Printing firm presents a bold new face after devastating fire

Allied Digital Printing took a big hit back in October 2017, when a fire tore through the Huntsville, Ala., business, destroying all its printing equipment along with most of its building. Less than two years later, though, the company’s owners cut the ribbon on a new facility at the same location. Re-establishing a presence at a site the company has called home for more than three decades required an emphasis on branding in the new façade. So, designers made creative use of metal cladding panels and trim to help the company stake a new claim as it continues to move forward.

The panels are one ingredient in a mix of materials that also includes brick and clapboard-style cladding. Designers with Huntsville-based Chapman Sisson Architects combined these varied elements to create depth and shadows across an otherwise standard storefront. The front elevation is framed with 1,960 sq. ft. of 24-gauge PAC-CLAD metal trim in a Graphite finish from Petersen. That look is carried around the corner, where the side elevation is clad in 700 sq. ft. of Graphite-finished PAC-CLAD Precision Series Highline C-1 wall panels. That side wall is a theatrical effect, of sorts, creating a squared-off, two-story appearance for what’s actually a flat-roofed, single-story structure. The local firm Garber Construction did the installation.

The printing company remained in operation at the site throughout the 15-month rebuilding effort by moving staff and new equipment into two storage pods at the back of its site. In March 2019, the business moved into its new home, which is both larger and better equipped than the previous facility. With its new services – and forward-looking design – family-owned Allied Digital Printing is well-positioned for a new generation of success.