Although Printeks Reprographics Incorporated established itself originally as the neighborhood copy shop in Montgomery, in recent years it has decided to expand its horizons and partner up with Anderson Design Group.

Partnering with the architecture firm next door has brought in new business for Printeks to facilitate when it comes to technology needed to scan and photograph the existing building to then create a blueprint for Anderson Design Group architects when rebuilding old structures.

Mayor Steve Brescia took a special interest in the reprography, or reproduction of graphics and photography services offered at Printeks. Andrew Romulo, a senior scanning technician at Printeks says, “Historic preservation is one of the niche markets for our technology and our service.”

Through the relationship that Printeks has developed with Anderson Design Group, Printeks easily provides the firm with their 360-degree photography and videography documentation services. This same technology is being used to construct the blueprint to restore the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and is being brought to the Hudson Valley, a historic building gold mine.

This technology is very advanced camera equipment that offsets the amount of time and effort exerted in the field. “I still like to think that it’s a tool that you need individuals to operate them, manipulate them and decipher them,” says Romulo at his shop at the historic Montgomery Grange Building. By digitizing buildings and using photography and laser scanners, this keeps a record of the exact measurements of the interior and exterior of a building and any ornate details.

Brescia invited Romulo to the July 5 Village Board Meeting to explain the services that Printeks Reprographics provides by creating a presentation of the scanning technology that could be used to create a blueprint of the Montgomery Village Hall and reproduce its various fixtures. He was able to present to the Montgomery Village Board a schematic rendering of the interior and exterior of the historic Montgomery Village Hall, complete with all of the fixtures, furniture and trimmings.

Printeks Documentation Construction Services is able to replicate the building and its fixtures if it were ever destroyed in a natural disaster with the use of this scanning technology. “It can be done in a matter of days-” says Romulo, “then [the consumer] receives this digital model of an entire building from top to bottom and they never have to worry about missing anything.”

The same technology is at use in re-creating the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral, heavily damaged in a fire in April of 2019.

Such detail in recreating valuable artifacts was previously unavailable. By using reprographics, it takes the guesswork out of restructuring historic buildings which render special in people’s hearts.

“The machines, the tools, the technique,” Romulo states, ”those are all assisted devices in order for us to reach a human end goal.”