We have remained a leader in the full design-to-media process across decades of technological advances and competitive landscapes. Across more than a century, the company remained steadfast in its commitment to powerful brand design and stewardship.

Our Timeline

The company traces its origins to the late 1800’s with the formation of The Southern Engraving Company, which specialized in chalk and wood line art engravings for newspaper advertising. In 1898, Southern Engraving Company became part of The Atlanta Constitution Publishing Company, handling art reproduction for editorial and advertising, and for outside advertising agencies and printers.

Shortly after World War II, the Southern Engraving Company was sold by the Atlanta Constitution and merged into the Photo Process Engraving Company to become the Southern Photo Process Engraving Company. In 1969, The Beck Engraving Company purchased the combined organization, and then in 1973, The Beck Engraving Company purchased Progressive Engravers, an Atlanta-based company run by Fred Hatterick, the father of former Beck CEO Kent Hatterick.

The newly formed organization grew rapidly as a specialist producing four-color, and black and white offset film. In 1978, the company was renamed Beck Atlanta, setting its focus on removing the print production restrictions and silos that can threaten productive creativity.

That same year, Beck introduced the Scitex large-format digital imaging system to the U.S. market. The introduction of this computer-based technology for manipulating color was the genesis for all of the technology-based art reproduction process that has come since.

A group of Beck executives purchased the company from The Beck Engraving Company in 1981, establishing it as an independent entity. Today, Beck is managed entirely by its shareholders, all of whom continue to work with Beck.

In 2001, Beck introduced its proprietary Beck Premedia Workflow Compression^SM.  A new industry first for specifying all specific data points necessary for creating highest quality design image reproductions. Beck created a template to articulate all data necessary at each step in the design development and reproduction process to achieve highest quality image results, shortest turn times and lowest cost.

In late 2017, Beck was subsequently purchased by SCHAWK!, a part of SGK, which is a (MATW) Matthews International company.

A Stalwart Commitment

We have experienced more than a century of success thanks to its focus on understanding unique market needs and providing targeted consult and solutions to help companies increase brand recognition in the marketplace. Through the years, we have elevated the brand landscape by staying rooted in what counts – the power of beauty to engender a profitable response.

With each step in our development, our clients have been able to push the creative envelope further and reach new commercial heights. Today, we have the privilege of supporting some of the world’s most recognized brands in the consumer products packaging, POS, POP, and advertising industries, including The Coca-Cola Company, Georgia-Pacific, Dean Foods and Lowe’s.