We sat down with Rick Herbert, founder of Ace High Printing in St. Petersburg, Florida, to learn more about how he started and expanded his thriving sticker and graphics business. Known for walls covered in band logos, tattoo designs, and wild sticker art, Rick’s shop looks like a dream hangout for a metalhead or skateboarder—but behind those walls is a growing business built on passion, quality, and personal service.
Rick, your shop is literally covered in stickers. How did this all begin?
Rick: I actually started in my garage back in 2004. I had learned to operate Roland DG machines while interning at a sign shop. At the time, I was in a band and printing stickers for us. That’s when the lightbulb went off—if I could do this for our band, I could do it for everyone else. I started small, printing 2-inch, 3-inch, and 4-inch stickers, 100–200 at a time, then posting them online and on social media. From there it just grew.
“We do it slower than other people, that’s the key. We have TrueVIS machines that we take the print speed down to 600, 900 to make really superb quality. Does it take us a bit longer? Sure! But can you see it in the details? Yes!”
A selection of the outstanding quality stickers that Ace High Printing produces.
What makes Ace High Printing different from the big online companies?
Rick: We fill a niche they don’t. Those companies can pump out hundreds of thousands of stickers with an app, but what we offer is personalized service. I’ll spend fifteen minutes or more with a customer to make sure they’re getting exactly what they need. And we print differently. We slow the head/print speed way down on our TrueVIS machines to achieve a smoother, clearer, more vibrant image. Yes, it takes longer, but the details and brilliance in the print are worth it.
You’ve grown a lot since those garage days. What does your shop look like now?
Rick: Today, I’ve got a dozen guys spread across three different buildings. They handle printing, laminating, and cutting—plus we have a shipping department. Quality control? That’s still me. I want to see the stickers from the very beginning all the way through until they ship out the door.
A selection of stickers that Ace High Printing produced for some big-name rock bands as well as local record stores, reflecting their “print for all” business philosophy.
You work with some big names, but you also print for small businesses. How do you build those customer relationships?
Rick: Honestly, it’s about respect and communication. Whether it’s a garage band, a bakery, Fox Sports, the Dali Museum, or the police department—we treat everyone the same. When you put an order in, you’re talking directly to me, not a bot or an email box. I’ll call you, email you, and if you come in person—you’re speaking with the owner. That’s how we’ve kept and grown our client base.
What’s been your strategy for finding the right markets?
Rick: Go with what you know. In my early twenties, I was into surf, skate, bands, bars, tattoo shops—so that’s where I went. No one else was printing for those markets at the time, and it worked.
“My advice is: look at your competition. Study their turnaround times and quality. Then pick a few products you can do really well. Don’t try to offer fifty different things. Too many people spread themselves too thin and get burned.”
Produced with Roland DG printers — an ultra-vivid collection of stickers from Ace High Printing, showing the surf, skate, band, and bar markets that have helped build their business.
You clearly love stickers. What keeps the passion alive after nearly two decades?
Rick: Passion is everything. If you start doing jobs you hate, you’ll burn out. Stickers, though, are just fun. They’re nostalgic—remind people of being a kid, sticking them on folders or walls. Now, I get to take someone’s artwork, something they spent hours on, and make it real. Seeing their face light up when they hold it for the first time—that never gets old. I still wake up and think, I can’t believe I print stickers all day!
Growth is good, but how do you manage it without overextending?
Rick: Trying to grow too fast can put you out of business—we’ve all seen it happen. My focus is perfecting what we already do well. The other big key would be putting the right people in the right places. My shipping manager would make a lousy pressman, and our designer wouldn’t know where to start when mounting signage. Finding our team’s strengths and putting them to the best use possible helps keep me from micromanaging. Back to the point of “perfecting what we do,” we’re always testing new materials and concepts, but I’m careful—some trends are short-lived, like fidget spinners. I ask myself: Is this feasible? Is it cost-effective long term? I have several sample rolls of specialty vinyls sitting on a shelf gathering dust because I didn’t like the final product, or it didn’t hold up to our quality standards.
Some applications that Ace High Printing has added to their full-service print portfolio, including apparel, banners, and printing on canvas.
How important is your printing technology to your business?
Rick: Huge. Roland DG’s printers, most recently its TrueVIS large-format technology, has allowed us to deliver the kind of standout quality we’re known for. Reliability matters when your whole business is built around producing stickers people are proud to show off.
Final thoughts?
Rick: Keep your passion. Maintain your focus. Build relationships, not just orders. That’s how you create a business that lasts.
- Rick has been using Roland DG machinery for more than 20 years and is currently using TrueVIS large format printing technology to maintain a level of quality and reliability to set his sticker printing business apart. Roland DGA offers machinery for all stages on your business journey, from sticker printing startups to professional sticker printing businesses.
