will not be able to produce anything”, — the man says.
Yuliya also notes that the most urgent problem for Kherson now is the security situation and the psycho-emotional state of both the company’s employees and clients. In addition, it is difficult to work under constant attacks on the energy infrastructure and power outages. Because of all these factors every breakdown is now a challenge for the business. Hence — the fear of scaling up.
“Recently we wanted to buy a machine, we could have bought it. But there is a fear that you buy it, and will it have time to pay off? Will it not be destroyed by shelling? So sometimes you want to buy something new, but you wait until things get better. We really want our slogan “We print everything, on everything and for everyone” to work at full capacity”, — Oleksandr says.
Despite all the difficulties, “Print” is very popular among Kherson residents. Oleksandr notes that there are no problems with orders — products are bought by ordinary people as well as various organizations — charitable, state, volunteer. There is particular demand around holidays. Then the company receives bulk orders. Now “Print” also operates on a marketplace. Last year the company performed with the distinction “Top Seller”, and today tries to make shipments to customers across the country every day.
“There is business in Kherson, it is alive. But it is very hard for it. People invest funds and hope that they will produce something and it will bring profits. And when they encounter these risks, which at best bring financial losses, it is very hard. And it is very hard when our regular clients, who print mass printing, outdoor advertising, business cards, flyers, then come and say “Unfortunately, we have closed”. We had cases when we developed a project, it was already ready for print, and people called it off because after the next strikes they decided to close”, — Yuliya notes.
Reflecting on her own limit of endurance, the woman concludes that one can endure anything except occupation: “Everyone has a limit, and I will not swear otherwise. Once I said that my child will not live where rockets fly, when Russia occupied Donbas. But even here I was wrong. I do not want to think about it. Probably my limit is the Russian passport. That is the most important thing for me — that I will not have a Russian passport. Surrendering territory is definitely a red line”.