About Our Shop

GAM (Graphics and Marketing) is a comprehensive design, print, and communications firm situated in Northern Virginia. We serve as your all-in-one destination, offering a spectrum of services ranging from complete design solutions, and strategic marketing counsel, to in-house mailing services. With the recent incorporation of full digital printing capabilities, we now operate with enhanced agility, enabling us to accommodate your urgent projects promptly, or collaborate closely with you to achieve the ideal solution.

Our History

For the client already familiar with GAM Graphics and Marketing, it comes as no surprise when they see first-time customers become long-time clients. Still, some wonder where the name came from, and who started what was to become the powerhouse, go-to company for creative, print and marketing, that GAM is today.

In the mid-1970s, Charles “Charlie” Grant founded Grace Christian Academy in Sterling, Virginia. Notwithstanding his determination to give students a well-rounded, Christian-based education, Charlie wanted his young charges to graduate with marketable job skills. Charlie always believed in the power of print, and it just so happened one of the Academy’s staff was a skilled pressman eager to oversee a course on the fine art of operating a printing press. Charlie shopped for equipment to be used as instruction for students, and through God’s grace and good fortune, a used offset printing press was donated to the school. The beginning of GAM was at hand.

In the beginning students were trained by running actual jobs for churches and mission groups. But in the mid-70’s, printing jobs began to flow in from businesses, nonprofits and other commercial entities, enough business that Charlie thought it best to incorporate. He needed a name to form the new business, one that would represent both Grace Christian Bookstore and the newly founded print shop. The name Grace Abounding Ministries came to Charlie’s mind. While Charlie personally liked the name, he realized the importance of a company’s brand in the marketplace and set about forming a brand that would capture attention. Using the initial letters from Grace Abounding Ministries, the newly incorporated print shop, G.A.M. Printers, was established in 1976.

In 1985 Charlie, and his wife, Ginny, turned the management reins over to their son, Nathaniel. In 1996, Nathaniel and his sister, Faith, purchased the company from their parents. Understanding the importance of hiring skilled people who embrace GAM’s customer-first values, the new management team quickly began to turn the little print shop into the remarkable company it is today.

Businesses rely on GAM for its under-one-roof experience.

Whether for business cards, newsletters, magazines, large-format display, design, marketing strategy or the full-gamut, each order is appreciated, and customers, regardless of the order size, receive a quality product and focused attention from start to finish. That’s the GAM trademark.

Since the establishment of GAM 45 years ago, customers are treated by a team of friendly, experienced customer service representatives who help guide each job through its production process, ensuring the customer remains fully informed and the job delivers on time and priced as promised. Technology has changed the quality and cost of printing. The offset press of yesterday has largely been replaced by high-speed digital presses. The Internet and the ease with which proofs and orders are delivered through cyberspace has changed the total dynamic of creative, printed products that often accompany marketing, advertising, and public relations strategies. “It quickly became apparent that unless we kept up with the constantly changing technology in the printing industry, we would become a dinosaur and irrelevant,” said Nathaniel Grant, president of GAM Graphics and Marketing. “We didn’t wait for technology to overtake us. Early on, we sold the printing presses of yesterday, purchased the latest equipment, and hired creative talent with technological prowess. To stay competitive and deliver on customer expectations, we are determined to stay abreast of the latest hardware, software, and other market trends that allow us to quickly deliver a quality product at a reasonable price,” added Nathaniel.

GAM’s award-winning creative designers effectively translate ideas into effective visuals. GAM is the place to go for newsletters, brochures, magazines, annual reports, bus and subway large-format signage, floor and tabletop banner stands, display advertising and a host of direct mail capabilities. GAM’s advertising, marketing and public relations team provides an agency experience without exorbitant fees or retainers.

For more information on how GAM can be of service to your organization, call 571-375-7200, or send us an email at info@graphicsandmarketing.com