The Island Printer of Syros

The Greek word typography connects printers throughout the world with each other. It comes as no surprise then that the Heidelberg News is also able to report from Greece on an interesting company that due to, rather than in spite of, its unique location on an island has subscribed to its own business success: George Vakondios is the name of the owner of the print shop Typokykladiki S.A.

George Vakondios laughs heartily at the question as to whether anyone ever actually counted all the islands in the Cyclades. "I suppose so, but there are very many. However, only 24 are inhabited," he points out. If there is a print shop in a dreamlike setting, then from now on it has a name: Typokykladiki S.A. Translated this means something like "Printing in the Cyclades." The Cyclades is a group of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea - that is the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. The print shop offers an artist's view of Syros, the island capital city of Ermoupolis, and the turquoise sea with a clear blue sky. An idyllic picture post card, so beautiful that it creates an almost surreal and breathtaking effect.

About 100,000 people live spread out over the islands, the majority of them on Syros. There are islands with less than one hundred inhabitants, others with several thousand. Slightly developed as far as tourism is concerned, Syros with its beaches and historical buildings is still a top-secret tip for vacationers. Syros lies in the middle of the Cyclades, and with its 86 square kilometers (33 square miles) is the eleventh largest of the islands.

Ano Syros is located at a point majestically overlooking Ermoupolis, the capital city of Syros and at the same time the administrative district of the Cyclades. George Vakondios grew up in Ano Syros, an inviting city, with many steps and narrow alleys that has remained virtually unchanged for over 700 years. Every day he had to go down to school in Ermoupolis and in the afternoon back up again. This was arduous, but life in the historical walls for him was also exciting. Whenever he speaks about it, the pride in his roots beams through clearly in his face. Ano Syros was founded by Venetians and is populated mostly by Catholics, in contrast to Ermoupolis which is populated mostly by Orthodox due to the fact that Ermoupolis received inf luences from Greeks that immigrated later from the mainland and the surrounding islands. The family name, Vakondios, also ref lects Catholic roots, for it is actually derived from the Italian, in which "vai con Dio" means "go with God" in English.

George started out as a simple printer in the family business, and yet "simple" is both an accurate and also inaccurate euphemism in his case. His grandfather and father were already printers. His father founded, along with a brother, his own print shop in the Old City of Ermoupolis in 1958. George is already assisting in his father's business at a young age. He supports his father wherever he can and in this way learns the printing trade. The business has been in operation with its Heidelberg Tiegel (platen press) since the early 1960s. Yet, George wants more: He studies for a time in Athens, goes through about ten different print shops there and familiarizes himself with various printing processes, as well as managerial styles. It is from this period that his own ideas for the family business develop: He would like to have modern printing presses and he intends to expand. The uncle, who is also Co-Managing Director, is rather skeptical, however, his father supports him in this. Since the uncle has no intention of investing any of "his" money in new printing presses, George, at 16 years of age, pawns his motorbike on the spot, and with the proceeds buys the first cutting machine. Up until that time the paper required always had to be purchased in the very size that the printed product was to have later, because to date there was not one single cutting machine in all of the Cyclades.

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